LAKE
FORK
There
are numerous reports, make sure you check them all!
Report
from Richie White
Lake Fork Fishing Guide Texas
Updated
03/14/2010
I
predict this to be my best spring ever. The lake has been full
for some time now, so there is lots of new water for the fish
to spawn. Also, because we started the spring with the lake full,
it shouldn't get as muddy and stay so muddy when we do get some
good rains. Additionally, since we had so many shad die off due
to the unusually cold winter, the fish have been feeding heavily
and are fatter than normal.
The
spawn is about 3 weeks behind this year, so right now is the
prime prespawn period. The fishing was very slow up until the
beginning of March, but has improved greatly since that time.
Numbers have picked up and the quality fish are showing themselves.
Monday, we got an 11.08 on a spinnerbait in about 7ft of water.
Yesterday, we got an 8 and a 10 pounder on a crankbait in about
the same depth. We also got an 8 pounder on a jig/craw in about
12 ft.
The
past week or two, I've been fishing Fork, Monticello, and Welsh.
I found females on the beds on Monticello and caught 7 fish between
6 and 8 pounds. On Welsh, we also got some fish on the beds in
addition to 10 to 20 fish on topwater most every morning and
evening I fished. But now, I'm back to Fork exclusively. The
water temps are in the low 50s for most of the lake, but on the
warmer afternoons, I'm seeing 60+ degrees in certain areas. Those
areas are still muddy from the recent rains, but there are some
fish trying to bed up.
In
case you weren't aware, sight fishing is my specialty. In fact,
you could say I wrote the book on sight fishing for bass - because
I did. It is actually an E-book that is for online reading only.
To learn more about sight fishing for bass, go to http://www.bassfishing.org/spawnbook .
I'm
booked up for the rest of the spring, but I often have some cancellations
and I don't have much of a waiting list. If you would like to
be on my list, send me an email. Also, I don't open up the prime
dates on my calendar to the public because my previous customers
usually get them a year or so in advance. If you are interested
in a sight fishing trip, you should send me an email and I will
try to work you in.
June
is the best month for night fishing. I still have some open dates
this year. You can book online at http://fishingguidenow.com/bookonline.cfm?guideID=2
See
our most recent pictures at http://www.bassfishing.org/pictures/recent.htm
If
you would like, you can receive my fishing
reports by email.All you need is your name and email
address. If you are receiving reports by email and wish to discontinue
receiving them, simply go to www.bassfishing.org/reports/unsubscribe.cfm
Good
fishing and good luck. You can't catch them if you don't go.
Professional
Guide
Richie White
(903) 439-2266
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Report
from Tom Redington
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
March 13, 2010
An
extended period of warm and sunny days has a lot of bass actively
roaming up shallow at Lake Fork. Male bass are showing up en
masse in the back of creeks, a sure sign that the females aren’t
far behind. With the new moon on Monday and more nice days in
the forecast, I expect our first major wave of spawning next
week and a lot of big fish will be caught. (Duran Duran fans
might even point out that with a “New Moon on Monday” the bass
will be “Hungry Like the Wolf”. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
Until
the bass start bedding, prespawn moving bait patterns still dominate.
As the bass in the backs of creeks start to spawn, anglers will
still have the choice of fishing for spawning bass in the shallows
or chasing the bigger prespawn fish nearer the mouths of creeks
and on the south end of the lake. With such a late start to
the spawn, the spring bite should carry well into May this year.
Speaking
of prespawn action, watch me catch big bass with lipless crankbaits
on the “Scott Martin Challenge” fishing show on Versus. The
show airs in 2-parts during the weeks of March 22nd and 29th.
Check your local listings for the show times, as it’ll air several
times each week.
Lake
Conditions: Lake Fork is full and more stained
than normal, but warming. The lake level is currently 403.11’
and dropping, still 1” above full pool. Because of big rains
last week, the water clarity is clearer on the south end,
getting more stained as you head up the lake and quite muddy
in some creeks up north. Water temps are reading 51 to 56
in the main lake, while 61 was the warmest we found in the
creeks yesterday.
Location
Pattern: For prespawn and staging fish, key
on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas
with submerged vegetation for cover will typically have the
most fish. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these
coves are holding some fish, as are main and secondary points
inside the coves. During warming trends, follow bass back
into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek
channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent
to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly
relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays
in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major
creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move towards
April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks
and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically
the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May.
