Lake Fork Marina Fishing Report

John Morris Lake Fork Fishing Report Feb 2012

lfmfr — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:12:22 +0000

FISHING REPORT
FROM: J & M Guide Service
Spring is just about here and we are seeing the bass move up from their 22 to 28 foot water in to the 6 to 8 foot of water. They are still relating to main lake points and creek bends. Since the grass in Lake Fork is still sparse, the fish are relating to small timber.

The baits that work year to year here are Carolina rigged lizards and red rattle Traps. That is still true for this year. Added in to this years mix is a red/black/gold 3/8 ounce spinner bait. The fish are not chasing the bait very far so slow down your retrieve. I find that a 7 foot, medium/heavy action rod coupled with a 5.1 to 1 gear ratio reel works the best, both for the Rattle Trap and spinner bait.

It is also the time of year to go over all of your fishing tackle and boat, motor and trailer to make sure they are in good working order. Here a few things that require some special attention. On you boat trailer you want to pull you tires and wheels and pack your wheel bearings. Check all of your trailer lights for operation and wiring condition. For your big boat motor, drain and service your lower unit, make sure you check it for water. Also grease all your pivot points on the big motor. For your trolling motor, take your prop off and make sure that there is no fishing line around your prop shaft and lube pivot joints as needed. Now for your boat, a good wash job is always in order after sitting all winter. After washing it give is a good coat of wax if it is fiberglass. Check all of your boats lights, bilge pump (s) and electronics for operation.

Spring has allot of special challenges here in East Texas. Rain, wind and sleet come to mind for me. While going through you equipment always check your rain gear for holes and zippers for operation. Nothing is worse that being out in a boat in February or March in a 20 mile an hour wind and it is raining. Stay warm and dry!

Here at Lake Fork, Lake Fork Marina has all of the latest tackle that you need to fish Lake Fork. Stop in and see the friendly folks and check out the selection of fishing tackle and other goodies. As always wear your life jacket and kill switch. See you on the water!

John Morris
J & M Guide Service
1 888-454-7037
bassmr@geusnet.com

Lake Fork Guide John Morris Winter Report

lfmfr — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:01:06 +0000

Water level: 6.01 low

If you are into fishing for Crappie, White Bass, and Yellow Bass, you need to be here at Lake Fork. The Crappie, White Bass and Yellow Bass (Barr Fish) are schooled up and you only need one rod and one bait in your hand. Now, I suppose you want me to tell you what that bait is! Well ok if you insist. It is the Tackle Factor Flash Tail spoon in the Barr Fish color (1/2 oz.). I have fishing it on a 6 foot medium action Falcon rod rigged with 10lb. test clear Stren line. The water is starting to clear up in the deep water so I went to clear line. Well, now that I have let the cat out of the bag and told you that I am fishing in deep water, we are catching them in 29 to 31 foot of water. That is where comfort zone is right now. Where is the question now. We have been catching on main lake points—not under the bridges. Use your death finder and locate any small structure off of the points in 29 to 30 foot of water. Position your boat over the structure and allow your spoon to flutter down to the bottom. Vertically jig the Flash Tail Spoon up and down about 3 feet. Here is the trick. Do it very slow! This week they did not want the spoon jigged up and down fast.

The Largemouth Bass fishing has slowed down. However, while you are vertically jigging the Flash Tail Spoon for Crappie and Yellow Bass you will catch a few very good Largemouth. Here is the reason. The Largemouth are feeding on small Crappie and Barr fish. So that is why I don’t use line smaller the 10lb. test.

The friendly folks at Lake Fork Marina have a good selection of the Tackle Factory spoons. Stop by and pick a few up before you head to the water.

From all of us here at J & M Guide Service, we hope everybody has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

John Morris

J & M Guide Service

1-888-454-7037

bassmr@geusnet.com

Andrew’s Lake Fork Report 1-20-2012

lfmfr — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:33:34 +0000

The warm weather coupled with strong winds really helped the bite today on Fork. The wind is definitley your friend on sunny days. Today I caught fish swimming a jig in the same areas I would normally drag it. I was fishing 3-6′ deep. The rising water temperatures really had the fish in an aggressive mood. Remember that the creek channels are highways for the fish and they don’t sulk all day next to a stump. They’re constantly moving, especially in the warmer weather. So when you find an area that holds fish, fish it several times through the day. When the bite is on, a key area can produce multiple fish. Anywhere you get one bite, can often hold several catchable fish. Timing is everything, it can seem like a slow day, and then its non-stop action for a half hour or longer.

