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

LAKE FORK WEEKLY FISHING REPORT

LAKE FORK WEEKLY FISHING REPORT

FROM:  J & M Guide Service

DATES:  10 – 16 October 2016

It was a very busy week here on Lake Fork.  We were busy getting ready for the Berkley Bass Tournament.  Berkley, Bass Champs and Lake Fork Marina made the tournament a huge success.  The big Bass for over the slot was a nice 10.15 pound Bass with a 2.95 pound Bass taking the honors for the fish under the slot. The weather remained good all weekend and the water temperatures remained constant in the low to middle 70’s.  The top water bite is getting fairly consistent and both the Texas rig and wacky rig worm bite remaining good.  The Berkley blue fleck power worm has been really good this week on the Texas rig and the Zoom watermelon/red Zoom trick worm is still working on the wacky rig.  Now for the zoom watermelon/red trick worm, make sure you dye the tail chartreuse and put a little nail in the head to get the worm down into the Hydrilla.  For our equipment list for the week, we continued to use the Duckett Ghost rods and the ABU Garcia Orra SX reels lined with Stren 17 pound test line.  

The White bass are getting more active as the water temperatures continue to get cooler.  This week we caught them on Joe Spaits chrome with red eyes ½ ounce Flash Tail spoon.  They have moved up in the water column to 18 to 22 foot of water.

The Crappie fishing gets better each week.  Several really good Crappies were taken on jigs and jig/minnow combination.  We found them in 11 to 18 foot of water over brush piles.

The Catfish fishermen had a lot of fun this week. Numerous good Catfish were taken in 22 to 26 foot of water around baited trees.  Punch bait was the bait of choice this week.  

Lake Fork Marina hosted the Berkley Bass Tournament this past weekend.  Ken, Dana and the whole staff did another great job of setting up and supporting the complete tournament.  Great Job folks!  Their newly remolded Tackle Shop is well stocked with all the latest tackle, Duckett rods and ABU Garcia reels.  Stop in and see the entire new product lines they have to offer.

Well finally all the major tournaments are over with for this year and we can get down to some serious Bass fishing.  I have several days open for the rest of the fall and winter for guided Bass, White Bass and Crappie trips.  Give us a call at: (903) 413-6919 or E-mail us at: bassmr@geusnet.com .  Have a great fishing week and keep a tight line.

 

J & M Guide Service Weekly Fishing Report

DATES:  28 June – 3 July 2016

Summer is here in full swing.  The water temperatures are in the upper 80’s to the lower 90’s.  The water clarity in most parts of the lake is stained to heavily stained.   The Bass are feeding in the early morning hours in 3 to 5 feet of water and then about 0800 they are moving into 12 to 20 feet of water.  The top water action has been limited in the early mornings but it has been offset by the wacky worm bite.  Look for isolated clumps of grass and throw past the clumps then work the wacky worm right into the grass. We found that the Zoom chartreuse/pepper trick worm rigged wacky style worked the best.   After 0800 move out into deeper water and use a Carolina rig.   This week I found that 12 to 14 foot of water was the best water depth, though the 20 foot level still produced a few fish.   One thing we did do a little different on our Carolina rig was change from a Zoom Baby Brush Hog to a Lake Fork Trophy Lures chartreuse/pepper Hyper Stick.  Great bait!!!  We continued to use Duckett rods and ABU Garcia Orra SX reels lined with Stren Original 17 pound test line.

The White Bass have moved into deeper water (24 to 28 foot).   We used Joe Spaits Flashtail silver with red eyes jigging spoon; it seemed to work the best.  I did notice that the bite is very light.  So expect to miss a few.  By the way, once in a while you will get a very large surprise—a largemouth Bass.  They out with the White Bass feed on the small White Bass.

The Crappie this week were a different story.  For some reason they were scattered out all over the lake.   We had to hunt for them, even under the bridges.  Minnows were the best bet to catch them.   There have been some complaints of the Crappie minnows dying quickly after they hit the 90 degree water.  Here is what is happening.  When you buy your minnows they are kept in tanks that have controlled water temperatures of 68 to 75 degrees.  When they hit the 90 degree lake water temperatures it stresses them to the max and they don’t last as long as you might like.  Keep aerators on in you minnow buckets and that will help a little.

