Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report 11- 2-16

We are starting to see the bass here on Lake Fork get into their normal fall patterns in spite of the unseasonably warm weather we have been having. We had one of the warmest Septembers on record, and October was the warmest on record for the Dallas area. Our water temperature is in the low to mid 70’s, almost 10 degrees warmer than it normally is in November. Hopefully we will get some cold weather soon, because the colder it gets, the bigger our average size gets.

Still, we are having some good days and a few big fish too. I’m sure there are plenty of shallow fish to be caught, however I love fishing deep, offshore structure. I feel like the deeper water gives my customers a better opportunity at a trophy bass. I’m depending on my Lowrance HDS units to find schools of fish on points, humps, roadbeds and ledges on the main lake. When I do find them, a Carolina rig, football jig, and spoon have been my top producers.

Below are some nice bass we’ve caught over the past week. November can be a great big fish month. I have been on the water nearly everyday over the past month, but I still have a few good dates open for November. If you are looking for a Lake Fork guide, I hope you’ll give me the opportunity to help you have a good fishing experience here.

Lake Fork Guide Andrew Grills

Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report

As usual, February was great for big fish. I haven’t had the time to post pictures as often but it was a good month. A few of the fish pictured were caught in the last two days, but the rest are from the past couple weeks. We caught big fish as deep as 40′ suspended, and some as shallow as 3′. Numbers have been low, but heck, my numbers are almost always on the low side this time of year. Fortunately, we often get a big one that makes the day.

It looks like another severe cold front is coming in, and that’s right down my alley. It will position the fish in the deepest water nearby. They wont bite as good, but at least I’ll know where they’re at. It seems like the biggest fish come on the worst days weather-wise this time of year, so I never let the weather bother me as long as its safe.

Right now, I’m catching fish in 3-10′ on structure near spawning areas. Moving baits have been most productive, but on some days we have to slow down with a shaky head or an M-Pack Lures jig.

Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report 1-21-14

Fishing is pretty decent for bigger fish right now on Lake Fork, considering it is January. Numbers of fish caught are lower than what you would expect the rest of the year, but the average size is very good. Although the numbers aren’t that high, it isn’t unusual if we don’t catch a single fish under 4lbs in a given day. I love this time of year because the lake isn’t too crowded and the bass you do catch are probably gonna be good ones.

Saturday, my customer Bud Biram from Tulsa, who has been fishing with me on a regular basis since last June, broke his personal best again. This time it was a 9lb 10oz beauty! She is the first fish in the pictures. He had the patience to keep at it and it paid off. The main mistake I see people make this time of year is that they lose patience and confidence because they don’t get very many bites. I work specific stretches over thoroughly, with lures that have been proven to work on Lake Fork through the years, because I believe big fish are close by.

Right now I am keying in on a variety of areas. The best pattern for me has been fishing break lines adjacent to spawning flats, but the jig is still producing the better quality fish on most days. The jig bite hasn’t been what it was the past few years, but I keep checking areas with a jig because I know that its a big fish presentation. I’m basically fishing in places where fish stage up to prepare for spawning. This is a great time to catch a double digit sized fish because the larger, female fish are feeding to put on weight before they spawn and they’re full of eggs. If you look at the list of the largest bass ever caught in Texas, you’ll find many were caught in January and February.

If you’re looking to catch a trophy sized bass I encourage you to give Lake Fork a try during the next month. Its a great time to catch a big one! The following pictures are from my last two trips.

Lake Fork Guide Andrew Grills Report 9-25-13

The McDonald’s tournament is over and as I expected, there were a good number of big fish weighed in. This continues to be a great year for bigger fish, although numbers have been a little lower for me. The cold front and rain this past weekend have really changed the fishing patterns. Now I will be concentrating in shallow water and wont be fishing very deep for a few weeks. Luckily we have some good grassy areas that I’m really looking forward to fishing this fall. Fishing might be slow for the next few days, but an extended forecast of cooler weather should help the lake settle back down.

A couple techniques that will work are Texas rigged plastics and dropshots. For now, smaller baits like baby brush hogs or speedcraws will be good choices on the Texas rigs. Trick worms or finesse worms are what I always use on my dropshot.

