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John Tanner Lake Fork Report Feb 27, 2011

February 27, 2011

Greetings anglers from the big bass factory. March here at Lake Fork means one thing. The big ones are on the move and heading to the shallows to participate in their annual spawn routine. It is a great time of year for the shallow water angler to come to Lake Fork and catch some really big bass. This year the water levels are low so you might find things a little different out on the lake while you are searching for those lunkers. A lot of places that you usually find them may be a bit shallow for them to move in to this spring. That being said fish those areas out in front of those pockets that have good cover and you can hit the gold mine. Fishing should be great this spring as the low water will have the bass concentrated in smaller areas. That is a good problem to have! A lot of the fish will spawn on the wood this year and that will make for some good flipping and pitching. I love to flip and pitch and I am going to love doing that with some new baits that Berkley is coming out with this spring called “Berkley Havoc”. These pro designed baits will feature the best shapes, actions and colors of anything out there. They will have several different baits and some great ones for flipping and pitching. Look for them at your local tackle retailer or when you are in the Lake Fork area swing by Lake Fork Marina. They should have them soon. So give them a try and unleash the action! Look for fish along the shallow creek beds and at the mouths of the shallow pockets along tree lines and points. Be sure to come ready for the big ones while flipping and pitching and have some strong line and a good rod and reel combo for fighting those monsters and pulling them from the heavy cover. I like to use one of the new ABU Garcia Veritas rods in a 7ft heavy action and a ABU Garcia reel spooled with 20 or 25 pound test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon line or 50 pound test Spiderwire Ultracast Ulitmate braid. You dont want to go home and talk about the one that got away. I kinda like taking home pictures on my cell phone or digital camera if you know what I mean! Now is also a good time to catch them on wacky rigs and chatter baits. On the wacky rig I love to use the Berkley Heavy Weight Sink Worm. These baits are awesome to use and work perfect for wacky worming. The weighted material used to make the Sink Worm eliminates the need to insert a nail weight. It also cast and fishes great in the wind due to the weighted plastic used to make this awesome bait by Berkley. www.berkley-fishing.com . On the chatterbaits I love the new swim jigs by Talon called the Shibui. These things are sweeeeet! www.talonlures.com . Lake Fork fishing in March is a hoot so if you want to catch some big ones now is the time. If you would like to book a guide trip here on Lake Fork call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or check us out on the web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com. On our website look for fishing reports, photos of monster bass, videos of monster bass and other info about coming to Lake Fork. Also check us out on facebook under John Tanner.

While you are in the area be sure and go by and visit our local Ranger Boat dealer Diamond Sports Marine located over on how 154. They are a full service Ranger dealer and carry a full line of Ranger Boats. Tell em Tanner sent ya! For info on the best bass boats in the world go to www.rangerboats.com.

Please pray for our troops and their families as they put it on the line for us every day. Also pray for the sick and the lost. Read John 3:16

Good fishin and God Bless,

John and Robin Tanner

Many thanks to my sponsors.

John Tanners Lake Fork Guide Service

FLW Touring Pro

Public Speaker – Fishing Seminars, motivational speaker

Website www.lakeforkbassguide.com

Email tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com

Office 1-800-865-2282

Cell 903-569-7451

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John Tanner Lake Fork Report January 2011

