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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
June 6, 2005
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Weekly Report
While the heat is starting to set in at Lake Fork for us anglers, the water temps remain relatively cool and the best bass fishing is still in the shallows and mid-depth areas. We’ve been able to graph and catch some fish on deep humps; however, the majority of fish are suspending about 20’ down off to the sides of deep structure. As you might expect, with so many fish still shallow (I even saw 3 fresh beds with one big bass on the nest in Elm creek on 6/5) and many windy and cloudy days recently, the topwater fishing has been great. For those of you looking for a big fish this weekend in the Skeeter tournament, we’ve been consistently hooking our biggest fish on deep diving crankbait worked through treetops down 10’ to 18’ over 20’ to 30’ of water.
Even with a few showers, Fork’s water level slowly dropped this week to 402.44’, about 7” below full pool. The water is now very clear, even in most of the upper ends of the lake and it’s especially clear in weedy areas. Water temps are still moderate, with the main lake holding around 78 and the coves sitting in the 80s.
Structures like main lake points, secondary points, and creek channels have been the key locations this week. Look for structure that is situated between good spawning coves and deep summertime locations. We are still catching some good fish way back in spawning coves, provided there is deep-water access nearby. 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’).
Based on the conditions and the locations, following are the baits that have been working best for us this week. Topwater fishing has been very good, lasting all day on cloudy and windy days. 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 chartreuse and white buzzbaits have produced some bigger fish. On windy shores, try ¼ oz white spinnerbaits with double willow blades over the grass beds, while watermelon wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms are working better on the deep edges of the grass in calmer areas. Out deeper, deep diving cranks like a DD 22 in shad colors are producing good fish. We are fishing the crankbait two ways, both with 10 lb line. First, banging it along the bottom on humps and points that top out at 10’ to 15’ is a great way to locate schools of fish. Secondly, fishing the deep divers through fish suspended down 10’ to 20’ in submerged treetops or chasing schools of bait in open water has produced fish over 8 lbs. I personally prefer fluorocarbon line for my deep diving crankbaits because its low stretch allows a lot more feel on long casts while coming through timber. Finally, Carolina rigged Lake Fork Creatures and Baby Ring Frys in watermelon candy are catching bass in 18’ to 28’ on humps and ridges where we’ve graphed schools of bass.
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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