John Tanner Lake Fork Report Jan 2012

lfmfr — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:20:54 +0000

January can really be a good time to catch some huge fish here on Lake Fork. As the days start getting a little longer and the pre spawn and spawn phases are on the horizon, we will start to see a lot of fish head towards and go into the creek channels. With the lake levels being low and all of the wood exposed I can’t think of a better time to spool up you flipping rod and and start pitching jigs and Texas rigged creature baits on the stumps along creek channels and on points at the mouths of the creeks and in front of the early spawning pockets. These areas will attract fish in January into February.

Another good way to catch some big ones this time of year is to use crank baits like the lipless or square billed models. On the jigs I like the half ounce Talon Jig in black and blue this time of year as well as green pumpkin or Texas craw color. My jig trailer of choice is a Berkley Chigger Craw in black with blue flake or green pumpkin. I also like to Texas rig these baits on a Texas rig using a tungsten eight by Affordable Tungsten and a Mustad Mega Bite Extra Wide Gap Hook in 4/0 or 5/0. Other favorite flipping and pitching baits of mine is the new Berkley Havoc “Pit Boss” and “Craw Fatty”. I like to use a heavy action rod for these techniques that have plenty of back bone but that are light weight. At the end of the day it makes a huge difference. I like to use the ABU Garcia Veritas rods with the new micro guides in the 7ft. heavy action or one of the new ABU Garcia Villain rod in the 7’3″ heavy action. For the reel I like to use the ABU Garcia Revo Premier or one of the ABU Garcia Revo MGX reels. The new MGX is a awesome new reel and only weighs 5.4 ounces. How amazing is that! Since you are fishing heavy artillery you need to use some stout line to pull those big ones off of those trees. I like to use 50 or 65 pound test Spider-wire braid or 25 pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line. You never know when the BIG bite is coming so you got to be ready.

January can be a blast and I look forward to catching some toads this month. For you crappie anglers January is a good time catch catch them out deep on the points on jigs. Lake Fork is the big bass capital and also offers some world class crappie fishing, If you would like to book a guided trip here on Lake Fork with us for big bass or winter crappie call me at 903-569-7451 or drop us an email at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. Or for more booking info check us out on the web at www.lakeforkbassguide.com or our other website at www.tanneroutdoors.com. You can also find me on Facebook under John Tanner.

If you are in the market for a Ranger Boat I have a 2011 model Z521 available at a killer discount. This boat is rigged with a Mercury 250 Pro XS and came with a 5 yr warranty. It has other nice extras as well. If you are interested in saving some big bucks on this dream rig call me at 903-569-7451. I look forward to the new year and hope you are too. I am thankful to God for what I get to do and where I get to do it. I am thankful most of all for Jesus and the salvation He offers as a gift to all of us. Do you know Him? Read John 3:16. Please pray for our country and its leaders. Also pray for our troops and their families as well as the sick and the lost. Please pray also for my parents as they are both now dealing with some serious health issues. Thank you for reading this article and I hope it helps you catch more fish this month and in the months to come.

Many thanks to my fine sponsors check them out on the web. ( www.rangerboats.com, www.mercmarine.com, www.abugarcia.com, www.berkley-fishing.com, www.spiderwire.com, www.purefishing.com, www.IPM.com (International Precious Metals), www.talonlures.com, www.affordabletungsten.com, www.oakley.com, www.mustad.no, www.hambysbeachbumper.com, www.diamondsportsmarine.com}.

Good fishin and God Bless,
John and Robin Tanner

John Tanners Lake Fork Guide Service
FLW Touring Pro
Public Speaker – Fishing Seminars, motivational speaker

Website www.lakeforkbassguide.com
Email tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com

James Caldemeyer Lake Fork Report Mid Jan 2012

lfmfr — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:19:02 +0000

James Caldemeyer’s
Lake Fork Trophy Bass
Monthly Fishing Report
January 2012

Happy New Year everyone! If your New Year’s resolution was to catch a trophy largemouth bass then you are in the right place. Lake Fork is already ringing the New Year in with a bang as Andrew Watson caught the first ShareLunker Program fish of the year out of Lake Fork on December 27th. The fish weighed 13.51 pounds and sets the tone for what should be another incredible year of fishing in 2012. With water levels starting the year off at historically low marks it can give anglers a better opportunity to catch these giant bass condensed into certain areas of the lake. The fishing on Lake Fork will really start to heat up this month and into February for big pre spawn female bass. As these fish begin to develop their eggs and reach their peak weight of the year, it is a great opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime. Here are some pointers that will hopefully help you in pursuit of a new personal best or your own addition to TPWD’s ShareLunker Program.