Keep in mind that some of the best fishing Lake Fork has to offer is coming later in October through the New Year. Here are some nice fish we caught last week. If you would like to book a trip call me anytime.
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Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report September 13, 2013

Its been a very good year for big fish here on Lake Fork. September is one of the tougher months to consistently catch big bass, but we have had a few really nice fish and some big ones that got away. The numbers have been a little low, but we usually get a big fish on at some point on most days.

Right now, I am targeting groups of feeding fish early in the morning. In certain areas there are active fish the first couple hours of daylight. I like to throw moving baits at these fish. Lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless baits, and topwaters can work well. I know I’m in the right areas when I see feeding fish on my Lowrance, and occasionally you will see them come to the surface. Schooling fish can be found in virtually any depth, because they’re relating more to schools of baitfish than bottom contour.

As the day progresses I will move into other areas with more cover in order to catch the fish that aren’t quite as active. Often, slowing down and fishing a small bait like a dropshot worm may be the only way I can catch them. However, there are times when aggressively fishing a deep diving crankbait through the trees can get a reaction bite. This is a very good way to catch big fish this time of year. When that crankbait careens through the branches, the fish react and hit the bait out of instinct. I like to focus on depths around 10-15′ of water this time of year, but usually catch a few shallower and deeper as well. I’m still staying close to structure like the edges of points, ridges, humps, and channel drops. This is a transition time for the fish, so there will be fish in various patterns throughout the lake.

The McDonalds Big Bass Splash is coming up and the lake will get increasingly busy with competitors practicing and going out with guides to get ready for the tournament. Remember that we are nearly 6 feet low right now, and the lake can be dangerous to navigate. There are a lot of stumps just under the surface in areas where it was safe to run when the lake was full. Be careful!

Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report 7-27-2013

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903-638-1170

 

The weather has been strange all year and July was no exception. The water temps are still very low for this time of year, while it seems hot out, it sure isn’t what the fish are used to this time of year. This has been caused by little cold fronts that are coming through on a regular basis. Finding fish right now can be challenging because they are comfortable in such a wide depth range, they can be scattered just about anywhere. In spite of all that, we are still catching good fish and I only expect it to get better. The hotter it gets, the more consistent the fishing will be. August is generally a very good month on Lake Fork. Lets just hope for some normal weather!

Right now I’m fishing a lot of depths, but I find myself close to 20′ most of the time. I narrow the depth down by keeping a close eye on my Lowrance HDS units. The right depth to be fishing will change throughout the day and everyday. I’ve been throwing all of the summertime lures like crankbaits, spoons, Carolina rigs, dropshots, and heavy shaky heads. My favorite lure this time of year is a Toadwrangler football jig because it consistently produces big fish like the one pictured below. Some days the fish can be a little jig shy, so you’ll just have to evaluate weather they will bite a big ole football jig or not. After a cool front, when the wind is calm and the barometric pressure is high, I’ll put down the jig and opt for a dropshot or shaky head.

If I can help you on your next trip to Lake Fork please let me know!

Lake Fork Guide Andrew Grills Giant Bass Report Lake Fork 6/27

The big fish are chomping right now on Fork! The past week has been very good for quality bass. Of course there have been a couple slower days when it takes a lot of work to find fish positioned in deeper feeding areas, but overall the fishing has been consistent.

Right now I’m checking a number of spots until I see what I’m looking for on my Lowrance HDS. Once we find them, I’m throwing a variety of presentations. I have a big spoon, deep diving crankbait, Toadwrangler football jig, and Carolina rig on the deck at all times. The depths I am targeting are relative to the area of the lake and cloud cover. On the northern ends of the lake the bite seems to range from 8′ to 18′. Further down the lake I am spending most of my time in 20′ to 25′. When its cloudy, finding the fish is much more challenging as a rule. On those days I look a little shallower.

The football jig has been producing some very nice fish, several of the big fish pictured below came on Toadwrangler jigs. I use a 3/4 or 1oz jig and fish it in areas where we have caught double digit fish in the past. I usually use a slow steady drag retrieve, and be sure to allow my jig to fall straight down as I bring it over limbs or laydowns. Most of the time the big fish hit it as its falling back down.

We are coming up on one of my favorite months! July is a fantastic time to fish here. The hotter it is, the better the bite seems to be. Its also nice because the heat keeps the crowds down. Here are a few of the bigger fish we have caught this past week.

