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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
February 7, 2005
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Report
Fishing at Lake Fork slowed down a little last week with the cold front, but the warm sun and the warming trend has the big girls feeding once again. Our big fish for the past week was an 8.5 pounder and we are catching quality fish every day, including a 7.5 and a 7.75 on Saturday and a couple more just under 7 pounds in the rain on Super Bowl Sunday.
The lake is in great shape for early February. Fork’s water level is slowly rising at 402.7’, 4” below full pool. Water temperatures have been hovering around the 50-degree mark and most of the lake is clear except for the North ends. Hydrilla, milfoil, and coontail are abundant all over the lake, plus higher water levels have flooded a lot of vegetation that should be great in the coming weeks.
The location part of the pattern has remained pretty consistent. Main lake points and secondary points with grass near spawning pockets have been best. In addition, tree and grass lined creek channels leading into flats are also good. Basically, any cove or pocket that attracts a lot of spawning fish will have bass staging on the nearby points and creek channels. Find the good spawning areas and the bass won’t be far away.
Finding the bass right now is the easy part, while making them bite is sometimes difficult and other times it’s ridiculously simple. For example, on Saturday I turned up my 101 lb thrust trolling motor to 50% power and we went flying down the shorelines, burning Rat-L-Traps as fast as we could. Essentially, the more water you covered, the more fish you caught. Conversely, on Sunday we had to make repeated casts with slow retrieves in key areas to make the bass bite. I try to start on my confidence areas each day and let the bass show me what they want. Once you figure out the best presentation for that day, then it’s simply a matter of replicating the pattern in similar areas.
As for specific baits, here’s what has worked best in the past week. ½ oz lipless crankbaits in reds and oranges plus 3/8 oz or ½ oz spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse have been producing the majority of the fish. ½ oz black and blue jigs and gold and black suspending jerkbaits have also caught some nice fish. Once again, the bass’ preference has seemed to change from day-to-day, so fish with an open mind and let the bass tell you what they want.
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 www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
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