Lake Fork Marina Fishing Report

Lake Fork Trophy Bass Report
By Guide James Caldemeyer

The spawn is in full swing here at Lake Fork and some really big fish are being caught on a daily basis. Matt Yost from Martin Gas Co. can attest to that as he managed to top his personal best with a fish yesterday that weighed 10 lbs 2 ounces. There are a number of these big fish up shallow right now and they are accessible to the many anglers that are out on the water this time of year.
The wind has been the biggest factor the past few days, with 35-40 mph winds each day. This has made it hard to get out across the lake to certain areas that the fish are in and has made casting a bait to them even a challenge at times. The forecast is calling for the wind to calm down the next few days though. Water temperatures have been conducive for spawning activity at 59-63 degrees. The water clarity has been a big factor with some of the creeks being stained//muddy and some that are fairly clear to about 2 feet. Although there are still fish in the areas that are stained, I have been more successful fishing the clearer water that still holds good water temps.
Key areas to catch these spawning fish have been at the very back of the major creeks and pockets from mid-lake all the way north. With the lake fuller than it has been in several years, these fish are in virtually no water making beds. 5 feet of water or less has been the most productive. Wave Worm Tiki-Sticks http://www.wavefishing.com and flukes in green pumpkin or any watermelon color have been the best producers for me. I am rigging these baits weightless, slightly weighted or wacky style and am throwing them on a 7’2” Shimano Cumara Med. Hvy. rod spooled with 16 lb Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line. A 4/0 wide gap hook will do the job on the flukes and Tiki-Sticks when fishing them weightless and I am using a Mr. Blitz 4/0 Pinacky with a 1/32 oz. weight molded into the hook on my wacky rigs. The key to getting bites has been fishing these baits very slow. Texas rigged lizards and brush hogs are good choices as well for flipping the shallow grass and timber in these same areas.
As most of the fishing crowd is focusing on the spawning fish, you can also retreat to the points, creek channel edges, and first break line adjacent to these spawners to concentrate your efforts on some really nice pre spawn females that are staging. A ½ oz. white or white/chart. Talon spinner bait http://www.talonlures.com , ½ oz. jig, chatter bait, or big swim bait is my favorite for going after a real big one. Especially on the cloudy windy days.
These patterns will remain the same for the next few weeks as the spawn rolls along. The only thing that will change is the erratic springtime weather and with that the locations that are most productive one day, may not be the next. Pay close attention to the weather forecast. The changes that the weather makes from day to day and the effect it has on the lake will greatly increase your odds of catching that big one!
If you would like to book a trip for some great bass fishing on Lake Fork, feel free to give me a call at (903)736-9888 or email me lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com You can also visit my website at http://www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com I would like to thank the good Lord & my sponsors for their support.

Read 1 Peter 3:18

Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer

The fishing on Lake Fork has been great this last week. Many of those fish that keep getting pushed out by cold front after cold front have finally moved up to stay. This week I have had 4 days over 30 fish and one day with over 40 fish. On the north end of the lake there are a few beds starting to show up and they seem to be healthy and in good shape. These fish that are first on the beds are always pretty easy to catch so its lots of fun if you can located these early spawners. There is lots of flooded cover around the banks that will be great spawning areas for these fish so look forward to a great spawn this year as long as the weather doesn’t turn south again and again.

The pattern is pretty much like it is every year for this time of year on Fork. Look for lots of fish to be cruising the grass flats and spawning flats close to creek bends and deep water. This time of year I like to concentrate on two types of fish. The shallow fish that are active and ready to go or the fish that are coming into spawn that are still holding in a little deeper water. It basically breaks down to the active male fish and the slower deeper females.

On the flats look for large areas of grass and sand mixed with some ditches or small creeks running through it located in 1-4 feet of water. For Flats fishing I like to throw several different baits to make sure I pick up every possible fish in the area. I like to start out with a Gary Yamamoto Swimsenko on a 1/8th ounce bullet weight. I will cover lots of area with this by just throwing it out and swimming back in on a steady retrieve. Once I feel like I have worked the area over and picked up the extremely active fish I will switch to a Gary Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm or Lizard. I will throw the lizard on the same rig as the swim Senko and crawl it along the bottom with slight bumps and short pauses. On the Kut Tail I will rig it up weedless on a ½ hook and a ½ piece of an insert weight stuffed in to the head of the worm. Work these baits slow with slight twitches and long puses and pay close attention to your line to detect those subtle bites. On all thes baits I will stay with my natural colors such as the watermelons with any color flake, green pumpkins, and pumpkinseeds with a chartreuse dyed tail.

