LAKE
FORK
There are various reports, make sure you check them all!
Lake
Fork Trophy Bass Fishing Report
By Lake Fork Guide James Caldemeyer
Submitted
June 18, 2009
Lake
Fork is on fire right now as the bass are full swing into their
heavy post spawn and summer feeding patterns. Most trips the
last two weeks have averaged 35-60 fish per day. These are the
type of days that make June-July my favorite months for fishing.
If you can stand the warmer weather and like to catch fish from
deep water, I suggest you get out to the lake for an excellent
time on the water!
Water
conditions are real good with water levels holding sitting at
403.39 which is still about 4-5 inches above full pool in mid
June! This is great for the lake going into summer as you never
know when the good Lord will bless us with some rain. The water
clarity is better than it has been in a lot of areas with visibility
2-3 feet in most places. The water temperatures are in the low
80’s.
I
have been starting of some mornings shallow if there is cloud
cover early with top waters like a yellow magic or a buzz bait
around the shallow main lake grass beds. There are a lot of fish
that are up shallow feeding in the morning but the window for
opportunity has been short so get out there early if you want
to catch them in their surface feeding activities. Small swim
baits fished just below the surface have also been catching a
few when the top water bite dies along with a wacky worm or Texas
rig. Best colors have been green pumpkin or watermelon gold.
On
other mornings I have been starting the day out in deep water
and catching fish that are feeding early in 18-28 foot of water.
Points, humps, road beds, and ridges are all good places to look
for these deep feeding bass on your electronics. Once I have
located a school of fish, I have been targeting most of them
with a Carolina rig. I like to use a 7’6” heavy rod and my new
Abu Garcia Revo’s are spooled up with 20 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon
line. These reels are great for making those all important long
casts with a Carolina rig. I like to use a 4-5 foot leader with
a 1 oz. tungsten weight to keep good contact with the bottom
and stir up things up a little as I drag it through a school
of fish. I am rigging a 3/0 extra wide gap hook with a number
of different new baits that the fish really love. Berkley has
come out with some new baits that are real effective on these
deep fish as well as a few “old stand bys”. The new “Wacky Crawler”
and “Fat Dover” have been catching them good as well as a 4”
Power Hawg and even the 7” or 10” Power Worm. Best colors have
been blue fleck, green pumpkin, and watermelon red. Ring fry’s,
centipedes, and trick worms have also worked well in chartreuse
pepper, green pumpkin, and methiolate colors. When the fish start
to get a little finicky and will not bite a Carolina rig, picking
up a drop shot rod and fishing it in these same areas as the
Carolina rig has been effective with some of the same baits.
I like to use a 2/0 drop shot hook with a 3/8 to 1/2 oz. weight
attached about 14-18 inches below the hook. Casting this rig
a short distance away from the boat and working it back slowly
or fishing it vertically over a school of bass can be very productive.
Keep your spoon rods and a football jigs handy as well. These
baits are great on Lake Fork and should blossom as we get further
into the summer!
If
you would like to book a trip for some great deep water fishing
on one of the greatest deep structure lakes for big bass in the
state of Texas this summer, feel free to give me a call at (903)736-9888
or send me an email at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com I
would like to thank all my sponsors for their support and to
my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross for each
of our sins.
Read
Romans 8:10-11
Tight
Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
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Report
by David Vance
Lake
Fork Report: June 12, 2009
Things
are really heating up here at the lake. With the weather
getting hot you can expect the bass fishing at Lake Fork
to be hot as well! Although the fishing this week has been
good, the big bass are on the verge of busting loose into
their post spawn feeding frenzy. Size has been good but the
numbers of fish we're catching has varied. Some days you
will only catch 20-25 and others you can load the boat. Water
temperatures have ranged anywhere from 79-82 degrees in the
areas that I have been fishing. The water is clear in the
main lake with some stained water in the backs of some of
the creeks from recent run off. The lake is full and in great
shape.
