THE BASS COLLEGE

Lake Conditions: September 2009

We’ve had considerable rains every day for close to a week now and the lake has steadily risen. The lake level is currently at 403.36’ (4” above full pool), about a foot higher than it was a week ago. The water clarity is running about normal, with stained to muddy water up north and clear greenish water on the south end. Water temps have steadily dropped this week with the cooler rains, reading 76 to 81 degrees in most areas of the main lake, down from the mid-80s last week. As of today, I was still showing a thermocline at about 33’ on the south end.

Location Pattern: The most consistent pattern this past week has been fishing shallow grassbeds on the main lake and in the first half of major creeks. Early and late and all day on cloudy and windy days, I’m focusing on shoreline grass, openings in clumps of grass, and the inside weedline. When the sun gets up, concentrate on the deep weed edge in 8’ to 13’. Key on points, inside turns, and along ledges and you’re likely to find more fish. Most of the shallow fish have been in groups, so you’ll fish for a while without getting a bite, and then catch several in a small area. I’m also starting to catch a few fish back in the coves along creek channel bends but this pattern hasn’t really picked up yet like it will as the water cools. For bigger bass, many fish are still suspending in timber or in open water over deep structure.

These fish are holding 12’ to 25’ down over deeper water, so watch your graph closely to pinpoint their location. There are still some fish biting out deep on offshore structure from 12’ to 33’ on the bottom, but these fish seem to bite best on the sunnier days. With all of the rain and clouds, I’ve found the shallow bite to be a lot better.

Presentation Pattern:

As fall approaches, bass will start keying on shad and most of my lure choices and colors will reflect that preference. Shades of white or chrome are always good choices in the fall on Fork. In the shallows, topwaters are catching a lot of good keeper fish early and late. Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the shad and catch lots of keeper fish, so go with smaller sizes of poppers like Lucky Craft G-Splashes or Gun Fish when it is calm, or switch to the walking baits like Sammys if there is more chop on the water. I throw these topwaters on floating mono line like PowerSilk for the best action with my lures. After the sun gets up a bit, the bass often stop coming to the top, so I switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 0.5, RC 1.5, or BDS 0 square bills, ¼ oz spinnerbaits, and 3/8 oz chatterbaits with 3.5” Live Magic shads.

To keep those money fish hooked up on crankbaits with treble hooks, I like fiberglass rods like the Dobyns 705CB Glass. The slower action of fiberglass allows bass to deeply take the lures and also keeps them hooked up well when fighting them in. Match it with sensitive line like FluoroHybrid Pro and you’ll still have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod.

If the bass aren’t in a chasing mood, switch to a Texas rigged watermelon/red or watermelon candy 8” Fork Worm or wacky rig a Hyper Finesse Worm, Zig Zag, or Hyper Whack’n worm and work it over the tops of grass and along the edges. For these soft plastics, green pumpkin and junebug colors are working best on cloudy days, while watermelon/red and watermelon are better on sunny days. These techniques will also catch additional fish in areas where I’ve already caught some fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. For bigger fish, a 3/8 oz green pumpkin Mega Weight Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer or a 10” Fork Worm Texas rigged will produce big bass when pitched on 15 to 25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line to the deep weed edge, especially on points and around creek channels.

For the suspended bass out deep, Fork Flutter Spoons and Lucky Craft deep diving crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns are working best and will some lunkers too. The key is getting your bait down to the level of the bass and keeping it in front of them for as much of the retrieve as possible. For deep bass on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are working best. I’ve been using the 7’8” Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML lately and the extra length allows me take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. If you haven’t tried worm and jig fishing with a longer rod, give it a try and you’ll land more fish.

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

Professional Guide Tom Redington's

Lake Fork Fishing Report

Submitted:10-09-09 Lake Fork Report & Fall Fishing Article—October 9, 2009

Today’s morning of cold rain, north winds, and dropping temperatures reinforced that fall fishing is on its way. Even though we’re approaching mid-October, water temps are still sitting in the mid-70s and our best fall bite is yet to come. As cold fronts roll through regularly and the water temps move into the 60s, big bass will come more consistently from the shallows and lunker fish will also group up out deep. Due to the later than normal cool down, we’re catching mostly smaller fish in the shallows and most days the deep fish remain pretty scattered. The good news is that the fall bite should be good through November this year.