Presentation
Pattern: For prespawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits,
jigs, and lipless crankbaits are catching numbers of good
fish, especially on overcast and windy days. First and foremost
are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft
LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular
and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce
better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with
tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and
white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas
that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits
like Lucky Craft RC 2.0 or BDS4 square bills. For big bass,
try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz
Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw
a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse vibrator jigs with
Fire Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And
for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the
first breakline and creek channels is the way to go. I go
with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin
jig with a Lake Fork Craw trailer in the blue bruiser or
watermelon candy colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a
Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon, Bama Bug
or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and
slowly work it around cover. Or try the new 6” Hyper Lizard
from Lake Fork Trophy Lures. It features a huge thumper
on a segmented tail and produces a wild thumping action when
it swims and hops along cover. I like pitching all of these
baits with the Dobyns Champion series 736C pitching rod.
At 7’3”, it is light and easy to fish all day with a soft
enough tip to pitch well, yet it has plenty of power to pull
even the biggest fish out of heavy cover with big braided
line.
For
bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged
or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Zig
Zags, and the all new Hyper Stick become your best option. The
Hyper Stick combines the shape of Senko-style stick worm baits
with the segmented body action of the Live Magic Shad. The result
is a worm with unique action from even the slightest rod movement.
This year, I’m using Lake Fork Trophy Lures’ new weedless weighted
wacky rigging system primarily. The small weighted disc gives
it just enough weight to cast well and fall just right, while
also keeping your wacky worm from flying off the hook on casts.
The large size ring fits the Zig Zags and Hyper Sticks perfectly,
while the smaller size works wonders with Hyper Finesse Worms,
Twitch Worms, and Hyper Whack’n Worms. Shades of green pumpkin
and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Blue
Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often
spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits,
I’m using Dobyns’ 733C with 14 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The
7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough
backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts.
The new FluoroHybrid Pro line has the feel and invisibility of
fluorocarbon, yet it casts well and ties strong knots like mono—it’s
truly the best of both worlds.
Here's
hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance,
please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings)
or e-mail me through my web
site, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good
Fishing, Tom
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James Caldemeyer’s
Lake Fork Trophy
Bass
Fishing Report
March 5, 2010
The
fishing is getting hot at Lake Fork right now with warmer temperatures
finally arriving and water temperatures increasing to a range
adequate for the annual spawn to take off. This is a relief
after all the dismal cold days that we have had this winter.
I can’t remember a year that I wore thermal underwear for as
many consecutive fishing days as I have this year. I am not
going to put them up just yet though as it is spring and you
just never know when the next cold blast will strike.
Water
conditions right now are real good still and getting better
as the days go by. We have plenty of water with levels above
full pool at 403.40 which is about 5 inches high. The water
temperatures have been starting off in the high 40’s and
moving as high as 57 degrees at the peak of the day the past
couple days. I expect with these next few days of almost
70 for highs and 40-50 for lows to see water temps hold consistently
in the 50’s with some areas reaching 60. This will kick things
off big time!
Best
baits right now have been a 1/2–5/8 oz red/orange lipless
crank bait. Shad patterns have done well lately also. Ripping
these baits off the shallow grass beds in 2-8 ft of water
is the key to attracting a reaction strike from these big
females that are staging in preparation to spawn. The chatter
bait has been my second best producer right now with the
water temperatures in transition. I like the 3/8-1/2 oz white,
white/chartreuse, and even red has been really good. Fishing
these over the grass in the same manner as the lipless crank
bait is the ticket, especially in the thicker grass or areas
that the coots have routed through. Talon 3/8-1/2 oz spinner
baits in the same colors as the chatter bait have been catching
a few fish also. www.talonlures.com I
have yet to get a jig bite going but am still keeping it close
by as we see these water terms rising. The big bass should really
start eating it good any day and man is that some fun fishing!
Talon also a great flipping jig and are awesome for flipping
stumps and lay downs adjacent to spawning areas for a real trophy
bass. I will opt for the 1/2 oz size the majority of the time
in black/blue, black/blue/purple, bama bug, or Texas craw
with a black/blue or green pumpkin Berkley Chigger
Craw as a trailer.
As
these fish start to get active on beds plastics fished in
these same areas will dominate all other baits on most days.
I rig up all my Abu Garcia Vendetta worm rods and Revos reels
up with 15-17 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for two reasons.