The Catfish fishermen continued to have a good week.  They were catching them around baited trees in 26 foot of water.  The bait of choice was punch bait.

Lake Fork Marina has a good selectin of Zoom Trick Worms and minnows for you fishermen.  Don’t for get to pick up plenty of water because as the air temperature goes up so does the dehydration rate.  Stay Hydrated!

Now that I am back from vacation I am taking bookings for July and August for Bass, White Bass and Crappie trips.   Give us a call at: (903) 413-6919 or E-mail us at: bassmr@geusnet.com.  Have a great fishing week and stay haydrated.

Lake Fork Alligator and fish pic

Spencer Young sent us these photos, his father Steve Young caught a nice fish!  Looks like the alligators are out already!

Quick Report 2-28-12

On the phone with James Caldemeyer

* Catching a few fish in 2′ – 6′ of water

* Throwing a Shibui 1.5  crankbait with chartreuse

* Water temp 56-60

John Tanner Lake Fork Report December 2008

This week here at the great Lake Fork the fishing has made some changes and the winter time patterns are starting to lock in. The water temps have been in the 50’s now for a while and a good population of larger fish have moved to the shallows and will spend the winter there. These fish will hang out in the hydrilla beds that have deeper water close by. Main lake points, secondary points and large flats with healthy stands of the green stuff are good places to fish. This may seem odd to some of you who are thinking most of the larger bass spend the winter months out in deep water. However in lakes like Lake Fork that have a good amount of hydrilla, a lot of good sized bass love to spend the colder months in the comfort of this plush green vegetation that holds such a great amount of food and shelter. The same is true for other lakes that are blessed with weed beds like this. Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend here in Texas and Lake Qauchita in ARK are other good lakes that hold a lot of shallow fish in the winter due to the hydrilla beds. These are great fisheries but do not have the number of monster bass like we are blessed with here at Lake Fork. When the larger fish start showing up in the shallow weeds as the water cools, a great bait and probably the most popular choice is a red or crawfish colored lipless crank bait. These baits cover a lot of water and generate a good number of reaction strikes out of the bass when ran over the top of the hydrilla. Berkley Frenzy and rattle traps are good ones.tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. Or for more booking info click on the trip info section and for a look at some happy folks holding their Lake Fork Trophies be sure and click on all of the photo pages.DSM and see Ben Hogan to schedule a test ride in a Ranger. They are awesome and still built one at a time. www.rangerboats.com. Tell em tanner sent ya !Good fishin and God Bless,
John and Robin Tanner
Visit www.lakeforkbassguide.com for more info.
Many thanks to my sponsors.