Boat for Sale: My 2009 Ranger Z520 boat is for sale. It is fully loaded, rigged with a 250 HP Mercury Pro XS motor with a 5 year warranty (good until 2014). It’s value priced and will save you about $10,000 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.

Lake Conditions: Our rainy pattern continues, with a couple more inches falling this morning. The lake level is currently at 403.51’ (6” above full pool) and rising. The water clarity is still good in most areas, although the backs of bigger creeks are pretty muddy. Water temps today were reading from 70 to 75, both in the main lake and in the creeks. I normally have my best fall fishing with the water temps from 55 to 65 degrees, so we’re getting close to the magic range.

Location Pattern: The clouds, rain, and wind have kept the deep bass scattered most days. Look for that to improve as the sun comes back out, especially on the post frontal days. In the meantime, the shallow bass around the grass are more active, especially early and late in the day. My October article (see below) covers the shallow patterns in depth. For deep fish, most of the best spots are shallower now, around 18 to 25’ deep. As the deep bite turns on, you’ll start seeing more fish in the 28’ to 33’ range too.

Presentation Pattern: For the shallow patterns, see my article below.

If you’re fishing deep, these basic patterns generally work best in the fall. For the suspended bass, Fork Flutter Spoons and Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns work best and will catch some lunkers too. The key is getting your bait down to the level of the bass and keeping it in front of them for as much of the retrieve as possible. For deep bass on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are my favorites. I use watermelon shades on sunny days, while green pumpkin hues & Junebug works better on cloudy days. I’ve been using the 7’8” Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML lately and the extra length allows me take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. If you haven’t tried worm and jig fishing with a longer rod, give it a try and you’ll land more fish.

October Article: One-Two Combo for Catching Fall Bass

By Tom Redington

One of the first moves that boxers learn is the “one-two combo”. The sequence of a left jab followed by a right cross is a basic fundamental for any prize fighter. Similarly, bass fisherman can quickly find and catch bass on Lake Fork in the fall by using a simple horizontal and vertical presentation combo. Simply put, cover a lot of water with fast moving, horizontally swimming baits like topwaters, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Once you get a few bites in an area, slow down and thoroughly fish the area with vertically falling lures like jigs and worms and you’ll often strike the mother lode.

In the fall, bass are on the chase following shad and they can be located from the main lake to the very backs of creeks. Often, this location changes daily. Some days they’ll be on deeper cover, while other days they’ll be right up on the bank. Points, creek channels, and ledges can all be big producers in the fall, but often the bass will be roaming over expansive flats. Fishing methodically with a worm would take hours to locate the fish, so I work fast from the mouth of creeks to the very back until I find them, then I slow down and try to catch every one of them in the area.

