Lake Fork is in great shape! Thanks to all the rain we have received this year, Lake Fork is full and it could not have happened at a better time! While the lake has been low the past few years a lot of small bushes and grass grew along the old bank lines of Lake Fork. Now that the lake is back full there is plenty of cover for this years spawn to hide. Which gives them a much larger chance of survival from all of the predators out there that feed on fry and this is a very good thing for the future of Lake Fork. Not only is the water level and flooded cover good for the spawn it is also good for fishing. When Lake levels rise fish follow and position themselves in the new cover, which makes it a little easier to target fish.
May is one of my favorite months on Lake Fork, simply because you can pick your poison. In May on Lake Fork fish are everywhere from 6 inches of water to 25 feet of water. Baits range from a awesome topwater bite in the morning and on some days last all day to a football head jig on main lake points. May is also a great month to catch good numbers of quality fish on most days and there is still a good chance of catching a Lake Fork giant. Depending on which section of the lake you choose to fish you can find fish in all three stages, pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn. With the moon full right now it has fish coming and going, some are still moving up to spawn and some are moving out to secondary and main lake points to feed on baitfish. The shad spawn is also close to busting loose here on Lake Fork and that is a lot of fun, look for baitfish jumping close to bank early in the morning. This is why I say you can pick you're poison right now because somewhere on the lake fish are biting your favorite bait!
Right now I am starting my mornings off having my customers throw a frog early in the flooded vegetation that has grown up around the banks. I am throwing a frog on a Shimano crucial 7' 3" medium heavy frog rod matched with a Shimano curado 7.0:1 reel with PowerPro 65 pound test braided line. This setup is perfect for a good hookset and plenty of backbone to get the fish out of the cover. A Santone swimjig with a Big Bite Baits cane thumper as a trailer is also a great choice in the flooded cover, I like to throw it on the same setup as the frog. On some days we never put the frog down and just cover water but, if the frog bite is slow I will turn around a fish the same water with a swimjig. Weightless flukes and senko type baits can also work well in the shallow cover. If the shallow bite is not working for me then I start checking secondary and main lake points using Texas rigged creature baits, football head jigs, and crankbaits. I am throwing my Texas rigs and football head jigs on a G Loomis 7'1" heavy action NRX rod rigged with a Shimano Chronarch 7.0:1 reel with 20 pound test Seaguar Fluorocarbon line. In my opinion this is the best setup there is, its light weight and VERY sensitive and the NRX rod has plenty of backbone for setting the hook in 20 to 30 feet of water and to boat flip a 8 pounder with and IM speaking from experience! Finding fish on main lake points requires a lot of looking but, if you find the right point you can load the boat in a hurry, this is where knowing how to read you're electronics is very important.
Lake Fork is also hosting the Toyota Texas Big Bass Classic again this year and if you have not been to one you should come check it out, they put on a great show.
I also have May and June dates available. You can book a trip with me by calling my cell at (903)658-5822, email me at justin2260@aol.com, or on my website
www.justinslakeforkguidetrips.comHere are a few pictures from recent trips