1) This line is very strong and sensitive. When fishing for
big bass where the bites are very subtle most of the time,
you need it to detect even the slightest “tick” and it’s also
strong enough to get a big fish out of heavy cover. 2) Its invisible
in the water. To properly fish these baits you MUST fish them
slow and that means the bass get a chance to look at your bait
for a while before they decide to eat it. You will get a lot
more bites with fluoro than mono especially with the spring fishing
pressure.
I am
using several different types of plastic baits and presentations
when fishing the spawning areas. A wacky rigged Berkley Powerbait
Heavyweight Sink Worm and Fat Sink Worm are very good. www.berkley-fishing.com
Best
colors are green pumpkin, black/blue, breen, and watermelon.
On the weightless or slightly weighted t-rig I am using senkos,
Berkley Sinking Minnows, flukes, and Berkley Jerk Shads in
a variety of colors like watermelon red, green pumpkin, watermelon
candy, June bug, pearl, and others. Texas rigging some of
these same baits as well as a Berkley Chigger Craw is best when
the wind gets up enough where fishing weightless is not an option.
Don’t forget about a swim bait either in the wind. A 5” or
6” Berkley Hollow Body is excellent for catching a monster bass
in the spring!
If
you are headed out to Lake Fork this year and would like
to book a guided trip, feel free to email me at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com or
you can reach me by phone at (903)736-9888. You can also
get more information about Lake Fork by
visiting my website www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com or
join my Facebook page to see up to date information about
what is going on at Lake Fork.
Big thanks to all my sponsors: Ranger Boats, Mercury
Outboards, “I Am Second”, Berkley, Abu Garcia, All Star,
Oakley, Talon Lures, Interstate Batteries, Line & Lure,
BTS Protectant, Navionics, Sure Life, and newest addition
DFW MRI.
Read
1 John 3:1
Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
*********************************************************************
Report
by David Vance
Lake
Fork Report: March 1, 2010
The
water temps have varied this week on Lake Fork ranging from 46
to settling at 49 to50 late in the afternoon. The water temps
should warm up and begin to stay warm with the warmer nights
we are suppose to be getting. Look for the bass to turn on and
begin to move more towards the back of the creeks during the
next week or so. All of our fish have come out of 3 to 8 feet
of water. Most of the time in the grass or very close to the
grass. A Chatter bait and a 3/8oz Spinner bait with nickel and
gold willow leaf blades has worked best for me. Also lipless
crank baits in red/orange, and craw patterns have been good,
these baits have been the most consistent of all the baits I
have thrown.
In
the creeks I mean from the mouth all the way to the back. Find
thick grass located in 3 to 8 feet for the best results. Some
days it seems like they are out in the open grass flats and then
the next day they are close to the trees located within the grass
beds. This has been easy to figure out and seems to hold to every
place I fish. The key to catching fish right now is to cover
a lot of water, the bass are slowly moving in and they are scattered
over the grass so keep on the move. Creeks that have produced
some good fish for us this week are the East and West field of
Glad Creek. Glad Creek always turns on early and has some of
the best grass on the lake, and is one of the best early spawning
creeks on Lake Fork, The bass in Glad Creek are fixing to explode
with a few more days of warm weather. Today we were fishing the
east field of Glad, and a boat not far from us I seen the guy
in the back of the boat get the net for his partner, after a
lot of high fives And pictures I ask him how much she weighed
he said 10lbs 6oz this bass was so full of eggs it looked like
she was going to pop, he said he caught her on a Chatter Bait.
Also
we have had some good success this week on a suspending jerk
bait these baits will produce Big Bass this time of year. I have
been throwing a 6 to 7 inch model my best colors have been a
Black back/Silver side orange Belly and a chrome/blue back. I
have been fishing these baits in the same places as the lipless
crank baits with good results, it has been very good as a back
up bait to pick up a few fish behind the lipless cranks. Work
these baits with light twitches and long pause, when you do go
to twitch the bait use a light twitch or two then let it sit
again most bites have occurred while the bait is sitting still.
Today late in the day we left Glad Creek and went to bird island
and with in 45 minutes we put 5 bass in the boat and one that
weighed 8lbs 12oz all on a Suspending Jerk bait.
The
pre spawn bass are on the move, and March is one of the best
months to catch a bass over 10 pounds. If you would like to book
a trip and get in on this pre spawn action you can reach me on
my Cell 903-629-5085 or 903-629-7699.
Good
Fishing
David Vance
http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
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Report
from Clint Wright
http://www.lakeforkdayandnight.us/
February 2010
Hello
from Lake Fork. I am still looking to book February 20, 21 and
March 7, 13, 14 and April 25. Give Kerstin a call at 903-918-0755
for booking information.