Start by covering water fast with moving baits, like spinnerbaits, topwaters, and crankbaits. In the fall, use shad color schemes, primarily whites and chromes, and work these baits fast with erratic stop and go retrieves to trigger strikes from active fish. Since bass tend to key on the smaller young-of-the year shad, I typically downsize my baits to replicate the forage. Spinnerbaits are a natural anytime bass key on shad, so ¼ and 3/8 oz Redemption spinnerbaits with white or chartreuse and white skirts and tandem silver willow leaf blades work well for me. Some days, 3/8 oz white chatterbaits with a 3.5” Live Magic Shad trailer will produce better than a spinnerbait, especially for bigger fish. Early and late, topwaters are hard to beat and a lot of fun to fish. I prefer small poppers on calm days, while the walking action of Sammy type baits works better when there is more chop. My favorite bait is the Lucky Craft Gunfish 95. This bait doubles as a popper with a stop and go retreive, or you can walk the dog with it. Try a variety of retrieves with the Gunfish and let the fish tell you how they want it. Long casts spook less fish and also allow you to cover more water, but that can sometimes be hard with lighter topwater baits. I rig these on the Dobyns 685C rod with 17 or 21 lb PowerSilk mono line and I can whip even the smallest poppers a mile. Finally, my favorite search baits are shallow to medium running crankbaits, especially if there is wood, rock, or weed cover. I’ll rig up a variety of cranks on fiberglass Dobyns 704 and 705 CB Glass rods, with 12 lb to 20 FluoroHybrid Pro line. With a variety of cranks and line sizes, I can cover water from 1’ to the deep weed edge in 12’. Little square billed cranks, like Lucky Craft’s RC 1.5 or the BDS 0 & 1 are my favorites and work great in about 4’ or less. I’ll also try medium runners like the Skeet Mini MR and the Flat CB MR to probe the deep weed edge. Of course, don’t forget the LV 100 and other lipless crankbaits if the fish are chasing over the tops of grassbeds. Remember with all of the cranks that erratic action triggers strikes, so snap these baits free of grass, run them into rocks and wood, and momentarily pause during the retrieve or you’ll pass up a lot of fish.

Finding fish is the hard part. Once a school is located with moving baits and the action slows, switch to soft plastics and you’ll likely catch more fish from the same area, possibly a lot more. My favorite soft plastic rigs for the fall are wacky rigs and weightless soft plastic jerkbaits. For the wacky rig, I use Hyper Finesse Worms and Whack’n Worms in shades of watermelon on sunny days and June bug or green pumpkin colored ones on cloudy days, rigged on 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The segmented tails on these new baits really make them quiver with every twitch of the rod. For bigger fish, I rig up a Zig Zag on my wacky rig and this larger bait will entice some big bass in the fall. Another technique that excels is soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads and Live Magic Shads, rigged weightless Texas style. Some days the bass will chase these as they are steadily twitched over the grass, while other times you’ll do best by twitching your bait a couple times and then letting it fall to the bottom. Long casts are important with these baits as well, so I use a 7’3” Dobyns 734C to launch them way out there & still have enough backbone to set the hook. Finally, for lunker bass during the fall, pitch the brand new MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures, with its beefy hook and sleek head, to the heaviest cover you can find in the areas you’ve already caught fish. I like black/blue colored jigs on cloudy days and watermelon jigs on sunny days, trimmed with a matching Lake Fork Craw trailer, rigged on tough 25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line.

To land a haymaker on the bass this fall, try the horizontal-vertical combo and you might become the bass heavyweight champ. 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

Book Your Lake Fork or Monticello bass fishing trip with Tom Redington today!

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Tom & Jennifer Redington

2407 Shooting Star Drive

 Royse City, TX 75189

214-683-9572

 Email: tom@LakeForkGuideTrips.com

Professional Guide Tom Redington's

Lake Fork Fishing Report

Submitted:11-12-09

Lake Fork Report—November 12, 2009

Lake Fork has finally settled down after repeated flooding rains. Despite the water clearing and the lake level being back at normal pool, the fish seem to be stuck in a late summer malaise with all of the warm days lately. The result has been a pretty slow bite overall this fall. As cold fronts make their way through Texas with more regularity in the coming weeks, look for the shad to show up in their regular cooler water spots and both the shallow and deep bites will become consistent. The good news is that the fall fishing should stay good into December this year instead of slowing down quickly in some years when things turn bitterly cold early.

With the holidays just around the corner, I do have gift certificates available for those looking for a present for their angling buddies. 2009 has been another super year on Fork, with the lake being full and in great shape for the coming season. Prespawn starts in late-December, so it won’t be long until my favorite lunker time of the year is here, January through March. If you’re looking for a fish of a lifetime, prespawn is the time to head to Fork.

Boat for Sale: My 2009 Ranger Z520 boat is for sale. It is fully loaded, rigged with a 250 HP Mercury Pro XS motor with a 5 year warranty (good until 2014). It’s value priced and will save you about $10,000 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.