January 21, 2011

With the lake levels being low the grass lines will hold a ton of fish and if it stays dry and the lake gets lower more and more fish will set up on the outer grass edges. There are a lot of baits you can crank the grass with. Top choices in my Ranger Boat are lipless crank baits, chatter baits, shallow crank baits and also Talon Spin-ner baits. On the lip-less crank baits and shallow runners good colors are red, orange and sexy shad colors. You might even throw a firetiger in the mix. On the chatter baits and spinner baits white and chartreuse are great color choices. The jig bite can be good as well so have some half ounce Talon Football Head jigs on hand. These jigs work good on the edge of the hydrilla. Tip them with a Berkley 3″ or 4″ Chigger Craw and you will be in business. Now this time of year some really big fish pull up and winter in the grass beds so be ready with some big line. I like to use 20 pound test Berkley Trilene 100% fluoro-carbon line on my ABU Garcia Revo reels and ABU Garcia Vendetta rods. This stuff is awesome and will handle the big mamas. While cranking the grass roll your baits over the top and also down the edges of the weeds making contact with the grass and pulling it free as you make a steady retrieve with your lure. This technique will make for some big time strikes and some times they will stop it like a freight train! On the football jig pitch it on the edges of the grass hopping it a few times as soon as it hits the bottom. The bass will bust it on the fall. This bite is fun and will produce some big uns! It can be chilly while fishing in January but those fish will be laying up in the grass getting some sun and eating well. You probably won’t catch the numbers of fish you would say in the summer but the average size you catch this time of year will be impressive. So that being said… hook up and come down to Lake Fork and get in on the ac-tion. There are a lot of really big bass caught in January every year. While you are here be sure and sign up for the Lake Fork Bounty Bonanza. Go by Lake Fork Marina for de-tails. If you would like to book a guided trip here on Lake Fork call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. Or for more booking info including fishing reports, awesome big bass photos and even some amazing big bass videos, check us out on the web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com. Also check us out on Facebook under John Tanner. Hopefully these tips will help you catch some big New Years Bass. Please pray for our troops and their families as they serve our great country. Also pray for the sick and the lost. Got Jesus? Read John 3:16. Good fishin and God Bless, John and Robin Tanner Many thanks to my sponsors.

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12.72 Guide John Tanner, caught by client Bob Hartfield

December 3, 2010

Little late on getting the picture up of this hog! 12.72! Grats Bob!

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John Tanner December 2010 Lake Fork Report

December 3, 2010

Hello all you Big Bass fans out there. Welcome to Lake Fork TX the big bass capital. December has rushed in here and what a fast year it has been. Just seems like yesterday we were talking about spring fishing and now here we are talking about fishing in December. I guess time flies when you are having fun and fun we have had this year on Lake Fork. Fishing this time of year on Lake Fork gives you an oppurtunity to catch some really big bass. Some call them big mamas, hawgs, pigs, toads or as a good friend of mine calls them mop squeezers. No matter your choice of words describing the large bug eyed version of trophy sized monster bass, this time of year can produce a fish of a lifetime for you. Just ask Mr. Bob Hartfield from Trenton TN who fished with me on 11/24 the day before Thanksgiving. We had an awesome morning of fishing and God blessed Bob with an amazing bass weighing 12.72lbs. We thought he had caught a share a lunker but it was just short. Anyway it was a blessing and truly a fish of a lifetime for Bob.Congratulations!!!! I really like fishing the winter months and the techniques used to catch them. You can go at them shallow or deep. In the deep water swim baits like the Berkley Power Mullet, Talon Big Dandy Spoon, and football jig are great choices for catching deep water hogs. Look for the big ones at the mouths of the creeks on channel bends, deep main lake points and humps and road beds. Look for big schools of yellow and white bass with big large mouths mixed in.On the new Lowrance HDS units you can see them clearly. Those big monster bass will be in there devouring those yellow and white bass along with the shad. Slow roll the baits mentioned through the school along the bottom and hang on to your stuff! You can catch some big ones in shallower water this time of year as well which is great on those days when it is to windy to fish the deep spots on the main lake. Hit the hydrilla beds with spinner baits, chatterbaits tipped with a Berkley Jerk Shad, jigs and if the water temps drop into the 50′s or below go with the red lipless crankbaits and suspending jerkbaits. Fish the points and deeper edges of the weed lines and any stumps on or just off of the edge of the grass line.Look for green hydrilla to fish and if you are not sure look for big flocks of coots on the shoreline or out in the flats in the backs of some of the big bays up the lake. They are always feeding over these grass beds. Also hit the creek channels and flip the stumps and lay downs with texas rigged Berkley Chigger Craws using a 1/4 to 5/16 ounce Tru Tungsten bullet weight and also jigs in green pumpkin or texas craw color tipped with a Berkley Chigger Chunk. The Chigger Chunk and Chigger Craw have some awesome swimming action and will make that jig or texas rig come alive! They will hammer on it! Yes december is a good time to catch a big ole Lake Fork Hawg. With the season winding down to a close I cant think of a better way to end the year. If you would like to book a guided trip here on Lake Fork call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. From the beginner to the expert we will make your trip to Lake Fork one to remember. For more booking info check us out on the world wide web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com. Click on the trip info page for info and for a look at a ton of happy anglers holding their Lake Fork trophies be sure and click on the photo section. Cooprate trips are welcome with lodging and catering available.If you are in the market for a Ranger Boat my 2011 model Ranger Z521 rigged with one of the new Yamaha 250 hp SHO Four Strokes (factory demo with full warranties) will be available soon at an awesome price. Drop me a line or give me a call if you are interested in saving some big bucks on this awesome boat. I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and here is wishing you a Merry CHRISTmas. Remember Jesus is the reason for the season. John 3:16..