The lake is about over 7 feet low right now. This is great for the fishing but treacherous for navigating the lake in some areas so be cautious out there. Water clarity is lightly stained in most areas. The water temperatures are remaining in the low to mid 50’s right now but that could change as the month progresses. It is not uncommon to find water temperatures dipping into the high 40’s if the winter becomes frigid. Water temperature is everything right now and it is important to have an accurate temperature gauge on your boat and monitor it throughout the day.

Main lake and secondary points leading into the major creeks are great areas to target this month. Again, water temperature is very important right now and you will want to target the warmest water available as this will be where the fish are generally most active. I usually concentrate on shallow grass beds in 2-6 foot of water but there is little grass right now with the low water. Do not let that discourage you from fishing these baits though. I found that these fish will still relate well to the bank and key on these same baits despite the lack of vegetation. The best baits to use in search of productive grass are moving baits. Red or chrome lipless crank baits are excellent choices. I like to use the 1/2 oz size in most situations but will often switch to a 1/4 or 3/4 oz size depending on the grass and water temperatures. I rig my lipless baits on the new Abu Garcia Villain 7’ Med Heavy action rod with a Revo MGX high speed 7:1 ratio reel spooled with 17-20 lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line. Having the right rod/reel/ line combination is an essential. Making hundreds of casts a day will wear you out if you are not using the proper combination of equipment. The right equipment will also help you keep these baits in the strike zone longer. Lipless cranks are reaction bait and are most effective ripped off the blades of grass that the bait comes in contact with. The bass react most often after you rip the bait free from the grass. Developing a rhythm of retrieving the bait or a yo-yo type retrieve is very effective in drawing strikes from hungry pre-spawn bass. Other shallow running baits like the new Talon 1.5 crank bait or new suspending jerk baits are also great choices for targeting shallow grass beds. Shad or bream colors are great choices.

Creek channel areas in 8-14 foot of water are also a great place to target big female pre-spawn bass during the month of January. The big mamas are preparing for the spawn will be on a heavy crawfish diet. I like to use a 3/8 or 1/2 oz Talon jig in black/blue, Bama bug, or dark pb&j colors. I will tip these jigs with a Berkley Chigger Chunk in black/ blue or green pumpkin. A Texas rigged flipping tube, craw worm, or Berkley Power Lizard are also excellent choices for flipping. Make sure and target every tree lining the edge of the creek channel and fish as slow as possible. These big bass will be lethargic but will gladly accept your offering if they do not have to move far to get it.

The deep bite is best on jigging spoons and drop shot rigs. I use a plain old reliable Talon “t-spoon” in 3/8 or 1/2 oz sizes. On the drop shot a finesse worm like a Berkley Wacky Crawler or 4” Power Worm is the ticket. You can find fish on roadbeds, humps, ridges, and pond dams in 20-30 feet and deeper. I am running the new Lowrance HDS Gen2 electronics on the console and bow with Structure Scan on my new 2012 Ranger boat. Having great electronics is a huge advantage to locating these schools of deep fish and with these new graphs it makes it hard for the fish to hide. The deep bass are lethargic as well so fishing slow is important. You will often times have a hard time feeling a bite because they bite it so soft.

If you are interested in coming out for some big bass action this spring or would like to just take an instructional trip to learn about electronics, seasonal patterns, or some new techniques on Lake Fork, contact me anytime. The fishing last spring was great and I know it will be even better this year. I still have a few dates available and want to remind anyone that is considering spring reservations with me to do it ASAP. I book up extremely fast so get your 2012 date now before my schedule is full. You can reach me by phone at (903)736-9888 or drop me an email at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com You can also visit my website for more information about trophy bass fishing on Lake Fork www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com

My new 2012 Ranger Z521 Comanche powered with a Mercury 250 Prop XS just arrived and man I’m excited. These boats are awesome! I am currently rigging it up with all the latest and greatest equipment like the new Lowrance HDS Gen2 electronics as well as the Power Pole Blades. If you get a chance while you are here, stop by Diamond Sports Marine on highway 154 and check out the new 2012 Ranger Boats already in stock. Talk to Ben Hogan or Robert Gilliland and they will be glad to help you find the right boat for your needs. Let them show you why they are the #1 Ranger Boat dealership in the country. Or just give them a call at (903)383-7829 for information. If you would like a demo ride in my new boat, feel free to contact me also to schedule your test ride.

