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Fishing Lake Fork, Texas
Tom Redington
March 12, 2006
Lake Fork - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Fork Report
A long string of warm and sunny days has started the spawn in earnest in many areas of Lake Fork. As a result, our numbers and size has been outstanding on many days this week. The nastiest days, with winds up to 40 mph, have been the best fishing days for us, while the sunny and calm days have made for slow fishing unless you’re sight fishing. Meanwhile, the vast majority of bass have not spawned yet, although the warming trend has moved many fish along in their prespawn progression into shallower staging areas.
My Location and Presentation Patterns will focus on the spawning and late prespawn bass. For chasing around those big and often less pressured prespawn bass, refer to my previous report. We’ve caught bass on topwaters and deep diving crankbaits last week and about everything in between, so keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to experiment with different lures and patterns if you’re not getting bit.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork’s water level has stayed about the same this past week, currently sitting at 399.11’, or 3’11” below full pool. The water clarity is clear to stained in most areas, although the wind has muddied some spots. The main lake water temps are holding in the upper 50s to the lower 60s, while the backs of protected creeks were reading as warm as 71 yesterday. While these surface temps are high, remember that the water temperature at bedding depth (generally 2’ to 8’ on Fork) determines when the bass spawn. Many areas likely won’t sustain the approximately 62 degree temps needed for spawning for quite a while, so look for the spawn to continue into May, as usual.
Location Pattern: For spawning bass, fish 8’ and shallower flats in the backs of protected bays and creeks. Spots with large areas of shallow flats that are blocked off from the cooler main lake water have been holding the most fish. Waves of new fish have been moving up daily in many places and spawning fish are starting to show up in new areas of the lake every day, not necessarily all in the North end of the lake. Areas with a hard bottom and ample grass or wood cover will usually hold the most bass. For a shot a true lunker, concentrate on any drop-offs, creek channels, or points around spawning bays. Females will stack up on these deep water sanctuaries until conditions are right to spawn. After spawning, those same lunkers retreat quickly to those same areas.
Presentation Pattern: For late prespawn and spawning fish, I have four main patterns. For fish on the bed, white or watermelon Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizards, Flippers and Craw Tubes are my mainstays. White baits allow you to clearly see your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green are often needed to catch the more finicky bass. My new favorite is the Lake Fork Baby Craw in white or watermelon. In fact, Eric Nethery just let the secret out last week when he won the Bassmaster Southern Open on Sam Rayburn using the Fork Baby Craw in Killer Craw color, catching almost 68 lbs of bedding bass in 3 days. Rig this little bait with a stout 2/0 or 3/0 hook like the Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook on 25 lb fluorocarbon or 65 lb braid and you’ll be ready for even the shyest bedding lunkers. When conditions don’t allow you to see the beds, in water that is too deep to locate spawners, and around staging areas, soft plastic jerkbaits like the Lake Fork Magic Shad and Twitch Worm rigged weightless in shades of watermelon are often catching the most and biggest bass. Fish these slowly with a couple twitches and a slow fall to the bottom on slack line. For true lunkers, repeated pitches to heavy cover on and around spawning flats with Texas rigged Top Dog lizards and creature baits like Flippers in watermelon or black neon are a great option. Finally, on windy and overcast days, moving baits like white spinnerbaits and ½ oz lipless crankbaits in shades of orange are producing some big bass, including a 9.5 lb’er this week.
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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