How do you run a lipless crankbait over the grass with out getting tangled you ask? Well that is the idea. As you are running the bait over the weeds and you feel it start to get hung , rip the bait free with a snap of the wrist and keep reeling. As the lure rips free and deflects off of the weeds , that is when ole big mama will take a wack at your crank bait. It is a blast to say the least! This time of year you may not catch as many fish as you would say in the summer months but every bite you get is usually a quality bite. That’s what I love about fish Lake Fork in the winter months, December, January and February. This time of year is also a good time to fish a jig or even a jerk bait. The jig is good while fish around trees on the edges of the grass and along the creek channels. While flipping the wood I like to use the 3/8 or ½ ounce Talon Jig in black brown or PB&J colors. On the grass edges I like to drag the ½ ounce Talon football head jig in the same colors. On the jerk bait the Lucky Craft pointers are good in chartreuse shad and American shad colors as well as the trusty ole Rogues. Fish the jerk bait over the deeper grass tops and dead stick it as much as you can between rips. Now where is all of this hydrilla you ask? Well there is a ton of places to fish here on Lake Fork that have it. But, here is a little tip. While you are running the lake keep your eyes peeled for big flocks of coots feeding along the shorelines. These guys usually hang out over a weed bed. Stop and if you see them diving down and pulling up strands of the weeds pull in there and start fishing. Turn on your Lowrance and see hoe deep the grass is growing and fish the edges of it. I have found a lot of good fishing holes like this not only here on Lake Fork but on other lakes where I was searching for hydrilla. In last January’s issue of Bassmaster magazine I did a feature article with Wade Bourne on this style if fishing. I know it has been a while back but if you still have that issue on your arsenal dig it out and give it a look. The article was titled pattern of the month. It has some other good info on fishing the grass this time of year. But what about the deep fish ? Well you can still catch some deep ones on spoons, tail kicker type baits, drop shots as well as deep running swim baits. They don’t all move shallow, but day in and day out I like my odds better while fishing the grass this time of year especially when the water temps hit the low 50’s and below and I am looking for big fish. Tackle tip: The best rig I have found for cranking the grass with a lipless crank bait is a 7 ft medium heavy Shimano Crucial Cranking rod along with a Shimano Chronarch reel or one of the new Curados either spooled with Gamma 14 to 16 pound Edge flouro carbon line. Well hopefully these angling tips will help you catch more and bigger fish this winter. While everyone is out there deer hunting you can be here fishing for the big ones. Speaking of big ones you know it is share a lunker time from now until the end of April. That being said the Lake Fork Chamber of Commerce is putting on a fishing tournament that last through the share a lunker season. Go to http://www.lakeforkchamber.org or www.lakeforkbountybonanza.com for details. Or if you are by Lake Fork Marina go in the bait shop and ask them about it. It is pretty cool ! Remember to dress accordingly this time of year and always wear your life jackets. We pulled a couple of guys out of the lake last year about this time and man it was a close one for both of them. I got my hands on one of them as he was starting to go down. If they would have been wearing their life vest it would have been not such a close call. Gear Tip :For some awesome winter fishing gear go to http://www.riverswest.com. I have been wearing their gear for a couple years now and I can tell you that they make the warmest and the most water proof clothing available. Good Fishing if you are headed this way. If you are interested in booking a trip with us here on Lake Fork call us toll free at 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at

While you are in the area be sure and go by and visit Diamond Sports Marine our local Ranger Boat dealer. They carry a full line of Ranger Boats powered by Yamaha outboards. I just got my 09 model Z-21 rigged with a Yamaha series 2 250 hp recently and I love it. Go by

Please pray for our country and our troops and their families as they sacrifice for our freedom. Also continue to pray for my mom Peggy Tanner and Bobby Renfro as they battle health problems. Thank you for your prayers and remember Jesus is the reason for the season ! Read Luke 2 :1-14.

Lake Fork Guide John Tanner 47.58 5 Fish day 10-31-2008

John Tanner’s Website

November 1, 2008

Hello from the great Lake Fork.Water level about one foot low 402.1 water temp 66 degrees water clarity about 2 foot.

November is starting off with a bang! It looks like it is going to be an awesome month and the big ones are starting to bite as the fall patterns go into full swing!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking Mat and Nathan Dailey and boy did the big ones crank it up! It was a total blessing,I praise the Lord for such an awesome day. After fishing the shallows the first hours with not much luck we headed for a little deeper water and I looked at an area were we had been catching some pretty good fish in the afternoon hours. As a matter of fact I had Mat and Nathan with the day before and we saw several big fish on the graph there but couldn’t make many of them bite. Well, it was a different story today. We immediately starting catching fish. Nathan caught a low end slot fish on a Talon Football head jig and I then made a cast to the other side of the structure with my Carolina rig and had a bite. I felt the fish moving off with my bait and set the hook with my Shimano Crucial Rod and the fight was on! Once we landed the beast it weighed over 10 pounds. After we calmed down Nathan was hooked up again and after landing a few more nice slot fish up to 6 pounds on the Jig he then hooked another big mama. She weighed over 9 pounds. Wow what a morning ! We had some lunch and then went back out on the pond. I was headed back to the spot were we caught those big ones and decided to check another spot close by before we made the long run. Well, it paid off right away as Nathan went back to work with the Talon Jig and landed 3 nice slots in the 4 and 5 pound range. Those fish played out and we turned on the Lowrance and checked the other side of the ridge and spotted a good sized group of large fish hanging on a tree on a break line. Well up until then Matt hadn’t caught a fish. Nathan was putting on a clinic from the back of the boat. I guess Mat had enough and started wackin some big ones himself. He made the perfect cast and hooked into a monster. He landed this hog and she weighed over 10 pounds and was nearly 25 inches long. Man we were having a blast. After taking some good photos, and releasing the big girl back to the waters of Lake Fork we re grouped and lined back up on our spot. Mat fires another cast and unbelievably hooks up again. This time the fish was coming to us and thought she was in the 6 pound range. WRONG! She changed directions and came to the surface and jumped and yet another whale! This sucker was fatter than the first one Mat caught. We finally wrestled her into the net and weighed her in at 10 pounds 6 ounces! We had to sit down a minute and get ourselves together. We headed to the marina to get a certified weight on her and take some better photos. Well with time left we hit one more spot. The fish were stacked in there at the mouth of a creek along a little tree line.7 fish in 9 cast on the Jig! After that we kept fishing and in the course of the next half hour we caught 6 more bass in the 4 to 6 pound range. I guess you could say the jig bite is on! What a day and I can‘t say enough about my buddies Mat and Nathan. They have fished with me several times over the last few years and today was by far the best day so far. Oh yea thanks for helping me try to recover the rod and reel that I knocked off of the deck of my Ranger Boat this afternoon. If any one drags up a Shimano 7’6” Crucial with a Calcutta 200TE DC mounted on it PLEASE let me know. I miss it dearly! Fishing on Lake Fork isn’t always like this but when things get right it can be so awesome.

