Despite the hot weather, the big bass continue to feed, including a 14.4 lb trophy caught by my friend Cameron, whose family owns Lake Fork Marina. The bass are certainly not feeding all of the time or everywhere, so you really have to hit it right. Some days the best bite is during the day, others it is early or late. Some days they are schooled up and eating out deep, while other days you they will bite better up shallow. If you time it wrong, it can make for some pretty slow fishing. Keep at it and try a mix of shallow and deep until you find them though and you can get some good action, including some lunkers.
Looking forward, September & October are always popular months on Fork as the fall tournament season really cranks up. It’s perfect timing for the tournaments too, because the cooling water turns on the fishing in both the shallows and out deep. September-November normally produces our fastest action on Fork for numbers, with lots of keeper sized fish chasing bait in the shallows, while big groups of bass school up out deep. Whether you like topwaters, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits up shallow or fishing with soft plastics and spoons out deeper, fall is a fun time to fish Lake Fork.
Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer and you’d be titled as the first owner. She’s value priced to save you big bucks off the cost of a new boat. For more details and pics of the boat, please check my website (www.lakeforkguidetrips.com) or drop me a note. Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk
Lake Conditions: Fork is in good shape for the late summer. The lake level is currently 401.94’ (about 1’ below full pool) and dropping. Water temps are holding in the upper-80s to low-90s in the main lake and water clarity is the normal Fork clear green to light stain. The hydrilla and milfoil are really starting to mat up in the shallows as the water drops.
Location Pattern: Early and late and when it is cloudy/windy/rainy, I’m finding bass feeding on points and flats near or in the main lake. These fish are mostly in 6’ to 12’, often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like points, humps, and roadbeds in 20’ to 28’ is good when you graph schools of fish on the bottom. Many days, they are suspending in the submerged timber or schooling near the surface and tougher to catch. On those days, fishing creek channel bends and drop offs in 10’ to 18’ is producing better.
Presentation Pattern: Topwaters have been good some mornings but the bite only lasts until the sun cracks over the horizon. Poppers like the Lucky Craft G Splash work best some days, while walkers like Sammys and Gunfish are better on others. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. Once the topwater action slows, Texas rigged worms and wacky worms have been the best producers on the edge of the grass. We’ve had good luck on blue fleck, junebug, and green pumpkin 8” and 10” Fork Worms (TX rigs) and Hyper Finesse Worms (wacky rigs).
On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina rigs, drop shots, and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. Lots of bass are suspend this summer, often schooling on the surface. Deep diving cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 and RC3.5XD are very effective, with Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue being my favorite colors. When bass are high in the water column and schooling, I’ll throw them on 20 lb PowerSilk line and use a stop-and-go retrieve to keep my lure running shallower. When they are closer to the bottom, use a small diameter sinking line like 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro and launch them as far as you can. The hands down best deep cranking rod these days is the 8’ Dobyns 805CB RM—it’s a unique blend of a rod that can cast a country mile, yet has the power to handle a leaping lunker at great distance. Deep cranks are notorious for losing fish and this rod will help you keep them on-line.
When bass group up on the bottom, they are easier to catch. Carolina and Texas rigs are my first choice. I’ll try a variety of baits on both rigs and let the bass tell me how much or how little action they want. Hyper Worms, Fork Worms, Fork Creatures, Hyper Lizards, & Hyper Freaks have a lot of action and trigger big aggressive fish. If the bass are more finicky, straight tail baits like Hyper Finesse Worms, Hyper Sticks, and Twitch Worms are normally more productive. The most productive bait seems to change daily, so experiment until you find what they want. If the bass won’t respond to those offerings, switch to a Hyper Finesse Worm on a drop shot with 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line and a Dobyns DX743 spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. On darker days, junebug, green pumpkin, and Bama bug have been good, while the various shades of watermelon have worked on the bright days.
Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
Great Report Tom
Nice Fish