The
top water bite has been excellent on Yellow Magic's Buzz Baits
and Frogs early. After the topwater bite ends, I have been
heading straight for deep water. I look forward to this time
of year because of the great deep structure fishing that Lake
Fork is known for and at this time you will find the majority
of the bigger bass out deep on the points, roadbeds, ridges
and humps. The deep fish that I have been catching are in 20-25
foot. Carolina rigs have by far been the most productive presentation.
Best baits have been a Watermelon Seed Brush Hog and a Watermelon
Fluke, also a Fineness Worm in the same colors, as it has done
well on days that the fish are a little more finicky. If you
find the fish are suspended you'll want to hit them with a
DD 22, or a Swim bait. Good places to try right now are Bell
Hump, 515 East and West Roadbeds, and Chaney Point, the bass
have been schooling in these areas.
June
and July are a great time to be on Lake Fork the Bass are feeding
up after the spawn and they are mean and hungry and easy to
catch this time of year. If you would like to get in on some
good Summer Bass fishing to book a trip you can reach me at
903-629-7699 or cell 903-629-5085 web site http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing
David Vance
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Report
from Richie White
Lake Fork Fishing Guide Texas
Updated
6/8/2009
Sorry
to take so long between reports. I always take a couple of weeks
off in May for boat repairs and to get caught up before I start
my night fishing season. I have been out the last several nights
in a row and the fish appear to be on their summer night pattern.
It got slow when we had an east wind, but before and after that,
the bite was on pretty good. We have been catching most of our
fish on Texas rigged worms, lizards, and craws around the grass
near deep water. We're finding good grass up to about 9 ft deep
in several areas. Most grass is in the same places it was last
summer, but the exact locations have changed slightly. I haven't
got around to putting up my most recent pictures, but check back
at http://www.bassfishing.org/pictures/recent.htm and
I'll get them up soon.
The
topwater bite has been pretty good too. I got a few last trip
on popper baits and frogs. Additionally, we are catching some
fish on swim baits where the bass are feeding. 10 to 18 ft deep
has been the best location for the swim baits when shad are around
and bass are in the area. We are also getting a jig bite after
dark. 9 to 12 ft has been the best depth for the jig. Black/red
has been my best color.
I
have been doing a blog for Bassmaster for the past several months.
I have an agreement with ESPN that they get the exclusive for
the first month of publication, but I have permission to put
it on my site after that. To get my most recent blog, go to www.bassmaster.com and
click on the basslog link. I just updated the blog on my site,
so you can read the old articles without a subscription. See www.bassfishing.org/basslogblog.htm
This
year, (I guess because of the slow economy), I still have a few
dates open in June - which is normally my best month for night
fishing. I If you're interested in a night trip, you can see
my schedule and book online at http://fishingguidenow.com/bookonline.cfm?guideID=2
See
www.bassfishing.org/LakeFork-Night-Fishing.htm for my article
on night fishing. Also look out for my night fishing segment
on the In-Fisherman. We got some big fish on HD video. It already
aired a few times, but will re-run the rest of the year. It's
on several television stations.
Check
out my new site at www.fishupload.com
There, you can upload your fish pictures and show them off. You
can have people guess the weights, so if you catch a fish and don't
have scales, you can get a pretty good idea of what it weighs by
the combined guesses of the fishermen. If you have pictures, try
it out. Also, if you want to embed some pictures in a forum you
can upload the pictures there and it will give you the link so
you can put that URL in the forum. If you want a particular username,
you should get it before someone else does.
If 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
May 7, 2009
After
a prolonged stretch of really good fishing on Lake Fork, things
slowed down recently, particularly for bigger fish. Despite an
overnight 2' rise in the water after flooding rains, we could
still catch good numbers of buck bass to 5 lbs. However, the
bite for the females went away for me. I'm
guessing that we're in between waves of spawners but that shouldn't
last for long. With the full moon this weekend, the final major
wave of big fish should move up to spawn in main lake pockets and
flats.
Deep
water structure fishing will begin soon and the topwater bite
is just getting started, offering superb fishing well into the
heat of the summer. As those females feed up after the spawn,
the result is our most consistent fishing of the year for numbers
of quality fish in the 3 to 7 lb range, with a shot at a 10+.