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John Tanner November 2010 Lake Fork Report

November 19, 2010

Greetings from the great Lake Fork. You gotta love this time of year. The weather is cooling down and the seasons are changing as Thanksgiving draws near. Hunting season also is kicking in and is in full swing. I like that because it takes alot of people of off the lake and reduces the fishing pressure. November is a really good time of year to catch big bass. The fish do some heavy feeding this month as we head into winter. I guess you could say that the big mamas are putting on their winter coat! Current water levels are running about 3 1/2 ft. low and the surface water temps are running between 65 and 67 degrees. We had some much needed rain the past few days and it was a cool rain cooling down the temps a bit. It has been pretty dry and I am thankful to God for sending the good rain.One of the good things about this time of year is that many different patterns will boat their share of fish. And with the lake being pretty low this year it will hold especially true. You can catch them both deep and shallow which is what we have been doing the last week or so. I like that because you can fish according to the conditions you are dealt by the weather and with a good concentration of fish in deep and shallow water it gives you more options to work with. How good is that! In the shallows topwaters, Talon buzzbaits, spinner baits and Chatter Baits using Berkley Jerk Shad for a trailer will do a great job catching fish this month. Texas rigged Plastics such as the Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw and the all new Berkley Flipping Tail Worm are great choices to fish on a Texas rig using a 1/4 ounce Tru Tungsten bullet weight. With the water being low you can smash them while flipping stumps along creek channels and drop offs leading into the creeks. Be sure and use some strong line like Trilene 100% Flouro carbon. I love this stuff. It is super strong and will handle the big ones in the heavy cover. On the flip side of things the deep bite is a good way to go for big ones as well. You can find schools of big bass on points leading into creek channel hanging around the huge schools of shad and yellow bass. Good depths are 22 to 30 ft. once you find them on your graph you can catch them on Carolina rigged Berkley Wacky Crawlers, Talon Football Jigs with a Berkley Twin Tail Grub for a trailer and also big flutter spoons. The big ones will be right in the middle of the schools of barfish sometimes as they love to feed on these tasty little dudes. The barfish ( yellow bass ) are an excellent source of protein for the bass.

Yes, November is a great month to fish Lake Fork and catch some Hogs. If you would like to book a guided trip with us call toll free 1-800-865-2282 or check us out on the web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com. Click on the trip info section for more booking info and be sure to click on the photo section for a look at a ton of happy folks holding their Lake Fork Giants. You can also see some cool videos on our website.From the beginner to the expert we will make your trip to Lake Fork one to remember. While you are in the area be sure and visit Diamond Sports Marine our local Ranger Boat Dealer and tell em Tanner sent ya. I have a 2011 Ranger Z521 rigged with one of the new Yamaha SHO Four Strokes available. This boat is a demo and will come with full warranties on the boat and motor. Give me a ring if you are interested or call Ben Hogan at Diamond Sports Marine at 903-383-7829. Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless.

Please Pray for our country and our troops. Also pray for the sick and the lost. Read Matthew 6:33. Got Jesus??

Good fishin and God Bless,
John and Robin Tanner
Visit www.lakeforkbassguide.com for more info.

