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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
December 3, 2005
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Report
With a cold front rolling over Lake Fork seemingly every other day, the pattern has continued to change. Some days the deep bite has been best, other days shallow has been the way to go, while both have worked on a number of days and neither were very hot on a couple days. The bass should remain pretty aggressive while the water temps stay above 50 degrees and numbers have been good most days. When the deep bite is on, we’re still catching big numbers of fish on drop shots and spoons but most of these fish are running small. Meanwhile, we’re starting to catch more quality bass, up to 8.6 lbs, on shallow points and creek channels. Best of all, the lake is an absolute ghost town on weekdays, so head on out and you’ll have the rarest of pleasures on Lake Fork—enjoying your favorite spots all to yourself.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork’s water level continues to drop, sitting at 399.07’, or 3’11” below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in coves with abundant vegetation. Water temps dropped significantly in the past week, down to the mid-50s in the main lake to as low as the upper-40s in the backs of creeks. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of fish.
Location Pattern: The cold fronts slowed the creek channel bite in the very backs of creeks for me. Since the cool down, I’m finding a lot more bass on points and main lake grassbeds. Look for grass with deep-water access nearby and you’ll find bigger fish. Personally, I’ve never found a connection between greener grass and concentrations of fish. Find grass cover, dormant or alive, on key structure, and you’re in business. Creek channels running through grass and timber covered flats with 8’-20’ of depth are also holding some good fish. As the lake level continues to drop, the bass will only become more concentrated in these key areas.
The location on deep structure hasn’t changed much. Points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 18’ to 32’ have produced big numbers of keeper-sized bass. With the bass liable to be about anywhere out deep right now, just pulling up to your favorite honey hole and fishing is a shot in the dark. Dropping a buoy at the first place you mark a school of bait is about as unproductive. Wait to find schools of bait, crappie, & yellow bass with signatures from bass chasing them and you’ll catch a lot more. And don’t be afraid to check really deep water. Once winter sets in, I catch some good bass in 40’+ each year.
Presentation Pattern: I’ve been switching back and forth between the shallows and deep water throughout the day to determine what bite is better. I’ve done really well early and late up shallow on some days, while others, the deep bite was great at low light. Same goes for the middle of the day. For grass beds and along creek channels, I’m using 5 primary baits and the most productive bait seems to change daily. The first two are lipless crankbaits and 2’-5’ running shallow crankbaits with tight wobbles in shad colors or chrome finishes. Ripping these out of the grass and banging them into stumps are triggering most of the bites. 3/8 oz spinnerbaits with double willow blades in shad colors on clear days and chartreuse and white on cloudy days have also done well. Finally, a TX rigged Lake Fork Flipper in green pumpkin or black neon or a wacky rigged Twitch Worm in pumpkin chartreuse or junebug have picked up fish holding tight to stumps and grass clumps. In addition, the TX and wacky rigs have produced bonus fish once schools are located with the spinnerbait and crankbait.
Out deeper, I’ve narrowed my baits to a drop shot and spoons. On the drop shot, a watermelon or green pumpkin Twitch Worm is catching big numbers of small fish, along with the occasional fish over 4 lbs. Long casts and shaking the rig while working it back to the boat has been best. Productive areas typically have a lot of active yellow bass as well, so don’t set the hook when the yellows peck at your weight or lure, wait for a bass to take it. For bass that are suspended or feeding up while chasing shad and yellow bass, jigging spoons have been catching good numbers and the occasional toad. As the water continues to cool, I typically find a less active spoon presentation works better. Often, lifting the spoon a foot above the bottom and holding it there is the best technique in the winter, especially for lunkers.
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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