With the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash and a number of other tournaments on Lake Fork over the next few weeks, I offer my fall tourney edition fishing report. Just in time, lots of keeper sized bass (under the 16” slot limit) are showing up in the shallows, while the big bass should come more consistently as things cool down a bit more. As the lake continues to cool, Fork will turn over in the next couple of weeks and fishing will become very good both shallow and deep in October and November. For this week though, due to all the big rains and with the corresponding rising water, the best bet overall will likely be fishing shallow cover.

For more information on my fall tournament strategies for Fork, check out my fall tourney article on my website: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/sept2008.htm

As a side note, I have one seat open on the charter plane to Lake Baccarac in November. If you’re interested in joining us and would like more info, please drop me a note at tom@lakeforkguidetrips.com


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: 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, or at least a tournament winner. 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