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September Lake Fork Bass Report Guide John Tanner

August 30, 2010

Hey Folks lets talk September bassin on Lake Fork. We had a blast last month in August and it looks like September will be a blast as well. I really look forward to this time of year as we are kind of winding down from summer and headed for some better and hopefully a little cooler weather in September. This means transition time for the bass. The water temps will start to cool a bit and usually the lake is getting a little lower due to dry conditions. The main lake can try to start turning over a bit in certain parts of the lake and this will put the fish on the move. The cleanest water will usaully be in the shallower areas and if you look it will be a better color. This holds true for just about any lake this time of year. We had a little cool front towards the end of last month and it cooled the surface temps down 5 or so degrees for a few days. The put a ton of bait fish in the shallow grass and alot of the big bass hit the shallows too feed on them. The lake level has been dropping as well and this really will group up the fish. Look for them along shallow drop with some good healhty grass and you will be in business. I am not saying the deep bite is washed up by any means. I am just letting you know that if the deep bite is not working out for you on a given day you can hit some shallower water and do good in September. When it gets like this schooling fish can be plentiful and easy to catch on shallow crankbaits like lipless crankbaits and swim baits like the Berkley Hollow Belly in the Gizzard Shad color. I really like to throw this bait over the grass when the fish are up feeding on the tons of baitfish that will run the grass early and late in the day. We have seen some incredible schooling action late last month and I look for it to continue this month as it normally does here on Lake Fork in the fall. Texas rigged Berkley Power Worms in either Blue Fleck or Plum colors on a 3/16 ounce Tru Tungsten bullet weight is a great bait to use and will catch plenty of fish this time of year in the shallows. For a look at the Berkley Hollow Belly Swim Baits and Power Baits go to www.purefishing.com .Or if you are in the Lake Fork area on a guided trip or just fun fishing go by Lake Fork Marina for a great selection of Berkley and other fine Pure fishing products.Other good choices are topwaters for early morning and late evening like 1/4 ounce Talon Buzzbaits in white and also topwater plugs like pop r type baits and frogs. The fish really seem to get on a frog bite in September and I like to use the Madd Maxx frog by Tru Tungsten (www.tru-tungsten.com). It is an awesome frog and comes in some cool colors. Throw it on the matted stuff in the mornings and hang on. Dont foget to use a good braided line while throwing the frog like Spiderwire Ultra Cast. I like using the Low Vis Green in the 50 pound test. It cast like a dream on a ABU Garcia Revo Premier reel . You can make super long cast and really wing it out there which is important in frog fishing. The deep bite gets a little tricky this month but you can still hammer out deep if you get on the right spot. The main thing is to search the off shore structure very carefully with your electronics. I use the new Lowrance HDS8 unit and I tell you they are really good. It will show me the structure whether it be a hump, pond dam, road bed or deep point. It will show me in detail the cover on whatever structure I am searching either with its awesome Structure Scan and even the sonar itself is unmatched. Check them out on line at www.lowrance.com or if you are going to be here for the Mcdonalds tourney later in the month come by the Lowrance booth and let the Lowrance experts show you all about the awesome HDS units. They make my life alot easier while guiding here on Lake Fork and fishing FLW Tour events. Good rigs for the deep bite here on Lake Fork as always are carolina rigged Wacky Crawlers and Power Worms, drop shots using Wacky Crawlers and Talon Football Head Jigs with a Berkley Twin Tail grub for a trailer. Big Talon Flutter spoons “The Big Dandy” are good this time of year on suspended fish. Check them out at www.talonlures.com . September is here and the fall bite is shaping up already. If you would like to book a guided trip here on Lake Fork give us a ring toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. And of course you can find us on the web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com. Check out the awesome photo section for a look at tons of happy anglers holding their Lake Fork Trophy Bass. We will teach you all we can in a day and have a great time here on Lake Fork! While you are in the area be sure and visit our local Ranger Boat Dealer Diamond Sports Marine located on hwy154. Ask for Ben Hogan and tell em Tanner sent ya. Go by and check out the new Z521 Ranger rigged with one of the all new Yamaha VMAX SHO Four Stroke engines. One word, AWESOME!!!! I will have a 2011 demo for sale at a great price soon so if you are interested give us a ring and let us save you some serious bucks on a great boat.Go to www.rangerboats.com for a look at the new model Rangers and www.yamaha-motors.com for a look at the all new SHO Four Stroke. Remember if you want to book your fall, winter or spring trips give us a ring to make sure you get the dates you need to fit your schedule. Be sure to check out All Outdoors TV in the next couple weeks on FSN. We did a show with Bill Wilcox and it should air around the middle of the month. Thanks to Bill and gang for coming and fishing with me. I always have a blast when they come and do a show. Good Fishing and be safe.