Lake Conditions: Finally, Fork has returned to normal water levels and clarity. The lake level is currently at 403.31’ (4” above full pool). The water clarity is clear on the south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake. Water temps are reading from 65 to 70 in most areas. I normally have my best fall fishing with the water temps from 55 to 65 degrees, so we’re getting close to the magic range.

Location Pattern: Shallow has been more consistent than deep most days lately, with a lot of the deep fish remaining suspended and hard to catch. Fishing shallow grassbeds on the main lake all the way to the backs of major creeks has produced best. Early and late and all day on cloudy and windy days, I’m focusing on shoreline grass, openings in clumps of grass, and the inside weedline. When the sun gets up, concentrate on the deep weed edge in 8’ to 12’. Key on points, inside turns, and along ledges and you’re likely to find more fish. Most of the shallow fish have been in groups, so you’ll fish for a while without getting a bite, and then catch several in a small area. I’m also catching bass back in the coves along creek channel bends, and this bite will only improve as the water temps drop. For the deep anglers, concentrate on main lake structure in 18’ to 33’. The best areas and depths change daily, so you’ll need to do some scouting to find the schools each day. Watch your graph closely and key on schools located tight to the bottom if you can find them, because they are normally easier to catch than the suspended schools.

Presentation Pattern: In the fall, bass key on shad and most of my lure choices and colors will reflect that preference. Shades of white or chrome are always good choices in the fall on Fork. In the shallows, topwaters are catching fish early and late. Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the shad and catch lots of keeper fish, so go with smaller sizes of poppers like Lucky Craft G-Splashes or Gun Fish when it is calm, or switch to the walking baits like Sammys if there is more chop on the water. I throw these topwaters on floating mono line like PowerSilk for the best action with my lures. After the sun gets up a bit, the bass often stop coming to the top, so I switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 0.5, RC 1.5, or BDS 0 square bills, ¼ oz spinnerbaits, and 3/8 oz chatterbaits with 3.5” Live Magic shads. To keep those money fish hooked up on crankbaits with treble hooks, I like fiberglass rods like the Dobyns 705CB Glass. The slower action of fiberglass allows bass to deeply take the lures and also keeps them hooked up well when fighting them in. Match it with sensitive line like FluoroHybrid Pro and you’ll still have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod.

If the bass aren’t in a chasing mood, switch to a Texas rigged watermelon/red or watermelon candy 8” Fork Worm or wacky rig a Hyper Finesse Worm, Zig Zag, or Hyper Whack’n worm and work it over the tops of grass and along the edges. For these soft plastics, green pumpkin and June bug colors are working best on cloudy days, while watermelon/red and watermelon are better on sunny days. These techniques will also catch additional fish in areas where I’ve already caught some fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. For bigger fish, a 3/8 oz green pumpkin Mega Weight Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer or a 10” Fork Worm Texas rigged will produce big bass when pitched on 15 to 25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line to the deep weed edge, especially on points and around creek channels.

If you’re fishing deep, these basic patterns generally work best in the fall. For the suspended bass, Fork Flutter Spoons and Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns work best and will catch some lunkers too. The key is getting your bait down to the level of the bass and keeping it in front of them for as much of the retrieve as possible. For deep bass on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are my favorites. I use watermelon shades on sunny days, while green pumpkin hues & Junebug works better on cloudy days. I’ve been using the 7’8” Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML lately and the extra length allows me take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. If you haven’t tried worm and jig fishing with a longer rod, give it a try and you’ll land more fish.

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.

wish I was there:cool:

Happy Holidays to everyone. Thanks to all of my friends, family, sponsors, and customers for a fabulous 2009 and I hope everyone has a year of great catches in 2010. 2009 was a big year for me, with lots of good bass caught on Fork, plus my rookie year as a Pro on the FLW Tour. Next year, I’ll be fishing the FLW Tour and BASS Central Opens, in addition to guiding regularly on Fork in between my travels. I learned a lot by competing at the top level of bass fishing this season, and I look forward to making good use of that information on the tourney trail and guiding this year.