For those anglers looking for the fish of a life time to get out that flipping stick and spool it up with some 50lb braid. For those big females holding in the creeks I will pitching and flipping a Strike Works Tackle 1/2 ounce Wood Jig in watermelon/red or black/blue/purple with matching Gary Yamamoto Craws. Work the cover lining the creek very well and slow. Work down the creek and then turn around and work it back out. Watch and pay attention to what’s going on as the bites might vary from day to day. Work the creek channels in 6 to 15 feet of water for some good action. Another hot spot will be brush piles located in 8 to 15 feet of water. Work through these very slow using the jig like a texas rig. The bites are a little easier to feel like this but make sure you get the fish out of the brush as fast as possible after you set the hook.

I still have April29, and 30th open and some May dates available along with some weekend dates for those interested. If you are interested in a professional Lake Fork Guide trip for any time give me a call at (903)-216-1867 and I will be happy to help or answer any questions that you may have. You can also catch me at http://www.fishinlakefork.com and email me from there. Gift certificates are available for any occasion.

Guide Jimmy Everett
Jimmy@fishinlakefork.com

Proudly Sponsored by: Sun Valley Fiberglass (www.svalley.org), Fun-N-Sun boating centers (www.funnsunboats.com), Strike Works Tackle (www.strikeworkstackle.com), Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits (www.baits.com), SDMI (www.slickfishlure.com), 2M coating (www.2mcoating.com) & http://www.rockchips.com, Oak Ridge Resort (www.oakridgemarina.com)

A major warming trend has Lake Fork bass rapidly heading towards the first wave of spawning. After recent days of sun burnt customers wearing shorts, it’s hard to believe that we fished all morning in a major snowstorm on March 7th with water temps dipping into the upper 40s. While the bass had been biting very strong in the backs of creeks before the cold front, I’ve caught most of my fish on an “outside” pattern since then–around grass and timber on points and creek channels leading into spawning areas. As the water warmed back up, the bite was slow for numbers most days with a lot of 6 to 10 fish days, although we did manage to catch some big bass. In addition, Fork anglers donated two fish over 13 lbs this week to TX’s ShareLunker program. With a few more warm days and the full moon next week, I expect a major wave of spawners to hit the shallows any day now in warmer areas of the lake. As usual, we’ll have waves of spawners move up through April, with a few stragglers on beds into mid-May.

Lake Conditions: Since a few heavy rains brought Lake Fork up well over full pool, the water level dropped steadily, currently reading 402.84’, about 2 inches below full pool. The current created by drawing water from the lake pulled a lot of muddy water from the very backs of creeks and much of the lake is stained to muddy. Meanwhile, the south end and some protected creeks remain clear. Water temps were reading from 56 to 67 degrees on Saturday, up considerably from last week.

Location Pattern: For prespawn bass, concentrate on points, creek channels, treelines, and inside or outside grass lines near shallow spawning flats. With the water being cold this week, we did better around grass and wood cover in 4’ to 10’ in the backs of creeks or on cover on or near the main lake. In many cases, we’ve caught multiple fish from very small areas, so really work an area over once you’ve caught a fish there. A few spawning bass are currently located in protected bays and typically in the very back ends of creeks. As the water continues to warm, flats and bays nearer the mouths of coves will start holding spawners, too.

Presentation Pattern: For prespawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits are still catching a lot of fish, especially on overcast and windy days. For a big bass, go with a ½ oz chatterbait with a shad colored 4.5 Live Magic Shad trailer and swim it in the same areas you throw a trap or spinnerbait. On calm days, you’ll typically do better by switching to a suspending jerkbait or pitching a jig and a Texas rig. Go with gold jerkbaits on cloudy days, while silver color schemes work better on sunny days. Work these baits with a few twitches and long pauses. 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 Mega Weight 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 Top Dog Lizard in black neon or watermelon/chartreuse with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Live Magic Shads, Twitch Worms, and Ring Frys become your best option. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, with green pumpkin baits with the tail dipped in chartreuse being the top producer lately.

For spawning bass, white or watermelon Top Dog lizards, 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. Most 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. 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 http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Good Fishing,

Tom