Please pray for country as well as the sick and the lost. I am thankful to God for what I get to do each day and for what a difference He has made in my life since I turned it over to Him. Got Jesus? Read John 3:16

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Lake Fork July Bassin is HOT, Guide John Tanner

June 29, 2010

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Lake Fork July Bassin is HOT Hello everyone and welcome to Lake Fork. July is here and it is time for some heavy duty summer time Bass fishing. The weather is Hot and so is the fishing so read this article and let us tell you the techniques we use to catch the big ones here on Lake Fork. This time of year the deep bite is normally the way to go while looking for a trophy sized Lake Fork giant. What I mean buy the deep bite is fishing off shore structure away from shore. Out on the middle of most lakes especially Lake Fork there is a ton of off shore structure such as submerged humps, pond dams, road beds, ridges and long points that extend way out into the lake before dropping into deep water. It is like another world out there! Anything like this that comes up off of the bottom with a decent drop off on one or both sides attract baitfish and are excellent feeding grounds for schools of hungry bass. In the summer time many of the Bass will school up in large groups and travel in these schools and feed heavily. Once you figure out where this happens and know the areas out in the lake that the fish are using you are in business. How do I start you say? Well a good sonar/gps unit is a must as well as a good map within your unit. Navionics makes some awesome map cards you can plug into your unit and will show you the bottom contours of the lake in great detail. I like to use the them in my Lowrance HDS8. Lowrance makes the best sonar/gps units on the market and also have the structure scan available which makes them even better. If you haven’t taken a look at the latest and greatest technology from Lowrance go to www.lowrance.com and check it out. Being proficient with your unit and knowing how to use it is crucial to your success while fishing the deep water. Most folks can recognize the bottom but if you can actually see and identify the bass and schools of baitfish and distinguish them over the other fish you are way ahead of the game. You mean you can actually look at the Lowrance and tell a Bass from another species of fish you say? You bet you can! It may be a little intimidating at first but just like anything else the more you do it the easier it gets. When you go to the lake and are trying to learn your unit and what it is trying to tell you always take your owners manual with you. It will be a big help. Another good way to get the hang of it is to go with someone who knows. Let them show you what the bass look like on the screen and then let them test you and see if you can pick them out. Once you are sure what you are looking at then it is time to go fishing. Boat control and positioning is another very important aspect of off shore structure fishing. You must position your boat to where you can cast your lure over and beyond the school of Bass and work you bait back through them. Once you mark a school of fish on you unit idle past them a ways then toss out a buoy marker. This will give you a reference point to the location of the school. Put you boat to either side of the school and then cast over and beyond them. Then work you bait through them. This will increase you catch ratio and is much better than landing you bait right on top of them every cast which will eventually spook the school leaving you wondering why they stopped biting. Now let’s talk techniques. The top five rigs for deep water fishing in my opinion are the Carolina rig, texas rig worm, football jig, big flutter spoon and either the drop shot or the swim baits. I know that is six but they are all good and will boat plenty of fish this time of year. On my Carolina rig I like to use a one ounce Tru Tungsten bullet or flipping weight, Mustad two way swivel with about a 4 foot leader and then a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad wide gap hook. The reason for the Tru Tungsten weight is for better feel and more weedless fishing. Tungsten is heavier and much harder than lead giving you a better feel than lead. And with the insert free technology offered by Tru Tungsten I would say that they are the best tungsten weights on the market. Other tungsten weights have inserts which can muffle the feel while you are fishing. Go to www.tru-tungsten.com . The baits for me are the Berkley Power Bait Wacky Crawlers, Slim Shaky Worms, regular 7” or 10” Power Worms and the all new Berkley Thump Worm. On the Texas Rig I like to use the ½ ounce Tru Tungsten weight along with the 10 or 12 inch Berkley Power worms. Good colors are green pumpkin, blue fleck and a new color which is watermelon red and purple flake. Talon football head jigs in ¾ ounce with a Berkley 3” Twin tail grub are the deal and on the spoon go with the Talon Fork Flutter Spoon. This time of year use some strong line as these deep water fish pull very hard and will test your equipment. I use the awesome Berkley Trilene 100% flouro carbon line. 20 pound test on the big stuff and 12 pound on the drop shot rig.The drop shot is a blast to use and I like to rig it on my ABU Garcia Vendetta 6’-6” spinning rod and ABU Garcia Soron SX20 spinning reel. This is an awesome rig and really fun to fish with. Good baits on the drop shot are the Wacky Crawler and Slim Shaky Worm in the Power Bait or Berkley Gulp. Green pumpkin watermelon or red bug are good standard colors for deep fishing. For a look at Vendetta rods, ABU Garcia reels such as the Soron Spinning reels and even the awesome long casting Revo reels go to www.purefishing.com . You can even take a look at all of the Berkley line and baits there as well. Lake Fork Marina carries a huge line of the products mentioned so if you are in the area swing by and check it out or order on line at www.lakeforkmarina.com. While you are in the area be sure and visit our local Ranger Boat dealer Diamond Sports Marine located on hwy 154. Tell em Tanner sent ya. Go to www.rangerboats.com for a look at the latest and greatest from Ranger the world leader in Bass boats. If you would like info on booking a trip here on Lake Fork and learn more about deep water fishing or talk about night fishing if the heat is a bit much for ya call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com . Or check us out on the world wide web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com for fishing reports cool videos and other helpful fish catching tips. Also click on the trip info page and for a look at tons of photos of big bass click on the photo page. It is awesome! Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook search word John Tanner or John Tanner Pro Fishing. Many Thanks to my sponsors. Please pray for our country and our military as well as the sick and the lost. Read 1 Samuel 12:24.