Heading into the New Year, the early stages of prespawn are ready to get underway in some areas of Lake Fork. Considering I’ve seen some bass on beds as early as Feb 10th in years past, spring on Lake Fork is truly just around the corner. Meanwhile, lunker bass continue to be caught from deep water as well, including one over 15 lbs recently. With big prespawn bass smoking jigs, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits now through March, this is my favorite time of the year on Fork. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 3.5 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater. It’s also the time of year that more 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, and bigger are caught. Best of all, you’ll have the lake mostly to yourself, especially on the cold and nasty days when the lunkers bite the best!

My fishing report is below. For more info on winter fishing, I am featured in the current issue of Texas Sportsman. You can read that article here: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles.htm

Boat for Sale: My 2009 Ranger Z520 boat is for sale. It is fully loaded, rigged with a 250 HP Mercury Pro XS motor with a 5 year warranty (good until 2014). It’s value priced and will save you about $10,000 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. Following are videos of the boat, taken December 9th:

Walk around video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAEpJ-BBbs

Inside of boat video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkfqswKLqwc

Seats video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtP7mKVhy0

Storage boxes video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yxZIK8oqVc

Hull video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIozkGqMjBA

Lake Conditions: The fall rains finally relented and Lake Fork is back to her normal self. The lake level is currently at 403.16’ (2” above full pool). The water clarity is clear on the south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake. Water temps are reading in the lower 50s in the main lake, while the backs of creeks can be much warmer or cooler, depending on the day.

Location Pattern: Many big bass are schooled up in deep water right now and it’s a great time for spoon fishermen. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March, I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil, or coontail) for cover will typically have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding fish now, as are main and secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels.

As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. In general, look for bass on the flats and farther back in creeks during warming trends; conversely, drop back to points and main lake grassbeds after cold fronts. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish.

For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 18’ to 38’ will produce some big fish during the winter months as well. Use your electronics to find the schools of bass and baitfish and work them over with spoons and dropshots. I’m primarily concentrating on the shallow bass, so my presentation pattern will focus on that.

Presentation Pattern: A few simple lures produce big bass each winter from grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is normally best, but after cold fronts, letting the bait fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. I’ll rig both the spinnerbait and vibrating jig on a 7’ 3” Dobyns 734C rod so I can cast them a mile to cover water, yet still have enough power to bring big fish under control. With the spinnerbait, mono like 28 lb PowerSilk line works best, while 30 to 50 lb braided line works better with the vibrating jig to help get it through the grass.

When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although the new Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. A long rod with a forgiving tip helps land big fish that just slap at these baits, so I throw them on a Dobyns 705CB cranking rod. Match it with 12 to 17 lb Fluorohybrid Pro, a new line that is as clear and sensitive as fluorocarbon, yet as smooth and easy handling as mono. On cold winter days, the reduced memory of FHP really makes jerkbait fishing a lot easier. For jigs, I go with the new ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon or blue bruiser with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker.

Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March.

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

Hard Swimbaits like the sebile and the king shad along with deep crankbaits are the way to go on Fork in the late WINTER /EARLY SPRING

After a brutally cold start to 2010 at Lake Fork, we’ve had over a week of very mild weather, including a couple nights in the 60s and some warm sunny days in the 70s. Water temps have risen steadily and there are even a few fish in the very backs of the creeks. I’ve fished Fork the last 6 days in a row and although it has warmed dramatically, the bass are only slowly working their way back shallow. With the warm weather continuing this week, look for them to steadily show up shallow. Last week started off well and slowed as it went on for numbers, but the size of the fish has been very good and the females are already fat with a lot of eggs.

Depending on our weather, the earliest spawners are only 20 to 45 days away, so my favorite time of year (the prespawn) is getting going. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 3.5 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater. It’s also the time of year when more 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, and bigger are caught. Best of all, you’ll have the lake mostly to yourself, especially on the cold and nasty days when the lunkers bite the best!

