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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
February 28, 2005
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Weekly Report
With a string of warm sunny days coinciding with the full moon last week, the spawn started in earnest on parts of Lake Fork. Meanwhile, the majority of the bass are staging on points and creek channels in a prespawn pattern, while others are still hanging out and getting fat on shad and yellow bass in 25’+ in their wintertime pattern. From sight fishing to jigging spoons, big bass are being caught at Lake Fork every day now and your chances of catching a true lunker will remain at their highest levels for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
The lake is still in great shape but conditions are changing every day because of the frequent fronts and the subsequent rains. Even though we had two substantial rains, the SRA let a lot of water out, so Fork’s water level is down slightly from last week to 402.67’, about 4” below full pool. Letting water out of the dam also drew a lot of muddy runoff into the backs of creeks and into the northern areas of the lake, but most are clearing quickly and the main lake remains very clear. Water temperatures rose to near 60 degrees in the main lake and up to 68.5 in protected coves until the recent cooler cloudy days dropped the main lake to around 53 and the pockets are running anywhere from 52 to 58.
Based on these conditions, there are two predominate location patterns that I’m fishing. In the Northern sections of the lake and in the backs of some large coves, many bass have moved up onto grass-covered flats and into warm protected spawning pockets. As the water cooled this week, we did better by moving to the outside weed edge or by fishing near creek channels running through the flats. In contrast, when fishing the Southern portions of the lake or near the mouths of coves, most bass are staging on points and along deeper creek channels. Most of the bass are still relating to the grass and the areas in each creek with the warmest water seem to have the most activity. With the perpetually changing conditions, I’ve had to start my search where we caught bass the prior day then move in or out a little to relocate them. The bass have not been moving far, but the location of the most active fish and where new fish are pulling up on beds has changed almost every day.
Just like the bass location, lure selection has varied daily as well. For prespawn fish, a 3/8 or ½ oz white or chartreuse and white spinnerbait, a ½ or ¾ oz crawfish colored lipless crankbait, and a gold/black back/orange belly suspending jerkbait have been working best. In spawning areas and during calm sunny days, soft plastic jerkbaits like a Fluke, Ring Fry, or Senko in shades of green have been working best. Some days they are best on a twitch-twitch-pause retrieve, but most days you’ll do better by twitching it a couple times then letting it fall to the bottom and deadsticking it there. In addition, we are catching some fish by pitching lizards and tubes to shallow grass and wood. Again, shades of green are working best and dye the tail chartreuse or switch to shades of black in murkier water.
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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