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John Tanner Lake Fork Report June 8, 2010

June 8, 2010

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June Bassin is a blast here on Lake Fork and this week it has been just that. The past few days we have been catching a lot of fish off of the deep water off shore structure. This is traditionally a good pattern going into the summer months as the fish really start to school up and feed heavily on the plentiful schools of bait fish. Lake conditions are good as the water level is still close to full pool. The water is also clearing up fast and surface temps are running in the low to mid 80’s. Look for fish running in schools and hanging around the main lake points, pond dams, road beds and humps. Good electronics are very important this time of year when the fish start bunching on the deep spots. I like to use the new Lowrance HDS8. These are awesome units and will pin point the schools of fish on the particular structure you are searching. Once you find the sweet spot you can mark the location with a waypoint and come back to it the next time you hit the lake. I love the mapping system and the detailed contour lines as well. You can search the map and find the humps much easier when you are looking at the map as you are checking the sonar. If you want to kick it another notch, check into the Structure Scan system. It will show you what is really down there. You will be amazed so go to www.lowrance.com for more details on the HDS units as well as the awesome Structure Scan. Most of the fish we have been catching have been hanging in 20 to 28 ft of water. On calm days we have been enjoying some schooling action as well so keep your spooks and Berkley Hollow Belly Swim Baits handy. Otherwise we have been catching them on Carolina rigs using Berkley Wacky Crawlers and Power Worms. Other good baits for us so far this week has been 10 inch Berkley Power Worms, ¾ ounce Talon Football Head jigs ( www.talonlures.com) with a Berkley Twin tail grub for a trailer, a Talon Flutter Spoon and a big Berkley Power Mullet Swimbait. These baits are pretty much the staple for my summer time fishing. I will throw in a drop shot into the mix every now and then but haven’t needed it this week. As far as the line I have been using 17 pound test Berkley Trilene 100% Flouro carbon line and spooling it my ABU Garcia Vendetta Rods and ABU Garcia Revo reels. On the Carolina Rig I like the heavy action 7’6” flipping rod. It will nail those big ones in deep water and handle the battle from those deep water pigs. For a look at the Berkley Power Baits, ABU Garcia Rod and reels and the Trilene line go to www.pure-fishing.com. Speaking of Berkley baits they have introduced some new ones that I am real excited about. Be on the look out for the all new Chigger Toad and Thump Worm. These are awesome new baits and if you are in the Lake Fork area you can get them over at Lake Fork Marina. Or order online at www.lakeforkmarina.com. They have the best selection of Berkley products around. Yea the deep summer time bite has been good and I cant think of anything much more fun than pulling up on a hump and catch a bunch of big Lake Fork pigs out of deep water. It is the deal! If you would like to book a trip with us call toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. For more booking info go to www.lakeforkbassguide.com and click on the trip info page. It will fill you in on some details about booking a trip with us here on Lake Fork. While you are looking at our site be sure to click on the awesome photo section for a look at tons of happy folks holding their Lake Fork trophies. You can also check us out on Facebook. Search word John Tanner. While you are in the Lake Fork area and you need boat service or are in the market for a new Ranger Bass Boat be sure and stop by Diamond Sports Marine on hwy 154. DSM carries a full line of Ranger Boats with Yamaha outboards. Speaking of Yamaha you need to test drive one of the new Vmax SHO four strokes. These new engines from Yamaha are amazing. The SHO is lighter than the 2 strokes and will out perform them. Go to www.yamaha-motors.com for more info. When you go by or call Diamond Sports Marine schedule a test ride and be sure to tell em Tanner sent ya. For you folks in the D/FW area DSM has a new location in Rockwall Texas on hwy 276 ask for Ben Hogan. Go to www.rangerboats.com for details on the new model Ranger Boats as well. The new Z-521 is awesome! Many thanks to my sponsors and I am thankful everyday to the good Lord for allowing me to do what I do. Please pray for our military and their families as they put it on the line for us each day. Also pray for my mother as she is still battling her MS. Read Galatians 6:8-9.

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Lake Fork Report by Guide John Tanner Feb 2010

