Lake Fork is looking really good. Water temps are in the upper 80s. The water is fairly clear on most of the lake. Vegetation is abundant. And the water level is good for both fishing and traveling.
In my last report, the lake was at 401.56 (1.44 feet low) - and there were tons of stumps less than 3 inches below the surface. Now, the lake is at 401.40 (1.6 feet low). So the majority of stumps that were just under the surface are now visible (especially when there's a little wind). For me, that means I can travel at least twice as fast when I go through stump fields. So, I can now hit a lot of spots that may not have been worth the travel time just 2 weeks ago.
Last weekend, we had the biggest tournament of the year. So, the lake got fished pretty hard. This week, there's practically nobody out there fishing. I took a couple of guys out yesterday for two hours in the heat of the day. In only 2 hours, we got 2 fish between 5 and 6 pounds and a limit of under 16 inch bass. So the lake still has good potential, even after it got pounded.
Our biggest fish yesterday came on a 1/2 oz spoon in 20 ft. But we caught most of our fish around schooling fish. On the calmer days, I've been finding schooling bass in numerous places. With a 112# thrust trolling motor, I can usually keep us close enough to cast to them.
If you can get the bait to the school at the exact time they are on top, it doesn't matter so much what you are throwing. Lighter baits are usually more effective, but heavier baits are easier to get to them (especially on a baitcaster). So, the person who can get a weightless soft plastic in the school is probably going to do better than the person who can only hit the school with a 3/4 oz hunk of metal. But if you can't get to the fish it doesn't matter what you throw. Once they go down, your odds of catching them go down a bunch.
Some mornings, I'm getting on a good early bite. And the morning is definitely the more comfortable time to be out. But the heat of the day is generally better fishing than morning right now.
For the rest of September, I'm offering a discounted rate to encourage more trips. My normal rates (which are lower than most guides) are $400 for a full day and $250 for 1/2 day. This month, I'm offering 1/2 day trips for $175 (one person) or $200 for two people. Full days are $350 (1 or 2 people). This Saturday is included in the offer.
On full day trips, I will guarantee a 5 fish limit on largemouth bass - or trip is free.
If you bring a kid, I'll make a video at no extra charge.
If you would like to book a trip, call me at 214-549-4644 or book your trip online at
http://www.fishingguidenow.com/bookonline.cfm?guideID=2 I try to post a couple of pictures to my Facebook page every trip. So keeping up with that page is a much better report than what I can do in front of my computer at home. If you follow my Facebook page (actually, the Facebook term is "like"), you can get my posts without delay. I often post pictures as soon as we catch them - and almost always post the same day. So if you see several big fish in the same day, you can rest assured the fishing is good then. If you wait until I post a fishing report, you can be sure that it has slowed down enough for me to leave the lake. Go to
www.Facebook.com/LakeForkFishingGuide and click the "like" option to get the posts.
Here are a few of the things that I put on the Facebook Page:
1) Pictures of clients holding fish (of course)
2) Pictures of landscapes around the lake.
3) Pictures and videos of wildlife around the lake
4) Fishing Reports
5) Updates about pages on my website
6) Updates when someone catches a giant bass on Fork
7) Basslog information
I plan to query the basslog at least once a month and post my results on Facebook. So, if you want to know the best baits to be using (for example) or you just like to see statistics, then you should "like" the Facebook page so you can get instant updates.
The link to remember for my Facebook page is
www.Facebook.com/LakeForkFishingGuide. But now you don't have to remember that because you can just go to any page on
www.bassfishing.org and you will find the feed.
Be sure to "like" the page so you can get the information as soon as it gets posted.
If you would like to receive my fishing report notifications by email, go to
www.bassfishing.org/dbaccess/fishingreportrequests.cfmAll you need is your name and email address. If you are receiving reports by email and wish to discontinue receiving them, simply go to
www.bassfishing.org/reports/unsubscribe.cfmGood fishing and good luck. You can't catch them if you don't go.