Again, a big thanks to all my sponsors: Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, I AM SECOND, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Interstate Batteries, Lowrance, Power Pole, Hamby’s, Talon Lures, Line & Lure Conditioner, BTS Protectant, Navionics, Oakley, and Sure Life.

Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer

For trip information visit: www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com

Lake Fork Report Stephen Fatherree

lfmfr — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:08:56 +0000

In 4-8 foot of water slow roll a 1/2 oz red rattle trap or cast a suspending jerkbait like the Rapala x-rap, in 8-12 foot flip a 1/2 oz black and blue jig to timber that is on the edge of creek channels. The best creeks have large trees on their edges and are usually in the back 1/3 of major creeks. Bass love sitting on the edges of these ditches. Sometimes keeping your boat in the creek, then casting the jig at a 45 degree angle out of the creek and very slowly dragging it back to the boat works great. Most of your bites will come right near the dropoff. These two techniques are best from mid lake to the north end.

On the south end of the lake, fish the tips of points in 25-30 foot of water using a tailspinner with a slow steady retrieve, or fish a small watermelon red finesse worm on a dropshot directly under the boat. You will catch some sandbass and barfish, but remember the the largemouth are most always nearby. Hope this helps and good luck.

Lake Fork Report from Andrew

lfmfr — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:07:10 +0000

6.80ft low

Come on down! There are a ton of ways to catch fish right now, seems like a lot of fish are still in a deep late fall type pattern, a lot are up in the creeks, and a lot in between. Seems like the common factor is deeper water close by. Not getting a lot of bites, but they are quality fish. Yesterday, with the warm sunny weather the fish ignored jigs so we fished soft plastics around laydowns and stumps in 3-6′ of water. A good option if it gets really tough is a big shakey head, use a heavy jig on 20lb line and big senko type worm and flip it like a jig.

These are from yesterday. They run on the small side of the average size you can expect this time of year but might help fire you up!

Lake Fork 2012 Tournament List

lfmfr — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:46:56 +0000

As always, it takes about a month to get the bugs worked out. If I am missing any tournaments please email me: lfmcameron@gmail.com

Fishers of Men February 11, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Media Bass Team February 18, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors February 25, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Lake Fork Carp & Buffalo Challenge February 29-March 3, 2012 (Oak Ridge)
JC Outdoors March 10, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Media Bass Team March 17, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Fishers of Men March 24, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
JC Outdoors March 31, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Ram MegaBass April 1, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Fishers of Men April 14, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Bass Champs North Region April 14, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Media Bass Team April 21, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Irving Bass Club April 21-22, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
JC Outdoors April 28, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Media Bass Team May 12, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Bass on the Fly May 12, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Legend of Lake Fork May 18-19-20, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Fishers of Men May 26, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Steve’s Custom Props Open May 26, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
JC Outdoors NIGHT June 9, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Skeeter Owners Tournament June 9-10, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
JC Outdoors NIGHT Media Bass Team June 16, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Fishers of Men June 16, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
C.A.S.T. Tournament June 17, 2012 (need more info)
JC Outdoors June 23, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors NIGHT June 23, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Bassin’ For Babies June 30, 2012 (Oak Ridge)
Media Bass Team July 14, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors NIGHT July 14, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors NIGHT July 21, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors NIGHT August 11, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
JC Outdoors NIGHT August 25, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
Fishing for Hearts September 1, 2012 (Minnow Bucket)
McDonalds Big Bass Splash September 21-22-23, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Irving Bass Club October 13-14, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Berkley Big Bass October 20-21, 2012 (Lake Fork Marina)
Xtreme Crappie Team Tournament December 17, 2012 (Scenic 515 Cabins)

LFMFR Back online

lfmfr — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:24:15 +0000

Happy New Year!
Lake Fork is 7.27 feet low

Had trouble recovering a password and finally recovered it last week and updated a few things.

2012 is going to be a great year on Fork. Going to be keeping site updated with reports, videos and pictures much better than years before.

Black Dog Fake Fish

lfmfr — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 22:24:14 +0000

Still have 100 or so of each color in stock. Ayu, Blueguill and White.

Will add more colors as we can get them.

info@lakeforkmarina.com

903-765-2764

$6.49 per pack of 3.