And although the bass are wrapping up their spawn, the shad and
bluegill are just cranking up. To learn my tips on how to capitalize
on these other spawns, check out my May article, "The Other
Spawns": http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/may2009.htm
Lake
Conditions: Flooding rains hit this weekend and Fork
crested at 2' over full pool. The lake level is currently reading
at 403.67' (about 8" above full pool) and dropping fast.
By lowering the lake quickly, the resultant current drew a
lot of muddy and stained water into normally clearer areas.
There remains plenty of clear areas though, especially near
the main lake and on the south end. Milfoil and hydrilla are
both growing rapidly and expanding coverage, plus the lily
pads are starting to burgeon as well. Water temps are at a
comfortable 68 to 72 degrees in most areas of the main lake.
Location
Pattern: I'm finding most of the bigger spawning fish
nearer the mouths of coves and on main lake flats in 8' and
less. While some bass are spawning in the newly flooded grass
and cattails, many are spawning or staging along the inside
grassline in about 3'. In addition, many bass are also holding
amongst the rapidly growing lily pads. The slightly deeper
structure like points, creek channels, and ledges in 8' to
14', adjacent to areas with numbers of shallow spawning bass,
is where we've found most of the bigger females, both prespawn
and postspawn.
Presentation
Pattern: Topwaters, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits,
and crankbaits in shad and bluegill colors are catching fish
early and all day on windy or cloudy days. Fork is famous for
its topwater fishing this time of year and bass will come up
all day for small poppers (like Yellow Magics or Pop-Rs). I'm
throwing small poppers with 15 lb PowerSilk, about the equivalent
of 10 lb mono. The floating, zero memory line lets me whip
out casts even in windy conditions with these light baits.
Because of its zero memory, both PowerSilk and Fluorohybrid
are great on spinning reels as well. Vary your popper retrieve
because some days they'll want a nonstop spit, while other
days a couple pops with long pauses works better.
For
bass that are on spawning flats, we've been able to catch steady
numbers of fish on weightless or wacky rigged soft plastics.
The Lake Fork Trophy Lures Zig Zag, rigged with a weedless wacky
hook and a small nail weight in the nose, has been killer most
days. When it gets tough and the bite is slow, downsize and go
with a 3.5" Live Magic Shad on a 3/0 Ultimate Swimbait Hook
or wacky rig a Hyper Finesse Worm and you'll still be able to
catch good numbers of fish, although the fish size will run a
bit smaller on average. Shades of green pumpkin typically work
better on cloudy days, while I normally switch to the watermelon
colors if the sun comes out. I normally fish these rigs on low
stretch 17, 21 or 28 lb PowerSilk line (use lighter line in calmer,
clearer water with less cover), but I've been experimenting with
a new prototype line lately called Fluorohybrid Extreme. This
line has all of the best properties of the standard Fluorohybrid
line-low memory, high abrasion resistance, and small diameter-plus
it has much lower stretch so it delivers a lot more feel. This
line will be ideal for techniques that require a lot of sensitivity,
like worms, jigs, and dropshots. Look for it to be available
in a few weeks. For bigger fish, casting a jig to the inside
and outside grasslines has been our most productive bait. You'll
get less bites than with soft plastics, but they are almost all
good ones. I've been using Mark Pack's new jig design in the
3/8 and ½ oz sizes in black/blue and several shades of green.
It has an awesome hook, the first thing I look for in a good
jig, and great looking skirts. Look for the new jig to be available
in a few weeks as well. Simply pitch it to the edge of the grass
and work it with slow hops and pay close attention, as bites
are often very subtle.
For
spawning bass, white or watermelon Baby Fork Craws, Flippers
and Craw Tubes work great. White baits allow you to clearly see
your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green are
often needed to catch the more finicky bass. Many spawning areas
have water that is too muddy to see bedding fish, so pitching
Texas rigs and weightless soft plastics to any wood cover and
holes in the grass will catch the spawners that you can't see.