Lake Conditions: The lake is full right now and a bit more stained than normal, with temps rebounding this week. The lake level is currently at 403.15’ (2” above full pool). The water clarity is clear on the south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake, and even muddy in some creeks. Water temps are reading 48 to 51 in the main lake, while the backs of some creeks have been as warm as 57 the past few days.

Location Pattern: Many big bass are schooled up in deep water right now and it’s still a good time for structure fishermen. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March, I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil, or coontail) for cover will typically have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding fish now, as are main and secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels.

As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. In general, look for bass on the flats and farther back in creeks during warming trends; conversely, drop back to points and main lake grassbeds after cold fronts. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish.

Presentation Pattern: A few simple lures produce big bass each winter from grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is normally best, but after cold fronts, letting the bait fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. Lipless cranks are notorious for losing fish, so I’ve gone to the 8’ Dobyns 804CB cranking rod. You can whip baits a country mile and it is so well balanced that it feels like having a little 6’6” rod in your hands. The 804CB has plenty of backbone to rip baits free from grass, yet a soft tip to let the bass eat the bait deeply and to keep them on. And a long rod moves a lot of line and keeps steady pressure on fish, resulting in more landed lunkers. If you’re out at the lake, run by Lake Fork Tackle’s pro shop in Emory and check it out for yourself. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. With the spinnerbait, mono like 28 lb PowerSilk line works best, while 30 to 50 lb braided line works better with the lipless cranks and vibrating jigs to help rip them through the grass.

When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although the new Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. A long rod with a forgiving tip helps land big fish that just slap at these baits, so I throw them on a Dobyns 705CB cranking rod. Match it with 12 to 17 lb Fluorohybrid Pro, a new line that is as clear and sensitive as fluorocarbon, yet as smooth and easy handling as mono. For jigs, I go with the new ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon or blue bruiser with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker.

Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March.

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.

wish I was there:cool:

Me too!

while we are wishing Id rather be at Falcon

Great video

Lake Fork Trophy Bass Fishing Report March 5, 2010

James Caldemeyer’s Lake Fork Trophy Bass Fishing Report March 5, 2010

The fishing is getting hot at Lake Fork right now with warmer temperatures finally arriving and water temperatures increasing to a range adequate for the annual spawn to take off. This is a relief after all the dismal cold days that we have had this winter. I can’t remember a year that I wore thermal underwear for as many consecutive fishing days as I have this year. I am not going to put them up just yet though as it is spring and you just never know when the next cold blast will strike.

Water conditions right now are real good still and getting better as the days go by. We have plenty of water with levels above full pool at 403.40 which is about 5 inches high. The water temperatures have been starting off in the high 40’s and moving as high as 57 degrees at the peak of the day the past couple days. I expect with these next few days of almost 70 for highs and 40-50 for lows to see water temps hold consistently in the 50’s with some areas reaching 60. This will kick things off big time!

Best baits right now have been a 1/2–5/8 oz red/orange lipless crank bait. Shad patterns have done well lately also. Ripping these baits off the shallow grass beds in 2-8 ft of water is the key to attracting a reaction strike from these big females that are staging in preparation to spawn. The chatter bait has been my second best producer right now with the water temperatures in transition. I like the 3/8-1/2 oz white, white/chartreuse, and even red has been really good. Fishing these over the grass in the same manner as the lipless crank bait is the ticket, especially in the thicker grass or areas that the coots have routed through. Talon 3/8-1/2 oz spinner baits in the same colors as the chatter bait have been catching a few fish also. www.talonlures.com I have yet to get a jig bite going but am still keeping it close by as we see these water terms rising. The big bass should really start eating it good any day and man is that some fun fishing! Talon also a great flipping jig and are awesome for flipping stumps and lay downs adjacent to spawning areas for a real trophy bass. I will opt for the 1/2 oz size the majority of the time in black/blue, black/blue/purple, bama bug, or Texas craw with a black/blue or green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw as a trailer.