Andrew Grills Lake Fork Report 6-14-13

Fishing is pretty good right now on Fork. I love summer, and it seems like the hotter it is the better the fishing gets. What makes it so exciting is the opportunity to locate schools of big bass grouped together on offshore structure. The fishing was pretty good for me last week leading up to the Skeeter Owner’s Tournament. Due to the high volume of boats on the water practicing later in the week, I opted to fish some patterns where there would be less boat traffic. We targeted bass in 1-3’ of water near areas with high concentrations of bluegill. To catch these fish we used Texas rigged soft plastics in bream colors. Getting away from the crowds paid off for my customers. We actually caught several fish in the 8-9lb range doing this, along with a decent number of smaller slot fish. I was fortunate to see a customer break their personal best bass 5 of the last 6 trips.

Today I wasn’t expecting much action. The day after a mega-tournament can be tough, but it turned out great. The best thing was only seeing a couple other boats all day. We targeted fish in deeper water today with deep-diving crankbaits and Carolina rigs. We weeded through tons of sandbass, but it was worth it when those 8lb heads came up thrashing!

These pictures were taken on my last 4 trips.

Lake Fork Guide Andrew Grills Post Spawn Report 5-16-13

Incredible afternoon on Lake Fork today! I usually don’t mention much about numbers, but this afternoon was incredible. On a late half-day trip we boated over 30 largemouth in only 3 hours, losing probably 8-10 fish at the boat on crankbaits (several of those fish were over 7lbs). Along with the largemouth my customer and I caught over 70 white bass. What a fun day! The kicker is that we only had two bass under 4lbs! They were all good quality fish. A day to remember for sure. We actually caught several fish that were bigger than most pictured, but the action was so fast and furious we didn’t take the time to take pictures. The wind was howling and just the time it took to unhook fish we would blow off the spot. This kind of action is not typical, but this is why we love Lake Fork! We were at the right place at the right time.

The pattern for me right now is throwing topwaters and shallow crankbaits early. Then I move out deeper, 5-15′ in most cases. It wont be long until we start consistently catching fish in 20-25′. Lures that are producing in deep water are spoons, crankbaits, heavy shaky heads, carolina rigs, and football jigs.

If you would like to book a trip with me, please call (903) 638-1170

www.lakeforkgiants.com

Lake Fork Guide Andrew Grills Fishing Report from 3-23-2013

Lake Fork is fishing good right now. The water temperature is 59-62 degrees from the dam to the head of the lake. I expect it will drop a little this coming week because of the cold front, but I believe the bite should hold up. I believe some prespawn staging fish will hold back, and stay where they are, while fish that are already on beds will stay. There will also be a wave come up with the full moon, despite the cold front. It’s shaping up to be a good spring. I think we will have several waves of fish coming up over the next month, instead of almost all at once like last year.

There are a couple dependable patterns going right now. The location is definitely the key. Some areas of the lake are fishing great while other places where we usually catch them this time of year aren’t holding catchable fish. There are a lot of fish on beds on the upper half of the lake on both arms. I am doing some sight fishing for the spawning fish with a wide variety of Texas rigged plastics. I like craws, tubes, and lizards. I will experiment with colors on tough to catch fish. If they’re catchable, there is usually a certain color or profile the fish will respond to. Sometimes it takes a natural color, but often it’s a bright flashy color that gets the fish to respond. When I see a bigger female, I usually use a jig. Something about a jig just has big fish appeal, and bigger fish seem to respond to a jig well. I also have a much better hook-up and landing ratio with a jig for bed fish. I always use a small profile jig, by trimming the skirt short and using a compact trailer in this situation. Sight fishing isn’t for everybody, so I don’t do it all the time. However, if you want a good chance for a trophy fish it is a good way to do it right now.

Another pattern is fishing for prespawn fish. These fish are still actively feeding and are fatter than ever. I’m targeting these fish on points, secondary points, and break-lines in 5-20 feet of water near spawning areas. I know, that’s a pretty wide range. The depth is secondary to the structure. These fish are relating to the drop-offs more than a certain depth. I’m using Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and shaky heads for these fish. I have experimented with several colors and many are working. I think the main thing is fishing extremely slow.

I hope this helps you catch them on your next trip to Lake Fork.

These pictures are from the past few days here.

This is the 10lb 14ounce hawg Charlie caught with me. This was his personal best, and his dad was with us to enjoy it. She came on a carolina rig in 19’ of water.