Lake Fork is a special place and is loaded with monster bass. The set ups we were using today was pretty simple. We were Carolina rigging and dragging a football head jig. Once we started smacking them on the jig though it was hard to put it down. On the Carolina Rig we were using 20 pound Gamma and a 12 to 14 pound Leader using Gamma Edge Flourocarbon and a one ounce Tru Tungsten weight. The leader was 4 foot and the hook was a Mustad 2/0 wide gap Ultra Point. On the jig we were using a ¾ ounce Talon Football head Jig on 16 pound Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon. In the grass in the mornings you can catch them froggin and also using a white buzzbait. Look for creeks off of the main lake with a lot of grass in them. Check for bait fish and go at it for the first hour or so. You can continue to catch them shallow during the day on wacky worms and senko type baits but again having a good concentration of shad in the area is key.

I know it is deer season but if you want to catch some Hogs November would be a good time to be here. If you would like to book a trip with us call toll free 1-800-865-2282 or drop us a line at tanner@lakeforkbassguide.com. For more booking info click on the trip info page and for a look at some happy folks holding their Lake Fork giants, click on all of the pages of the photo section.

While you are in the area be sure and visit the folks over at Diamond Sports Marine our local Ranger Boat Dealer. Tell ‘em Tanner sent ya. They carry a full line of Ranger Boats rigged with Yamaha Outboards. Awesome bass fishing machine. Schedule a test ride in the new Z-520, they are unmatched!Good fishin and God Bless,
John and Robin Tanner
Many thanks to my sponsors.

Good Luck if you are headed this way and if we can help out in anyway give us a shout. Please pray for our country as well as our men and women of our armed forces. Also keep my Mom in your prayers as well as The Pughe family. I got a message from Joel today and he said his wife had undergone some cancer testand were to get the results today. He said it had been a tough couple of weeks. Please keep them in you prayers. Read Galatians 6:9

 

Lake Fork Fishing Report Guide Clint Wright 10/20/2008

Lake Fork and local Hot Water Lakes: October 20, 2008

Lake Level: Fork: Full

Water Clarity:  Clear to stained

Water temp: The water temps have varied around 70 degrees.

Weather:  Clear to partly cloudy this week, with highs in the upper 70’s.

News: Lake Fork is cooling down and the hot water lakes are heating up! If you are looking to learn any new techniques or just go out and have a great time, give me a call. The hot water lakes here in East Texas are giving up great numbers of fish, not that the air temp has started cooling down. This past week, 40 – 70 bass per day were common with one 11.00 lb trophy caught.

Fishing Report

Lake Fork: Lake Fork fishing has been on one day and off the next. This is the reason I start booking trips in October on the local hot water lakes. These trips last until the middle of February. The days that the fish are biting on Lake Fork are great. Most of the fish that we have been catching are in the back of the creeks gorging on threadfin and gizzard shad. Two things you must have this time of year is grass and shad. If you find a mixture of these two, you will be in business. Throw a Sebile Flatt Shad or any lipless bait (shad colored) with a high speed reel and burn this bait over the grass and along the breaklines. I like to use 65 lb. Power Pro braid on a Custom Angle Moby Bass Rod in a 7ft. Heavy action, the parabolic bend in this rod is very helpful here. This bigger line makes fishing the grass easy. It will cast a country mile as well.