February 25, 2010

Hello everyone from the great Lake Fork. Here is a report on how fishing has been as well as current water levels and surface temps from the last few days. The current water levels here on Lake Fork as of 2/22 at 9:15CST are at 403.01 according to the USGS website. Due to the below average air temps the water surface temps have been pretty chilly. We have had some warmer weather the last few days and have seen a bit of a warm up with surface temps ranging from 48 to 53 degrees over the weekend. That isn’t too bad considering the weather we have been having. We have another pretty solid front coming in so it will cool of a little but never the less the fish are still moving up. Fishing last week was tough but starting showing some improvement towards the end of the week as the water warmed up. It has all been about timing. The bite seemed to be best the first hour of the day and then kicked on again in the afternoon say from 2:30 till around 4:30( the warmest part of the day). This is typical for this time of year if we have had some cooler weather. We are still catching them in shallow water on red lipless crankbaits, suspending jerkbaits in shad patterns and I have noticed some good ones being caught on spinner baits the last few days. I haven’t been throwing them as much but when I do I use the Talon Spinner Bait. I like the double willows with a chartreuse skirt in dirty water. I have seen some good ones being caught on spinner baits from other boats that have been fishing around us. I also saw where someone weighed a fish over 11 pounds in at Lake Fork Marina that was caught on a spinner bait over the weekend. Looks like it time to keep that spinner bait in my hand a little longer.. The fish here at Lake Fork are feeding on shad over the grass beds. I have seen a lot of baitfish in some of the protected pockets. These areas have been the best producers. I have actually seen some fish chasing shad in the last few outings. Another key to catching fish in the last few days has been the speed of your retrieve, especially on the lipless crankbaits and spinner baits. We have been rolling them pretty slow and with a steady retrieve. Not so much jerking it out of the grass. When the bait hits the grass pulling it through the grass instead of ripping it free has produced much better for us. On the suspending jerkbait after jerking it down we have been letting it sit for a long time between twitches, say 10 to 12 seconds. This has been the best retrieve for that and we have had some really nice fish on them. As a matter of fact you can go to our new video section and see some of them from recent trips. These are fun to watch so check them out! On the lipless crankbait my rod and reel choices have been one of the new ABU Garcia Premier Reels along with a ABU Garcia Vendetta Rods in the 7′-3″ medium heavy and also the All Star ASR Series Crankin Stick. I have one spooled with 17 pound Berkley Trilene 100% Flouro one of the best mehcarbon line and another spooled with good ole Berkley Big Game. Both of these lines are outstanding and do a great job. On the new Premier reels I am here to tell you I do believe these are the best reels I have used. They have 2 sets of brakes and you can adjust them and make the reel do whatever you want. If you want to make a super long cast click all of the internal brakes in and hang on! This thing will cast a mile. I like making long cast while fishing grass. It makes a big difference as you can cover more water with each cast and find those pockets of