In addition, a Carolina rig on 21 lb PowerSilk with a 12" leader
and a 3/16 to 5/16 oz weight is deadly when worked in 3' to 8'
for beds that are too deep to see and for females waiting to
move up. Rig it up on a heavy power fast tipped 7'3" Dobyns
735C and you'll be all set. I put a Top Dog lizard, Magic Shad,
or Zig Zag on the hook and it consistently catches big fish.
Work your bait very slowly and keep it in place on the bottom
for a long time or you'll pass up all but the most aggressive
fish.
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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Lake
Fork Fishing Report
By Lake Fork Guide Guide Clint Wright
Submitted April 2, 2009
Lake
Levels: Fork - Full.
Water Clarity: Main Lake is clear, recent
rain has stained the backs of creeks.
Water temp: Anywhere between 59 and 64 degrees.
Weather: The next ten days look great with highs
in the upper 70’s.
News: Here
recently, I was contacted by the Grande Bass Bait Company, I
was asked to join their pro staff team. Little did they know
that I was already using Grande Bass baits, after what I had
seen Lance Vick do with them. (mama did not raise a fool). So
of course I jumped on this opportunity and look forward to my
clients having the opportunity to reap from their benefits as
well!!
If
you want to join me on a guided Lake Fork fishing trip, I am
available for full days on Saturday / Sunday and half day evening
trips on Monday - Friday. If you are looking for a full day trip
during the week, please contact me and I will refer you to a
professional Lake Fork Guide that I feel confident will show
you a great time.
Fishing
Report Lake Fork: Many of us go to Lake Fork looking
for one big bite. For many years I have tried to understand
the way the (BIG) bass think. But, after years of book keeping
and years of practice the only contributing factor to catching
a (BIG) bass, is time on the water with the right baits. So
if you are planning on spending some time on the water in the
next few weeks, here are some tips to help you.
Many
of the fish are shallow during this time of year. An angler should
be able to go into the back of any creek and get bit here on
Lake Fork. I have been throwing soft plastics to include the
Grande Bass Rattlesnake up onto the bank and fishing it slowly
into deeper water. Many of the fish are in the 2 - 3 foot range.
But, do not be afraid to cast parallel to the bank in 4-5 foot.
Fish the Rattlesnake either weightless (if no wind) or on a light
Texas rig both on a 4/0 heavy wire hook. The big girls will stage
in this slightly deeper water around her nest. Another bait that
has caught a fair share of fish for me is the Sebile Magic Swimmer.
If you have not tried the Magic Swimmer or the Rattlesnake, I
will gladly demonstrate how to use either of these two baits
any time you find me on the water. We are throwing both of these
baits on Seaguar 20 - 25 lb. fluorocarbon. It helps sink the
two baits to the perfect depth to get bit and is clear so line
size does not matter much.
If
sight fishing is your thing, now is the time to do it. A Revenge
¼ ounce jig with a Grandebass Machine as the trailer will do
the trick. Pitch this bait past the bed and shake it into the
nest.
We
have noticed several waves of fish that have already spawned
out. But, our spawn last into May, so this bite will continue
for some time to come.
Keep
a close eye on the weather that led up to your trip. Try to fish
where the recent wind and rain has not affected the water by
turbulence and current. This is where your shallow fish will
be congregated.
Of
all the times that I have spoke about Costa Del Mar sunglasses,
now is the most important time to have a pair with you. The 580
and 400 lenses will allow you to see more bed fish, hydrilla
breaks and differences on the bottom than any brand on the market
today.
Thanks
to my sponsors Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Gotcha Distributing
(Dealer inquiries-contact Ron Peterson at 903-856-8083), Gene
Larew, Revenge Jigs, Sebile, Arkie, Power Pro Fishing Line, Seaguar
Fishing Line, and Custom Angle Moby bass rods.
Feel
free to contact me anytime via email lakeforkdayandnight@yahoo.com or
by phone 903-918-9469 if you ever have any questions about Lake
Fork or to book your next guided fishing trip on this fine fishery.
I hope to see you soon!
Guide
Clint Wright
Lake Fork Day and Night Guide Service
www.lakeforkdayandnight.us
903-342-3497
903-918-9469
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