There is the occasional deep water bite to be had too. Here I use one of my custom painted spoons, a Revenge jig or a swim bait. The two things to look for here is shad and a major depth change. Good electronics are a must for this presentation to work. This is your eyes under the water to help eliminate useless water.

Guide Clint Wright
Lake Fork Day and Night Guide Service
WWW.LAKEFORKDAYANDNIGHT.US
903-342-3497
903-918-9469

9-30-08 Tom Redington Lake Fork Report

Lake Fork Report: Sep 30, 2008

After a couple of tumultuous weeks in early September dealing with many rainy days and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, we’ve had several of the most consistent weeks of weather I can remember at Lake Fork. Every day starts off cool and clear, warming into the mid-80s under mostly sunny skies. Once you figure out the fish it is easy to stay with them, since there aren’t any fronts to change things up. Don’t expect it to last forever though, as fall is just around the corner and we’ll start getting cold fronts and chances of rain on a regular basis once again. And that’s good news, because cooling water temps usually result in good bass fishing at Lake Fork until things turn really cold in late November.

On a personal note, I finished up my season on the FLW Stren Series and did well enough to qualify for the Walmart FLW Tour next year. I’m looking forward to an exciting year in 2009, guiding for lunkers on Lake Fork and also competing against some of the world’s best anglers on the FLW Tour.

Finally, I’m headed to Mexico to fish Lake Baccarac in Nov and Dec this year for trophy bass. Our group had one angler drop out of our first trip due to health reasons, so I’m looking for someone to fill his spot for that trip. It’s Nov 21-26 and we’re flying a charter plane directly to the lake. If you’re interested, please let me know.

Lake Conditions: With no rain and light winds, the water conditions are quite stable at Fork. The lake level is currently reading 402.58’ (about 5” below full pool). Some creeks are quite clear, although much of the main lake is brownish due to the fall turnover. Water temps remain fairly warm due to the sunny days, reading in the upper 70s in most areas. As the water level has dropped this summer, the expansive hydrilla and milfoil beds are really matting up, which makes for good fishing in late summer and fall.

Location Pattern: The best pattern for numbers of bass is 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 15’. 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 some bass 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, concentrate on main lake structure in 15’ to 35’. As the lake settles down from turnover and cools, this pattern will really turn on. 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: 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 fish early and late, as well as Fork Frogs in the lily pads. As the sun gets up a little higher, shallow running crankbaits, small spinnerbaits, and Lake Fork Tackle’s 3.5” and 4.5” Live Magic Shad swimbaits work better, especially on windy banks. When the bass aren’t in a chasing mood, switch to a Texas rigged watermelon/red or watermelon candy 8” Fork Worm or the new Hyper Finesse Worm with a 1/8th oz bullet sinker and work it over the tops of grass and along the edges. For bigger fish, a 3/8 oz watermelon red Mega Weight Jig with a matching Fork Craw or a TX rigged watermelon/red or Bama Bug colored Hyper Freak produce well when pitched to the deep weed edge.

Out deeper, Carolina rigs, drop shots, jigs, and Texas rigs will catch bass from schools located near the bottom on deep structure. I go with a green pumpkin or watermelon red 8” or 10” Fork Worm for my Texas rigs. Meanwhile, watermelon candy, watermelon/red, or green pumpkin Baby Fork Creatures, Ring Frys, and Twitch Worms are on the business end of my Carolina rigs. Drop shots will catch good numbers of fish and the occasional big bass, rigged with a watermelon or green pumpkin Hyper Finesse Worm. When the bass are suspended, Fork Flutter Spoons and deep diving crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns are working better than the bottom presentations, and catching some lunkers too.

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

Big fish moving up at night

Went out for a few hours last night and ended up with some good fish off my usual night hole.

Big fish was a 9.20 24 1/2″ fish caught on a texas rig black/blue Gene Larew Hawg Craw with a 1/4oz Tungsten weight.  Fish averaged about 4lbs-  Fish moved off around 11pm.  Bite kicked up right at dark, 10-14foot holding tight to brush.

Going back again tonight, will give another report-