I
don’t think I have ever been more excited to see February as
I am this year. December and January were very cold and kept
me on the hot water lakes longer than usual. We are ready for
a warming trend and get that water temperature to the magic 60
degree mark.
Historically,
February on Lake Fork is known for some giant bass. This month
the males will be headed to the shallows looking for a sandy
bottom to make a bed. The big females will be close by, waiting
for 60 to 62 degree water temperature to lay their eggs. Many
times this temperature can be found in isolated spots on the
north end of the lake. I have found 60 degree water every February
since 2005. The best spots will be in the very backs of the creeks
on the north bank. These areas are protected by the cold fronts
wind and get the most sunlight throughout the day.
When
fishing early February, I will stick to only a few baits. First,
a lipless crankbait in red, chartreuse, or gold in half to three
quarter ounce with quality strong sharp hooks. I will throw this
bait on a 7 foot Heavy Custom Angle rod and a 7:1 high speed
reel spooled with 50 pound power pro braided line. The purpose
of the heavy action and braided line is the advantage it gives
fishing in the grass. Second, I will have a Santone Jig with
a Gene larew Biffle Bug or Salt Craw as a trailer. I will use
the same Custom Angle rod and same reel / line as the rattle
trap for the jig. Third, is a Grande Bass Rattlesnake on a shakey
head. The Rattlesnake will be rigged up on a Custom Angle Medium
Heavy 6’6 with 12 lb fluorocarbon. These three set ups will catch
fish on just about any day on Lake Fork in February.
When
scouting for an area to target, look for grass. In early February,
look for the deep grass with ledges close to the spawning flats.
I like to try Birch Creek, White Oak, Wolf, Little Caney, Bell,
Long Branch and Glade. Any of these creeks will have an abundance
of spawning activity this month. Start at the mouth of the creeks
with the Jig and work your way shallower. Switch back and forth
between the jig and shakey head. Try different colors because
this can and will change daily. I usually pull out 4 or 5 different
colors that morning and have them on the deck and readily available
to make a quick change. This will help you develop a pattern
quickly.
Make
sure you have had all of your preventive maintenance done on
your boat for 2010. Billy and Wayne at Sartin Marine are filling
up quickly with work, so give them a call soon so you are not
in a waiting line to have this work done. Check your trolling
motor power, depth finders, battery connections, hoses (as they
will dry rot) and wheel bearings. Check your lug nuts and tire
pressure. Lastly, a good wash and wax will not hurt your boat
either.
Take
a look at your fire extinguisher to make sure it is still good,
life jacket buckles and zippers, make sure your throw cushion
didn’t walk off. All of this will help make your first trip back
on the lake much more enjoyable.
Please
remember that the sun will still cause damage to your eyes while
fishing in January. So wear your Costa Del Mar polarized sunglasses
anytime the sun is shining. I will also testify that no other
sunglasses will provide the sight fishing ability that Costa
Del Mars do. I know this because many of my clients come out
with me using other brands. Every single time they have to borrow
my Costas to see what I am seeing.
I
hope these tips help you catch the bass of your dreams. Please
know that I am always here to try and answer any questions you
might have. Myself and several other Guides that I work with
are available for public speaking, such as bass club meetings,
boy scout meetings etc. at no cost to you. We can go over any
topics related to Lake Fork or Bass Fishing, Boating etc.
Please
practice C.P.R. (Catch, Photo, and Release). It takes many years
for these fish to grow to their trophy size. By practicing a
quick release, it allows other anglers to enjoy the same experience
as you. Replica mounts can be made for your wall that look better
and last longer than a real mount. Remember life jackets and
kill switches any time the outboard motor is running or anytime
you feel it would just be safer to wear it. Your safety is #1!
Lake
Fork Day and Night Guide Service uses only professional Lake
Fork Guides to ensure your date is available for booking. We
are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Corporate and Group
trips – no problem. Please feel free to contact me anytime with
questions about Lake Fork, Monticello, Welsh or booking information
at 903-342-3497. Or visit http://www.lakeforkdayandnight.us/ for
more information. References are available upon request.
Lake
Fork Day and Night endorses the following sponsors: Custom Angle
Rods, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Santone Jigs, Gene Larew Baits,
Grande Bass Baits and Sartin Marine.
Tight
Lines,
Clint Wright
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