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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
June 19, 2005
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Report
The lunkers at Lake Fork remain spread all over the lake, making for a variety of good patterns from 2’ to 30’. Signs of a healthy ecosystem abound at Fork, whether you look at the loads of bluegill and bass fingerlings swimming in the lush green mats of shallow vegetation or at the schools of big shad being chased out of the water by bass out deep. Post spawn bass, including big fish, are feeding heavily to put back on their lost weight, as we found out Saturday. After catching good numbers of keepers and slot fish in the morning on topwaters, jigs, and worms, a Carolina rigged Lake Fork Baby Creature produced a 10-06, 9-02, and a 7-08 in the afternoon in addition to breaking off one I was unable to turn. Best of all, head to Fork on a weekday afternoon and you’ll almost have the lake to yourself.
If great fishing isn’t a good enough reason to be excited, riding around Lake Fork on my new Ranger Z21 Comanche boat is certainly the cherry on top. After owning other types of boats up to 22’ long and having ridden in almost every brand of boat, I swore that my Ranger 521 was the best riding bass boat of all time. I must stand corrected though—Ranger has outdone themselves with the Z21. At 21’2” long and with a few more inches of beam and width than the 521, the Z21 is honestly the smoothest riding boat I know of, even in heavy cross chop. Add in the Ranger exclusive spring-cushioned Soft Ride Seat technology and you’re able to fish anywhere on Lake Fork, no matter how hard the wind blows on your day off (and you know how windy that is). Let the pros at Diamond Sports Marine on Lake Fork, the dealer for pros like Bassmaster Classic Champ Takahiro Omori, rig you up and you’ll have the best-built, best-serviced boat in Texas.
Mainly due to evaporation, Fork’s water level continues to drop slowly, currently holding at 402.13’, about 9” below full pool. The water remains very clear in most of the lake, although the back ends of some creeks became stained due to a couple little storms last week. Water temps are up a few more degrees, reaching around 88 degrees last week but cooling to around 84 yesterday.
Structures with deep water nearby like main lake points, secondary points, and creek channels have been the key locations again this week. Look for structure that is situated between good spawning coves and deep summertime locations. Areas with grass cover typically have bass relating shallow to the grass (3’ to 12’), while in areas devoid of grass cover the bass are a little deeper and often suspended in the timber (8’ to 15’ down over 20’ to 30’).
Based on the current conditions, following are the baits that have been working best for us this week. Topwater fishing remains good but the reduced cloud cover in the morning has shortened their window of opportunity. For best results, get on the water by 5:30 and fish areas with lots of fish breaking the surface or even better, find areas with schooling fish. Bass are consistently schooling in the same areas, so if you find them schooling in a spot one morning, odds are pretty good they’ll be there again the next morning. Fish through an area quickly and if you don’t see much fish activity, head to the next grass or lily pad point. In calm areas, use a shad colored popper and let it sit for long pauses. In windier areas, “walking the dog” with Zara Spooks or slow rolling black buzzbaits have produced some good fish. As soon as the sun pops out the topwater bite has died and it’s time to switch to grass beds in main lake areas. For numbers, go with a wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worm or Zig Zag in shades of green. For big bass, go with a ½ oz black/brown/amber or watermelon jig with watermelon trailer. Pitch the jig to stumps and points along the edge of the grass and hop it a few times before pitching to the next spot. In the afternoon, it’s time to head to points in 15’ to 30’ of water. Deep diving cranks like a DD 22 in shad colors remain a good option for big fish by fishing them through fish suspended down 10’ to 20’ in submerged treetops. In addition, I’m starting to find more fish on the bottom on points. Carolina rigged Lake Fork Baby Creatures in watermelon red and watermelon candy is catching them both on the bottom and while swimming through trees. Meanwhile, the trusty old TX rig worm, like the 8” Lake Fork Worm in red shad or green pumpkin, is catching its share of fish in the same places the Carolina rig is working.
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
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