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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
December 15, 2006
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Report
After a great trip to Lake Baccarac in Mexico, I’m back to stalking the lunkers at Lake Fork (I’ll have a Baccarac report with pictures up soon). We’re currently having a week of warm weather at Fork and the bass are once again on the feed. As we head into late December, the early stages of prespawn are starting in some areas of the lake. Meanwhile, lunker bass continue to be caught from deep water as well. With big bass smoking jigs, spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits now through mid-March, this is my favorite time of the year on Fork. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 4 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork’s water level continues to drop, currently reading 397.64’, about 5’4” below full pool. Even with the low water, almost all of the main ramps are still useable without any issues. The water is clear in most parts of the lake, especially in areas with submerged vegetation, while the upper ends are somewhat stained. Water temps are on the rise once again, currently reading 53 to 56 degrees in most areas, perfect wintertime temps.
Location Pattern: From late-December through February, I concentrate on prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil or coontail) for cover will typically have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February and through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding a lot of fish now, as are main and secondary points inside the coves, provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels.
Keep in mind, too, that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. In general, look for bass on the flats and farther back in creeks during warming trends; conversely, drop back to points and main lake grassbeds after cold fronts. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish.
For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 18’ to 45’ will produce some big fish during the winter months as well. Use your electronics to find the schools of bass and baitfish and work them over with spoons and dropshots. I’m primarily concentrating on the shallow bass, so my presentation pattern will focus on that.
Presentation Pattern: My wintertime arsenal is pretty simple for fishing along grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are red lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz. Stick with the ½ for grass that is near the surface and go with the ¾ for grass that is deeper. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is working best now, but after cold fronts, letting the trap fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. ¼ to ½ oz spinnerbaits with double willow blades in white, red, or chartreuse and white will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming the new Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. Rig it on a 4/0 wide gap hook and swim it slowly back to the boat with a few pauses. When the water looks like a toilet just flushed, it’s time to set the hook!! When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Gold jerkbaits with orange bellies and black backs are my primary color. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. For jigs, I go with ½ oz black and blue jigs with a Lake Fork Craw trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper in black neon or blue bruiser with a ¼ to 3/8 oz bullet weight.
Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March.
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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