As these fish start to get active on beds plastics fished in these same areas will dominate all other baits on most days. I rig up all my Abu Garcia Vendetta worm rods and Revos reels up with 15-17 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for two reasons. 1) This line is very strong and sensitive. When fishing for big bass where the bites are very subtle most of the time, you need it to detect even the slightest “tick” and it’s also strong enough to get a big fish out of heavy cover. 2) Its invisible in the water. To properly fish these baits you MUST fish them slow and that means the bass get a chance to look at your bait for a while before they decide to eat it. You will get a lot more bites with fluoro than mono especially with the spring fishing pressure.

I am using several different types of plastic baits and presentations when fishing the spawning areas. A wacky rigged Berkley Powerbait Heavyweight Sink Worm and Fat Sink Worm are very good. www.berkley-fishing.com Best colors are green pumpkin, black/blue, breen, and watermelon. On the weightless or slightly weighted t-rig I am using senkos, Berkley Sinking Minnows, flukes, and Berkley Jerk Shads in a variety of colors like watermelon red, green pumpkin, watermelon candy, June bug, pearl, and others. Texas rigging some of these same baits as well as a Berkley Chigger Craw is best when the wind gets up enough where fishing weightless is not an option. Don’t forget about a swim bait either in the wind. A 5” or 6” Berkley Hollow Body is excellent for catching a monster bass in the spring!

If you are headed out to Lake Fork this year and would like to book a guided trip, feel free to email me at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com or you can reach me by phone at (903)736-9888. You can also get more information about Lake Fork by visiting my website www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com or join my Facebook page to see up to date information about what is going on at Lake Fork. Big thanks to all my sponsors: Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, “I Am Second”, Berkley, Abu Garcia, All Star, Oakley, Talon Lures, Interstate Batteries, Line & Lure, BTS Protectant, Navionics, Sure Life, and newest addition DFW MRI.

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is full and more stained than normal, but warming. The lake level is currently 403.11’ and dropping, still 1” above full pool. Because of big rains last week, the water clarity is clearer on the south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake and quite muddy in some creeks up north. Water temps are reading 51 to 56 in the main lake, while 61 was the warmest we found in the creeks yesterday.

Location Pattern: For prespawn and staging fish, key on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation for cover will typically have the most fish. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding some fish, as are main and secondary points inside the coves. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move towards April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May.

Presentation Pattern: For prespawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits are catching numbers of good fish, especially on overcast and windy days. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 2.0 or BDS4 square bills. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse vibrator jigs with Fire Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the first breakline and creek channels is the way to go. I go with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin jig with a Lake Fork Craw trailer in the blue bruiser or watermelon candy colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon, Bama Bug or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. Or try the new 6” Hyper Lizard from Lake Fork Trophy Lures. It features a huge thumper on a segmented tail and produces a wild thumping action when it swims and hops along cover. I like pitching all of these baits with the Dobyns Champion series 736C pitching rod. At 7’3”, it is light and easy to fish all day with a soft enough tip to pitch well, yet it has plenty of power to pull even the biggest fish out of heavy cover with big braided line.

For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Zig Zags, and the all new Hyper Stick become your best option. The Hyper Stick combines the shape of Senko-style stick worm baits with the segmented body action of the Live Magic Shad. The result is a worm with unique action from even the slightest rod movement. This year, I’m using Lake Fork Trophy Lures’ new weedless weighted wacky rigging system primarily. The small weighted disc gives it just enough weight to cast well and fall just right, while also keeping your wacky worm from flying off the hook on casts. The large size ring fits the Zig Zags and Hyper Sticks perfectly, while the smaller size works wonders with Hyper Finesse Worms, Twitch Worms, and Hyper Whack’n Worms. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I’m using Dobyns’ 733C with 14 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The 7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts. The new FluoroHybrid Pro line has the feel and invisibility of fluorocarbon, yet it casts well and ties strong knots like mono—it’s truly the best of both worlds.

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

Justin Rackley and his buddy Steve with a Lake Fork 7 lb.+ bass caught on the LFT Hyper Stick!

miss my tx fishing love that lake.....

 nice fish