fish. This time of year during the pre spawn they will be bunched up in small groups so covering tons of water is most productive. These patterns should hold until the water warms up later in the week as the forecast for then is looking pretty good. If the water warms and stays in the 50′s for a few days start fishing with some weightless soft plastics and use the dead sticking technique. Two of my favorites are the Berkley Power Slug in the Red Shad color and the other is the new Berkley Sink Worm. I rig the Power Slug weightless using a 5/0 Mustad Mega Wide Gap hook and on the Sink Worm I rig it wacky style. The cool thing about the Sink Worm is that you don’t need to insert a weight into the worm. The worm is weighted and is perfect for wacky worming and cast a mile because of the weight of the worm. Give them a try. Fish these two baits along the grass edges leading into the spawning pockets. I always fish these type of baits on Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. The flouro has less stretch and is very sensitive and is also less abrasive. For info on any ABU, All Star, or Berkley products go to www.purefishing.com. They have it all ! Or if you are in the area go by Lake Fork Marina, they have a great selection of Berkley products. Yes the weather has been cooler than normal but the fish are still pulling up. They know it wont be long before the spawn get started in the early spawning areas of Lake Fork. It is time to get rolling! If you would like to book a guide trip with us here at Lake Fork call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. Don’t forget about the new video section and check out the photo page as well for a look at some happy folks holding their Lake Fork trophies. Also check us out on Facebook. Search word John Tanner.

While you are in the area be sure and go by and visit our local Ranger Boat dealer Diamond Sports Marine located on hwy 154. DSM carries a full line of Ranger Boats and has the new models for 2010 in the show room. I am running one of the new Ranger Z-521′s rigged with a Yamaha 250 series2 outboard and it is amazing. Go by and schedule and schedule a test ride when you can and be sure and tell them Tanner sent ya. If you are in the Dallas area go by and visit the new location in Rockwall TX on hwy 276 in behind Southern Junction. Ask for Ben Hogan tell him JT sent ya. At DSM Rockwall they have a hired one of the best outboard mechanics around so if you need some great service they have it. For more info on Ranger Boats go to www.rangerboats.com. For info on Yamaha outboards including the SHO four stroke go to www.yamaha-motor.com.

Please pray for our country. Also pray for our military personnel and their families as they put it on the line for us daily. The sick and the lost need our prayers as well. I am thankful to God for each and everyday. He is in control of every second of our lives, and if we trust in Him and put him first in all that we do our needs will be met according to Him. Read Matthew 6:25 – 33.

Good fishin and God Bless,
John and Robin Tanner
Visit www.lakeforkbassguide.com for more info.
Many thanks to my sponsors.

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Lake Fork February Prespawn 2010 with Guide John Tanner

February 9, 2010

John Tanner has been one of the few people fishing on a regular basis the last few weeks. It has been what I would consider miserable, but he is consistantly been on fish. Here are some pics of some NICE prespawn fish coming out of mid 40 degree water.

Here is a short youtube video: