Tom Redington

Lake Fork Report & Pics—Oct 17, 2013 Had the pleasure of taking 3-time All Star second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers fishing earlier this week. You never know what to expect when taking someone fishing for the first time, famous or otherwise, but Ian was very courteous and was really into fishing, wanting to learn every little detail he could. He graduated from spinning gear up to baitcasters during the trip and even caught fish on a jig, not exactly a beginner bait, so he’s a quick study. He and his friend watched in awe during the day as an osprey snatched a white bass off the surface, an enormous eagle perched right next to our boat, and a monster bass erupted completely out of the water—throwing hydrilla and the lure back at us—proving that our lakes are routinely as spectacular as any ballpark. As for the fishing, Lake Fork is still turning over and until it wraps up (should be soon), you can mostly write off the deep fish. You can still catch some fish deep that are suspended, but that’s a tough proposition and the best play right now is the shallows. Fork has nearly as much grass as a Grateful Dead concert these days, with good green mats of hydrilla on the upper ends of both main arms. The lower half of the lake has a stringier type of weed growing out to about 3’-6’ in many areas. I’m not exactly sure of the name of this grass, but it turns black and rots over the winter instead of going dormant like hydrilla. While it remains alive though, the bass and bait hang around it. With the water still in the mid-70s, we’re not really into a full blown fall pattern yet. You’ll find shad and bass equally distributed between main lake flats and points as well as back in the creeks. In general, it seems that areas with green grass nearyby have been the key. We’ve caught some as deep as 12’-16’, but even most of those areas had grass up on the shallow parts of the points. For baits, I’ve done better on light worms and jigs. Wacky rigs, light Texas rigs, weightless Texas rigs, and small jigs have been best. When it really gets slow, I try to make super long casts with a 7’3” Dobyns 734C rod and go with a wacky or weightless rigged Hyper Stick and fish it as slowly as I can stand. Painful, yet effective. With the cooler temps coming, lipless and square bill cranks, chatterbaits, and topwaters should really take off. The fish seem to all be mixed together, so if you’re catching unders and smaller slot fish, all of a sudden you’ll pop a big one, and then go back to dinks. For fish pics and regular updates from Fork and the trail, follow along at www.facebook.com/tomredingtonfishing and http://twitter.com/Tom_Redington . For fishing articles and fishing how-to info, check out my articles page: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles.htm . Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report & Pics—Aug 27, 2013 Some representative samples from recent Fork trips: The dog days of summer have a firm grip on Lake Fork right now and bass will remain mostly in summertime patterns until the weather changes. Despite low water and a squirrely weather pattern, Fork has more consistently produced double digit fish this year than any time in recent memory. No matter the conditions this year, it seems like you always hear of someone landing a monster. Summer fishing had been excellent on the lake for size and numbers, but things slowed down considerably for me over the past week. The silver lining of Fork is that even though the numbers were off, we still managed to catch at least one fish 7 lbs or bigger most days. Depending on your heat tolerance, the crowds completely disappear by 11 AM each day and you can have the lake to yourself if you don’t mind the hot sun. Alternatively, the night bite has produced some trophy fish in comfortable temps for those who aren’t afraid of the dark (I would caution against hitting any trees with a rod and yelling in celebration of a lunker though, as this normally draws in Bigfoot from what I’ve seen on TV, ha). September is just around the corner and we consistently catch bass chasing shad in the shallows that month every year, whether the water is hot or cool. Any cool fronts, tropical storms, or rainy days really turn on this bite even in August, so if your deep bite fizzles, disregard the water temp gauge and get after the shallow bass with crankbaits and spinnerbaits or flip any shallow grass and wood. Until the lake turns over, I’ll be concentrating mostly on offshore structure. Unlike the earlier part of summer when the schools were huge and the fish were more active, you’ll often find smaller pods of bass now and their feeding windows are shorter. However, trust your electronics and you can grind out a few fish when they are inactive, and then get some good flurries when they turn on. Depending on the conditions, bass will be on the bottom, suspended, or on the top schooling, so you’ll have to adjust your presentation accordingly. For fish pics and regular updates from Fork and the trail, follow along at http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com. Trying to get your son started in fishing and the outdoors? Love fishing and want to help others get involved? Check out www.BeAScout.org and help the next generation get active outside. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report & Pics—June 18, 2013 Some representative samples from the past few days on Fork: After tons of big fish spread out all over the shallows on Lake Fork during the spawn (resulting in a number of 13, 14, 15, and 16 pounders being caught), many of the lunkers are now grouping up in large schools on offshore structure. Whereas you might find bass on just about any piece of shoreline cover a month ago, now you can fish or graph large sections of the lake and not find a bass. Once you find a school though, man oooohhhhhhhhh man, it can boggle the mind with the number of good fish on one key piece of structure. Finding these key honey holes takes some time scouting, but the payoff is worth it. Key structural spots often hold fish all summer long, and typically year after year if the water level and conditions are similar. With the water levels being down this year, bass are using some different areas, making it the perfect opportunity to find unpressured fish all for yourself. Most anglers think of deep water as the home of summertime bass, but channel swings in bigger creek arms hold lots of fish even in the dog days. In addition, shallow points on the main lake or in bigger creeks with deep water nearby are great structure spots too, especially early, late, and during the night. For fish pics and regular updates from Fork and the trail, follow along at http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com. Trying to get your son started in fishing and the outdoors? Love fishing and want to help others get involved? Check out www.BeAScout.org and help the next generation get active outside. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report & Pics—May 4, 2013 Monday—Randy got the better of a double with an 8-12 but Pat rallied with a 7-12 later: Tuesday—The brothers combined for a 34.63 lb limit the next day: Thursday—fish bit all day in the front, with Zac’s best five around 32 lbs: Friday—slower after the front but another good sack in the 30s anchored by an 8-5 and 7-11: Cover shot from “Scouting Magazine” May/June issue. Read the article here: http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com. Trying to get your son started in fishing and the outdoors? Love fishing and want to help others get involved? Check out www.BeAScout.org and help the next generation get active outside. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report—April 4, 2013 Lake Fork is cranking out great big fish as regularly as any time in recent memory. Just like any lake, you’ll have your share of slow postfrontal days on Fork, but even on a tough day, some lucky anglers pop a double digit fish. And on the good days, we’ve seen true monsters, including several 13s, a 14, 15, and 16 pounder this season. A busy tourney schedule, sponsor obligations, and an additional TV show (“Belize Outdoors” which will air 13 original episodes on WFN starting in May/new episodes of “Big Bass Battle” and “Crappie Time” start this month on Sportsman Channel) have cut into my guide trips on Fork this year, but with the lunker bonanza, you can bet I get on the lake every day that I can. The spawn is in full gear at Fork right now and I’d estimate approximately 1/3 of the fish have already spawned, with a major wave of fish moving up all around the lake this week. Unlike the nearly cold front free spring of last year, we’re having a more normal season and the spawners should keep showing up in waves into early May. Backs of big creeks spawn first, then deeper pockets nearer the mouths of coves, with fish on flats on the main lake or mouths of pockets bringing up the rear. Each creek and pocket has its own characteristics, so one bay can be full of actively spawning fish, while its next door neighbor might be bedless. If you’re not getting bit this time of year, keep moving until you find them. With prespawn, spawning, and postspawn fish all available, there are biting fish to be had on any given day if you crack the code. For fish pics and regular updates from Fork and the trail, follow along at http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com. If you're in the Lake Fork area and need any boat service or want to check out the new line of Ranger boats, stop by www.DiamondSportsMarine.com on Hwy 154 on the East side of Fork, Ranger Boat's #1 dealer for 2011. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report--January 27, 2013 Lake Fork bass are slowly creeping into the creeks as they stage for the spawn. Last year was significantly warmer and there were a few isolated fish on beds by the end of January. Things are running closer to normal this year and we’re entering my favorite time of year on Fork, the prespawn. After a sluggish start to the fall bite, Fork cranked out a bunch of double digit fish, culminated by a 15.02 caught in December. With all of those monsters crashing the banks to spawn over the next few months, that bodes well for a lot of trophy catches this spring. The beauty of the prespawn fishing on Fork is the crowds are light, especially on the best days. Come to Fork in January or February on a rare warm, sunny, and calm day and you’ll be greeted by a crowd of fair-weather fishermen, likely with little to show for their efforts. Much better is a windy and cloudy day, especially after a warming trend. Hit the lake on a nasty frontal day with rain coming down and the ramps will be empty but you’ll probably find the fish eagerly snapping. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 3.5 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater. It’s also the time of year that more 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, and bigger are caught. As I type this, I keep looking out my office window at the misty grey skies and wish I was on the lake right now… Lake conditions, lures, and location info are included in the remainder of my report and you can check it out on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/tomredingtonfishing or on my website. Facebook "likes" and Twitter "follows" go a big way with sponsors, and both are much appreciated if you're so inclined. Good Fishing, Tom _________________________ FLW Tour Pro & Lake Fork Bass Guide www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com

Lake Fork Fishing Report—Tourney Edition It’s tournament season on Lake Fork, with a big tournament or two every weekend for the coming weeks. The Big Bass Splash this weekend kicks things up a notch with the 3000+ anglers competing for $500,000 in cash and prizes. Next weekend on Saturday the 29th, the Diamond Sports Marine Open big bass tournament pays $10k for first prize and has hourly big bass payout as well (more info at www.DiamondSportsMarine.com ). And the big paydays continue up to the Berkley Big Bass tourney on Oct 20-21, with two bass boats for top prizes and hourly paybacks. The good news for the tourney crowds is that the shad and tons of keeper sized fish are hitting the shallows of Fork right now. Bass are visibly chasing shad around the lake, especially in areas where the grass has started growing again. Although we are still catching a big fish now and then, it has been more of a quantity than quality deal for the past few weeks. The lake has been turning over for a while now and you can still catch some fish offshore, but the shallow fish are more consistent day-in and day-out. Considering most of the attention on Fork right now is on tournament fishing, I’ll deviate a bit from my normal report and include my September article about tournament fishing on Lake Fork. Good luck to everyone this fall and I hope some of this info helps. Lake Conditions: Fork dropped a fair amount recently due to the dog days of summer but we are in good position to be near full pool if normal fall rains hit. The lake level is currently 399.38 (about 3’ 7” below full pool). Water temps in the main lake are reading 79-83. Much of the lake is still a nasty brown from the turnover but not nearly as bad as it was a week ago. A variety of submerged plants as well as lily pads are showing up in familiar spots, plus taking root in some places where we haven’t seen “weeds” for a while. For more on how to catch those tourney winning fish, here’s my September article: Fork Tournament Fishing in the Fall By Tom Redington Fall is tournament season on Lake Fork, with thousands of anglers in big bass tournaments and regional team trail events. Because of the 16” to 24” slot limit that remains in effect for all tournaments, anglers’ strategies are a little different on Fork than on most lakes. Since the vast majority of prizes for Fork tournaments are won by anglers with fish under 16”, I’ll focus on those patterns. During the fall tournament season (Sep-early Nov), numbers of bass are available in both the shallow and deep sections of Fork. As the water cools, many bass move back into creeks and onto the flats near creek channels chasing shad. At the same time, shallow main lake flats and points hold lots of bass, too. After spending most of the summer fishing deep water structure, the shallow fisherman can consistently catch bass in the fall, so begin your fishing there. Start your search for productive areas with moving baits, and then switch to soft plastics to catch numbers from those areas. Keeping in mind that you’re looking for bass that are 16” and smaller, downsized lures typically work best. Topwaters are a great starting lure, and the smaller sizes of poppers and walking baits like Lucky Craft’s Sammy, G-Splash, and Gunfish are very productive. The G-Splash is a popper that works best on calm days, while the walking and spitting Sammys and Gunfish work great when there is more chop. With the G-Splash, you can work it very slowly like a regular popper, or work it fast and it will spit while walking side-to-side. Depending on the mood of the fish, they’ll prefer one retrieve over the other. A long rod with a soft tip helps a lot too and I’ve fallen in love with the fiberglass Champion 704CB Glass model rod from Dobyns Rod. It has a whipping action that launches small topwaters and cranks and the slow action of fiberglass lands a lot more fish that are barely hooked. And stories about how you landed a prize winning fish that was barely hooked sure beat those about how the “big one got away.” After the sun gets up and bass won’t commit to surface baits, shallow crankbaits and lipless crankbaits work best. Bass are keying on small shad in autumn, so chrome or shad colors of small lipless crankbaits work all fall long. While the water stays warm, wider wobbling crankbaits like RC 0.5 or BDS 0 and BDS 1 square bill cranks move a lot of water and catch fish. Once water temps cool into the lower 60s, tighter wiggling cranks like the SKT Mini MR will garner more attention. And certainly don’t forget spinnerbaits. A ¼ oz spinnerbait with two silver blades and a translucent white skirt fools many bass in the fall, especially on windy banks. Cover water with these baits until you get a couple of bites in an area and locate a school. Once you’ve found a few fish in an area, soft plastics will normally produce additional bass from the spot. Your #1 option is a wacky worm. Rig a Hyper Finesse Worm on the weedless wacky weight system from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and cast it to the edge of grass, concentrating on points or along creek channels. If conditions are a little windier, the Hyper Finesse Worms and 4” Hyper Worms work great on a 1/8 oz jighead, fished shaky style. Fish these very slowly around areas where you’ve picked up fish with the moving baits and you’ll be able to seine out more bass. When the bite is off and bass bury up in the cover a little more, or when they’re holding just a skosh deeper, a finesse Carolina rig with 12 lb fluoro on a 7’4” Dobyns Extreme DX743 rod, a ¼ oz sinker and a 12” leader can be dynamite. Rig a Fork Baby Creature, Baby Ring Fry, or the Hyper Stick on the hook and you’ll be in business. Finally, a 3.5” Live Magic Shad rigged on a weighted 3/0 Ultimate Swimbait Hook will catch neutral bass that are suspended around grass or stumps. I primarily like shades of green for these lures in clearer sections of the lake, with green pumpkin and watermelon shades being consistent producers. In murkier water, June bug, black blue, and black neon does well on Fork. For a shot at a 24”+ over the slot bass, normally the largest bass are caught very first thing in the morning before the fish become pressured. Try a 10” Fork Worm on a TX or Carolina rig, or a ½ oz MPack Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer early in the morning along creek channels and on main lake points. Many of the biggest fish are caught while finesse fishing for unders though, so the best tactic in my opinion is to target lots of bites. In the fall, big bass are more random and may come on a small worm or crank after catching 5 dinks before it. That’s the beauty of Fork—a double digit fish can happen on any cast. The early fall timeframe can be really hit or miss out deep. The lake normally turns over during this time and the offshore bite is awfully tough for a few weeks. Once the lake settles down, drop shotting Hyper Finesse Worms, Carolina rigging Baby Ring Frys, and smaller Fork Flutter Spoons catch lots of unders and some overs too. With the thermocline gone after turnover, you can catch offshore fish anywhere from 8’ to 40’+. In general, the brighter and calmer the day, the deeper you want to search. With the incredible maps and sonar units these days, you’re wasting your time fishing unless you mark a good school on your screen. The newer Navionics maps show all the tiny humps and creek bends on Fork and Down Scan and Structure Scan on the Lowrance units clearly pick up fish buried in grass, standing timber and brush piles. Graph around until you find a good school and then go to work on them. Best of luck to those of you tourney fishing Fork this fall. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you're in the Lake Fork area and need any boat service or want to check out the new line of Ranger boats, stop by www.DiamondSportsMarine.com on Hwy 154 on the East side of Fork, Ranger Boat's #1 dealer for 2011.

Lake Fork Report and Pics—July 20, 2012 Some representative summertime catches:

Lake Fork Report and Pics—June 18, 2012 Congrats to newlyweds Justin and Tanya. Justin lost a toad on our trip but the happy couple seems to have found keepers in each other: Some representative summertime catches: Fishing a webisode of the “Scott Martin Challenge” on the Chesapeake Bay recently: Lake Fork bass are well into summertime patterns now and I’m concentrating on deep structure almost all day on most trips. Although the storms and clouds have made for the most temperate week of June fishing in recent memory, the normal hot and sunny summer weather is typically better for the deep bite. The hotter the water gets and the brighter the sun, the more bass group up in tight schools and relate closely to the bottom. Wind, clouds, and storms tend to leave the fish a bit more scattered and often suspended, making us work harder to catch good numbers. Powerful electronics and gps maps have turned many secret deep water honey holes into community spots. Bass still live in these areas, but pressured fish become very selective and you have to be on your game to keep catching them. This isn’t unique to Fork, as anglers on Guntersville, KY Lake, Rayburn, Falcon and other top structure lakes have to figure out how to beat the crowds too. Therefore, a combination of small factors like lure profile and color, type of retrieve, speed, line size, and angle can be the difference between no bites or 30. Use your same old baits in the same old ways on the same old spots and watch your results plummet. To get away from the crowds, Lowrance StructureScan helps you locate schools of fish that are buried in thick timber, so move off the obvious points and humps on your gps maps and find more subtle features that others miss and you’ll have some schools to yourself. While summer is known for deep structure fishing, many bass are still caught up shallow. If you’re getting frustrated with the deep water community holes, here’s an “old school” option. My June article covers summer bass in the shallows: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/june2012.htm A couple recent videos might help you as well. My video on reading sonar, side scan and down scan sonar is available here: And here is an inexpensive product that will completely rustproof your tackle boxes and enitre boat. They aren’t a sponsor of mine, but I’m definitely sold on them after a couple years of great results: Lake Conditions: A few rains have kept Fork in good shape. The lake level is currently 401.03’ (about 2’ below full pool). Water temps in the main lake are in the low to mid 80s, with creeks running warmer. The main lake is the normal greenish stain of Lake Fork, although creeks are more brownish than normal because of the limited grass. Location Pattern: Early and late and when it is cloudy/windy/rainy, you can still find bass feeding on points and flats near or in the main lake. Many creeks have flooded shoreline vegetation and you’ll find bass holding here too. Some big bass are still shallow but you can find schools of big fish offshore, so I spend most of my time off the banks on structure. Deep structure like points, humps, creek bends, and roadbeds in 8’ to 20’ are best on the cloudy days, while I look more in 20’ to about 33’ on brighter and calmer days. Bass suspend over many deep structure spots, but finding places where they are on the bottom usually results in better catches. Most of these schools are relating to a few pieces of isolated cover, so watch your depth finder closely or you’ll bypass the mother lode. Presentation Pattern: Topwaters like Lucky Craft G Splashes, Sammys, and Gunfish are still getting some active fish early and late, as well as schooling fish when they come up during the day. Shad or chrome colors work best. Weightless rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads and Hyper Sticks will catch fish when the sun gets up a bit more. When the fish go down, you can often catch a few more on a TX rigged 8 or 10” Fork worm in the same areas until they start schooling again. On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and Fork Flutter Spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. Lots of bass suspend during the summer and super deep cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 are very effective, with Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue being my favorite colors. Fork Flutter Spoons will trigger a lot of these same fish too as they slowly wobble down through the schools like a dying shad. Try both aggressive rips and small hops with the spoon to determine the mood of the bass. A 7’8” Dobyns Extreme DX784C rod with 20 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line handles the heavy spoons very well and keeps those leaping lunkers hooked up. When bass group up on the bottom, they are easier to catch. Carolina and Texas rigs are my first choice. I’ll try a variety of baits on both rigs and let the bass tell me how much or how little action they want. Hyper Worms, Fork Worms, Fork Creatures, Hyper Lizards, & Hyper Freaks have a lot of action and trigger big aggressive fish. If the bass are more finicky, straight tail baits like Hyper Finesse Worms, Hyper Sticks, and Twitch Worms are normally more productive. The most productive bait seems to change daily, so experiment until you find what they want. Many of the bites are light, so a super sensitive Dobyns Extreme DX744C handles the regular rigs, while the 7’4” Mag Heavy DX745C handles big worms and football jigs better. If the bass won’t respond to those offerings, switch to a Hyper Finesse Worm on a drop shot with 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line and a Dobyns Extreme DX702SF spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. In the darker water, June bug, plum and blue fleck have been good, while the various shades of watermelon and green pumpkin have worked best in the clearer water. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you're in the Lake Fork area and need any boat service or want to check out the new line of Ranger boats, stop by www.DiamondSportsMarine.com on Hwy 154 on the East side of Fork, Ranger Boat's #1 dealer for 2011. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report and Pics—April 13, 2012 Some representative fish from recent trips: Although some bass are still up spawning, we’ve been catching mostly postspawn fish over the past couple of weeks on Lake Fork. A few prespawn fish are showing up every day though, so I suspect we’ll still have some fish on beds for a couple of more weeks. A quick look in the newly flooded grass around the lake reveals a ton of bass fry this year. All of the shallow cover, fry, plus the bluegill and shad spawns will have many fish staying shallow and biting aggressively for a couple months. Case in point, the first couple of hours each morning has been by far our best bite, with bass schooling up and busting shad on very shallow points. The best location changes daily, but once you find them, it’s fast action until the sun gets up. On overcast and windy days, bass will continue to aggressively chase in the shallows all day. If it turns sunny and slick, you can either slow down with soft plastics in the shallows or head to deep water, as more and more bass are showing up daily on deep structure. As the bass feed up after the spawn, the result is our most consistent fishing of the year for numbers of quality fish in the 3 to 7 lb range, with a shot at a double digit. So if your plans didn’t allow you to take advantage of the spawn this year on Fork, don’t despair, you can still enjoy what most locals consider the best fishing of the year on Fork—May through July. In addition to catching a lot of big fish, it is also the premier time to learn how to read your electronics to graph big schools of bass on deep structure. Many bass like to suspend in postspawn and my April article talks about how to catch them in more detail. http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/april2012.htm Lake Conditions: The spring rains have the lake up 6’ from last fall and there is newly flooded cover all over the lake. The lake level is currently 401.09’ and holding steady (about 1’ 11” below full pool). Water temps in the main lake are in the low to mid 70s, with creeks running warmer. The rising water and wind has Fork more stained than normal, especially on the northern half of the lake and in the backs of major creeks. In general, I like the clearer water on the cloudy and windy days, while I feel more comfortable in muddier water when it’s sunny and calm. Location Pattern: For the last of the spawners, check out the main lake flats and short pockets on the southern half of the lake. The slightly deeper structure like points, creek channels, and ledges in 1’ to 8’, adjacent to areas with numbers of shallow spawning bass is where we’ve found most of the bigger females, staging on their way back to deep water. On the northern half of the lake, timber or flooded grass flats and clay points will continue to hold numbers of fish until the bluegill and shad finish their spawns and temps turn hot. Some of the early spawners are showing up on offshore structure in 12’ to 25’ as well. Presentation Pattern: Just about every category of lure in the tackle box will work at times during the coming month, it’s just a matter of finding the best bait for the conditions. Topwaters are not only fun to fish, but also producing some really big fish so try your Lucky Craft G Splashes, Kelly J’s, and Gunfish. Best of all, you can work these baits all day long in the postspawn and catch good fish, especially if you are in areas with lots of bass fry. I’ve started throwing my topwaters on the fiberglass Dobyns Champion 704CB GLASS model rod. It weighs no more than a graphite stick and has a very soft tip. Little poppers like Yellow Magics, Pop-R’s and G-Splashes are small and often hard to cast, and then you miss a lot that bite them or jump off many that do. The soft tip of the Dobyns fiberglass rod will fling those little baits way out there and the slower action of fiberglass allows the bass to better take your bait, plus it keeps them on the treble hooks even when lightly hooked. I know that sounds like an infomercial, but since I switched to this rod, I can’t stop talking about how much I like it. Seeing monster bass explode on a topwater is pretty awesome, but it is way better if you actually get to hook and land them too. While in the shallows, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and vibrating jigs work well in shad or bluegill color schemes. ½ oz spinnerbaits, Lucky Craft LC 1.5 or BDS 3 square billed cranks, and bladed jigs with 3.5” Live Magic Shads will all catch good bass, especially on the windy and cloudy days. If the action slows, try a Hyper Stick or Ring Fry on a 12” leader and a ¼ oz weight on a Carolina rig and drag it around the same areas. With all of the flooded shoreline grass, it is hard to get a crankbait or spinnerbait through a lot of the weeds without fouling. A weightless TX rigged soft plastic jerkbait has been best in this situation, like a Hyper Stick or Magic Shad. Bass often hit them on the slow dying fall, but it seems like working them fast with short twitches triggers strikes better on most days. On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and Fork Flutter Spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. With the new DownScan sonar from Lowrance and detailed maps from Navionics, finding those once secret deep holes is now a lot easier. Lots of bass suspend early in the season and super deep cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 are very effective. Fork Flutter Spoons will trigger a lot of these same fish too as they slowly wobble down through the schools like a dying shad. When bass group up on the bottom they are easier to catch. Simply keep a Carolina rigged Baby Fork Creature or a TX rigged 10” Fork Worm in front of them long enough and they’ll eat sooner or later. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report and Pics—March 18, 2012 A few representative fish from trips this week: Earnie caught this big bass and a nearly 3 lb crappie earlier this month: Waves of bass keep moving up to spawn at Fork and the fishing is very good all over the lake right now because another wave hit the banks in the past few days. A big group moved up a couple weeks ago and just about everyone on the lake was whacking them. A little front and 1 foot rise in the lake had the bass a bit funky earlier this week, but consistently warm days and nights really had them hitting by the end of this week. The fishing has been so fun that after my customers said uncle and quit for the day the past two trips, I stayed out until dark by myself and took advantage of the biting bass. I’d estimate maybe 30% or 40% of the fish have spawned already but there is a bunch yet to do their thing. With prespawn, spawning, and postspawn fish all available, fishermen have a lot of patterns to choose from. The cornucopia of options allows you to find some fish biting in just about any conditions Mother Nature throws at you. If you’re not getting bit, keep changing up tactics and locales until you find them. With such a warm spring, I expect the spawn to continue for about another month. After that, it’s topwaters for post spawners and our best deep water structure bite of the year for big fish with deep cranks, Carolina rigs and football jigs from May into July. Lake Conditions: Regular rains are slowly bringing up Fork’s water levels and most boat ramps are in good shape. The lake level is currently 398.55’ and holding steady (about 4’ 6” below full pool and up nearly 4’ since the fall). Water temps in the main lake are in the low 60s and some shallow creeks are considerably warmer in the afternoons. The rising water and wind has Fork more stained than normal, especially on the northern half of the lake and in the backs of major creeks. In general, I like the clearer water on the cloudy and windy days, while I feel more comfortable in muddier water when it’s sunny and calm. Location Pattern: For prespawn and postspawn fish that are staging on their way in and back out, key on points and creek channels near spawning flats. With virtually no grass in the lake this year, bass are relating to the timber so make sure you are casting tight to the stumps. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of flats and creek channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move through April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May. Presentation Pattern: Just about every category of lure in the tackle box will be working by later this month. For prespawn and postspawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits will catch bass, especially on overcast and windy days. A great search tool are lipless crankbaits like the new Lucky Craft LV RTO. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft LC 2.5 or BDS4 square bills. Square bills are notorious for losing fish and missing bites, so I use the fiberglass 7’ Dobyns 705CB MF for my shallow cranks. The fiberglass rod lets bass take the bait a bit deeper and the soft tip also keeps them hooked up. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz bladed jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse bladed jigs with Sun Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the first breakline and creek channels with a jig or TX rig is the way to go. I go with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin with a Lake Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in matching colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Craw Tube in black neon, Bama Bug or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Live Magic Shads, and the Hyper Stick become your best option. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Magic Craw Swirl and Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These shallow fish are often spooky, so long casts result in more fish. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I like using the Dobyns Champion 733C. The 7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts. A finesse Carolina rig with a ¼ oz sinker and a 12” leader is another great way to present those same soft plastic jerkbaits to slightly deeper fish in 4’ to 8’ and it also keeps you in contact with your bait in shallow water when the wind is howling. When everyone is up beating the bank to a froth, move out a little deeper with the light Carolina rig and you can catch fish from under where everyone else’s boats are sitting. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Lake Fork Report, Pics, and Video—February 19, 2012 Regular customer and friend US Army Lt Col Patrick caught some nice bass before heading to Afghanistan for his 5th deployment. Wishing him a productive tour and a safe return. 6‘4“ former linebacker Bernie from MN didn’t get a double digit on this year’s trip but managed to form tackle some nice bass on his annual trip to Fork: Video of a few nice fish, including an 8, while breaking in my new boat last month: A very warm and mild winter has made for pleasant fishing conditions but has the bass a bit more scattered out than when bitter cold snaps bunch them up in a few key places. The bite has been pretty typical for late winter/early prespawn, with long lulls interrupted by flurries of several bites in a small area. If you catch one fish be sure and work the area over thoroughly, as you can normally catch several nearby. Despite some warm weather, I’m still doing a lot better concentrating on points and creek channels than by covering a lot of water on the flats. As we head into March and get closer to the spawn, expect waves of bass to spread out across the flats and then spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits and weightless soft plastics will excel. Until then, work over the staging spots for the prespawn females. As a side note, new episodes of “Big Bass Battle” are airing on NBC Sports (formerly Versus, and now part of everyone’s basic cable) and WFN (World Fishing Network). I’m a frequent host and participant on the show and we have some good action for the coming season on lunker lakes like Fork and Falcon. It has been a lot of fun to film and I hope everyone enjoys watching it. Check your local listings for air times. Lake Conditions: Regular rains are slowly bringing up Fork’s water levels and many boat ramps are in good shape now. The lake level is currently 397.37’ and rising (about 5’ 8” below full pool and up a couple feet from the fall). Water temps in the main lake was up to 57 and into the low 60s in creeks a couple weeks ago. After more seasonal weather you can expect to find water temps from 48 to 54 right now, pretty normal for this time of year. Water clarity is ranging from the classic Fork clear green water in some creeks to pretty muddy in others. In general, I like the clearer water on the cloudy and windy days, while I feel more comfortable in muddier water when it’s sunny and calm. Location Pattern: There are still some big bass schooled up out in deep water right now if you want to get away from the shallow water crowds. 25’ to about 35’ is where you’ll find most of the schools right now. The schools are quite large and I’ll see tons of arches on my Lowrance from a hodgepodge of bass, white bass, crappie, and catfish on key spots. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March, I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. While about any flat will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake points and flats near the mouths of these coves hold a lot of fish this time of year, as do secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and onto the flats. After cold fronts, they’ll typically drop back just a little bit to adjacent points and creek channels. . As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish. Presentation Pattern: The lack of grass this year has narrowed my normally short list of prespawn lures even more Lipless cranks like the new Lucky Craft LV RTO in 150 (2.5”) and 250 (3”) sizes are normally one of my primary baits but I’m not fishing them nearly as much this season. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts have worked better when slow rolled, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz chatterbait and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. I’ll rig both the spinnerbait and vibrating jig on a 7’ 3” Dobyns 734C rod so I can cast them a mile to cover water, yet still have enough power to bring big fish under control. Suspending jerkbaits and pitching a jig or a Texas rig have been my mainstays this season. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses on points and staging banks. A long rod with a forgiving tip helps land big fish that just slap at these baits, so I throw them on a Dobyns 704CB cranking rod. For jigs, I go with a ½ oz MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer. Black and blue is my traditional favorite color, but with so many folks pitching jigs this year I’ve been doing better by sorting through a wide variety of color schemes this spring. Keep trying different colors until you hit on what is working that day. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak with a 1/4 oz Mega Weight, again experimenting with colors. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels, steeper banks and staging points with short drags and small hops. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

A couple nice jigging spoon bass that my 6 year old caught with me over Thanksgiving break: A couple big fish from a recent trip to south Texas to film upcoming episodes of “Big Bass Battle” Happy Holidays to everyone. Thanks to all of my friends, family, sponsors, and customers for a very rewarding 2011 season and I hope everyone has a year of great catches in the coming year. In 2012, I’ll be fishing as a pro in the FLW Tour for my 4th season as well as guiding for my 8th year on Fork. Once again, I learned a lot by competing at the top level of bass fishing this season, and I look forward to making good use of that information on the tourney trail and guiding. Heading into the New Year, the early stages of prespawn are ready to get underway in some areas of Lake Fork. Considering I’ve seen some bass on beds as early as Feb 10th in years past, spring on Lake Fork is truly just around the corner. With low water and a very mild fall, bass will be very consolidated and we should have another very good prespawn bite, just like we did this past winter. Meanwhile, big bass will continue to be caught from deep water as well, often with a lucky crappie fisherman catching a 13 pounder or bigger each winter. With big prespawn bass smoking jigs, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits now through March, this is my favorite time of the year on Fork. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 3.5 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater. It’s also the time of year that more 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, and bigger are caught. Best of all, you’ll have the lake mostly to yourself, especially on the cold and nasty days when the lunkers bite the best! Starting in January, new episodes of “Big Bass Battle” will start airing on NBC Sports (formerly Versus, and part of everyone’s basic cable starting on Jan 1) and WFN (World Fishing Network). I’ll be a frequent host and participant on the show and we have some good action for the coming season on lunker lakes like Fork and Falcon. It has been a lot of fun to film and I hope everyone enjoys watching it. Check your local listings for air times. January Special: Book a 2-day guide trip for January and I’ll add an extra half day trip for free. Book a 3-day or longer guide trip for January and I’ll add an extra full day trip for free. In addition, I worked with the most popular resort on Lake Fork to secure special hotel pricing as well. Boat for Sale: My 2011 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It was new on 5/24/2011 and is very gently used. She’s value priced to save you big bucks 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. Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO8K8_lpDrA Lake Conditions: A few sizeable rains have stopped Fork’s level from dropping and they are a welcome relief after this summer’s drought. The lake level is currently 395.64’ (about 7’ 4” below full pool), 4’ lower than it was at this time last year. Despite the low water, most of the public ramps are still open and in good shape. Water temps have dropped quickly now in the late fall, with main lake readings of upper 40s to low 50s, depending on the day and location. The lake definitely is more stained this year than in years past, as there is hardly any grass left in the lake right now. Location Pattern: Many big bass are schooled up in deep water right now and it’s a great time for spoon fishermen. With the colder temps, offshore structure in 23’ to 36’ have some very large schools this time of year, so keep searching with your graph until you find them. You can find these deep fish into Feb each year. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March, I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. While about any flat will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake points and flats near the mouths of these coves hold a lot of fish this time of year, as do secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and onto the flats. After cold fronts, they’ll typically drop back just a little bit to adjacent points and creek channels. . As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish. Presentation Pattern: A few simple lures produce big bass for me each winter. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz. Every year it seems like a new lipless crank with a different action or sound that the fish aren’t used to outproduces all the old favorites. This year, Lucky Craft came out with LV RTO in 150 (2.5”) and 250 (3”) sizes. Takahiro Omori designed these with a wide flat head to give it a wide wobbling action, plus a shimmying fall that triggers bass when paused. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. Buzzing lipless baits quickly often works well, but after cold fronts, letting the bait fall and ripping them off the bottom triggers more bites. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz chatterbait and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. I’ll rig both the spinnerbait and vibrating jig on a 7’ 3” Dobyns 734C rod so I can cast them a mile to cover water, yet still have enough power to bring big fish under control. When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. A long rod with a forgiving tip helps land big fish that just slap at these baits, so I throw them on a Dobyns 704CB cranking rod. For jigs, I go with the ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon or blue bruiser with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker. Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Prespawn bass fishing is my favorite time of year and is the best time to catch a monster bass on Lake Fork. Prespawn starts in late December and runs through mid-March on Lake Fork, home of 32 of the 50 all-time largest bass caught in Texas (as a side note, 50th place is 15.38 lbs and no other lake has more than 2 entries and Fork has all 6 of the fish in TX that are over 17 lbs). Many of my customers’ and my own very largest bass are caught during this period, with average trips yielding 8 to 12 bass per day and the average size being in the 4 to 5 lb range, plus a good shot at catching bass of 7 lbs or bigger. The bite can be better or worse depending on the fronts, with a number of days with catches of over 30 good bass, while I’ve had trips catching as few as 2 for a whole day. The pattern is very simple—spinnerbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits, fished on points, grass flats, and creek channel bends near spawning areas. To fish the jig and spinnerbait well you have to cast next to trees on the creek channel and low water conditions make the stumps on the creek channels and timberlines visible. After being over full pool for the past couple of years, Fork is currently 7’ low and it is shaping up to be perfect for prespawn fishing. The lower the lake gets, the less places for them to roam and the more they group up in key locations. January is our coolest month in north Texas, with average daytime highs of 52 at the beginning of the month and 55 degrees by the end of January. Depending on the fronts, high temps can be in the lower 30s to the lower 80s. Due to the cooler temps, fishing pressure is very light during the month. As a result, I’m offering my annual special during the month of January. Book a 2-day guide trip and I’ll add an extra half day trip for free. Book a 3-day or longer guide trip and I’ll add an extra full day trip for free. In addition, I worked with the most popular resort on Lake Fork to secure special hotel pricing as well. I do get some folks each year to come along and fish, but a lot of days I can’t talk anyone into braving the cold. Even without customers, I find it hard to stay off the water when the big ones are pulling up. A few pics from recent January bass: My customers: On my days off: Here’s my biggest ever, 12.3 lbs, she came just after the end of January on 2/4/06 Full details on my guide services are available on my website, http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com . If big bass, open water, and our “cold temps” sound better than -20 and ice fishing, drop me a line. The big bass and I eagerly await your company. Good Fishing, Tom tom@lakeforkguidetrips.com 214-683-9572

Lake Fork seems like it has taken longer than normal to finish up its fall turnover this year, about 3 weeks, and the fishing has been up-and-down with a number of really slow days with a few really good ones sprinkled in. Thankfully, the bite has started picking up again and I have been graphing and catching more fish out deep, a sure sign that the turnover is wrapping up. Peak fall fishing on Fork is normally when the main lake is in the 60s and we were still running mid-70s this past week, therefore, the classic fall bite is just getting started. By “classic fall bite”, I’m referring to active bass in the very backs of creeks chasing shad as well as grouped up schools of bass on offshore structure. After the long, hot and dry summer this year, I’m looking forward to the fall weather and an active bite. As a side note, I’ve recently uploaded a few videos on bass boat and will be adding more bass boat videos in the future. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/user/DiamondSportsMarine Boat for Sale: My 2011 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It was new on 5/24/2011 and is loaded out with a Power Pole and Lowrance HDS graphs with Structure Scan, plus it has full motor warranty until May 2016. She’s value priced at $49995 to save you big bucks off the cost of a new boat. For more details and pics of the boat, please check my website (http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/#Boat For Sale) or drop me a note. Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO8K8_lpDrA Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is now as low as it has ever been and still dropping. Currently it sits at 395.92’ (about 7’ 1” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are visible. Despite the low water levels, a number of the main ramps are open and have plenty of water even if the lake continues to drop. Water temps are slowly trending downward, with most of the main lake reading about 73 to 78 degrees lately. The water color is still somewhat brownish in the main lake from the turnover, while many of the creeks are stained. Very little hydrilla or milfoil remains on the lake so the bass are really keying on wood this year, but the few remaining grassy areas are holding a lot of fish if you can find it. Although the lower water and lack of grass make the lake fish differently than in years past, the reduced amount of hiding places has made for very good fishing overall this season. Location Pattern: Main lake points and pockets have been holding most of the shallow fish. With the cooling temps, look for shad to push into the creeks and for the bass to follow them. Shad are the main key most days in the fall, so if you’re fishing an area and don’t see much bait, you probably need to keep on moving until you find it. Out deeper, I’ve been doing best with fish on the bottom in 15-25’ on humps, points, roadbeds, and creek channel bends. Many days the fish are suspending instead of relating to the bottom and they are schooling around points, humps, and bridges throughout the day. Presentation Pattern: With bass keying on shad, 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 catch a lot of good fish early and late. Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the threadfin shad that Fork bass are keying on, 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. After the sun gets up a bit, I normally switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft LC 1.5 and BDS 3 square bills, ¼ to ½ oz spinnerbaits and rattle baits, or 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 fluorocarbon line and you’ll still have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod. If the bass won’t respond to the TX rig, slow down with a wacky rigged Hyper Finesse Worm or a weightless TX rigged Magic Shad and Hyper Stick and the slow fall of the baits will get you bit. When it gets sunny and calm and the shallow bass won’t respond, try a Carolina rigged Baby Fork Creature or Baby Ring Fry on points that are at the mouths of pockets and creeks. For these soft plastics, try green pumpkin and junebug colors on cloudy days, while watermelon/red and watermelon chartreuse are better on sunny days. For a shot at a true lunker, try a 3/8 oz green pumpkin or blue bruiser colored MPack Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer on timber around the creek channels running through the bigger creeks. For the bass out deep, Fork Flutter Spoons and Lucky Craft deep diving crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns will catch some suspended fish and actively feeding fish on the bottom too. Fish relating to the bottom are a lot more dependable, so seek out these schools if you can locate them with your graph. Carolina rigged with Ring Frys or Baby Fork Creatures and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are working best for the bottom dwellers. I like using the 7’8” Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML for Carolina rigs and the extra length allows me to take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. When the bass come up schooling, they’ll eat just about any bait that looks like a shad. The trick is making a long accurate cast directly into the school. Soft plastic shad imitators like Magic Shads rigged on small jigheads work great for this. Big topwaters and lipless cranks cast a mile and can reach those schoolers when your buddy’s casts won’t quite reach them, so compact, heavy topwaters like a Sammy 115 and ¾ oz LV500 lipless rattlers are great choices too. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

After the hot and dry summer, the recent cooling trend will speed along the fall patterns. Fall typically means fast action in the shallows for numbers of fish on moving baits like spinnerbaits and crankbaits and I always look forward to the change of pace. The warm and dry fall last year had the fish biting very well into mid-December and I’d expect more of the same this year based on our weather pattern. Autumn is also great for deep structure fishing other than a couple weeks around the turnover. If you’re looking to learn deep structure fishing skills—reading topo maps, setting up your graph correctly & decoding the images on your sonar to find schools, and learning deep water techniques like big spoons, football jigs, drop shots, Carolina rigs, swimbaits and deep crankbaits—the fall is a good time to head to Lake Fork. As a side note, I’ve recently uploaded a few videos on taking care of your bass boat and will be adding more bass boat videos in the future. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/user/DiamondSportsMarine Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is now as low as I’ve seen it and still dropping. Currently it sits at 396.69’ (about 6’ 4” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps dropped dramatically with the cooler nights, sitting in the low 80s in the main lake after reading in the upper 80s and even low 90s recently. The water color is a greenish clear on the south and somewhat stained in the creeks, especially up north. Very little hydrilla or milfoil remains on the lake so the bass are really keying on wood this year. Although the lower water and lack of grass make the lake fish differently than in years past, the reduced amount of hiding places has made for very good fishing overall this season. Location Pattern: Main lake points and pockets have been holding most of the shallow fish. With the cooling temps, look for shad to push into the creeks and for the bass to follow them. Shad are the main key most days in the fall, so if you’re fishing an area and don’t see much bait, you probably need to keep on moving until you find it. Out deeper, I’ve been doing best with fish on the bottom in 20-28’ on humps, points, roadbeds, and creek channel bends. Many days the fish are suspending instead of relating to the bottom and they are schooling all around points, humps, and bridges throughout the day. Look for birds crashing the water to help find these spots for some exciting action. Presentation Pattern: With bass keying on shad, 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 catch a lot of good fish early and late. Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the threadfin shad that Fork bass are keying on, 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. After the sun gets up a bit, I normally switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft LC 1.5 and BDS 3 square bills, ¼ oz spinnerbaits and rattle baits, or 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 fluorocarbon line and you’ll still have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod. If the bass aren’t in a chasing mood, try a Texas rigged 8” Fork Worm in the same areas, pitching it to every stump and working it with a few hops before casting to the next tree. If the bass won’t respond to the TX rig, slow down even more with a wacky rigged Hyper Finesse Worm or a weightless TX rigged Magic Shad and Hyper Stick and the slow fall of the baits will get you bit. For these soft plastics, green pumpkin and junebug colors are working best on cloudy days, while watermelon/red and watermelon candy are better on sunny days. For a shot at a true lunker, try a 3/8 oz green pumpkin or blue bruiser colored MPack Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer on timber around the creek channels running through the bigger creeks. For the bass out deep, Fork Flutter Spoons and Lucky Craft deep diving crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns will catch some suspended fish. Fish relating to the bottom are a lot more dependable, so seek out these schools if you can locate them with your graph. Carolina rigged with Ring Frys or Baby Fork Creatures and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are working best for the bottom dwellers. I like using the 7’8” Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML for Carolina rigs and the extra length allows me to take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. When the bass come up schooling, they’ll eat just about any bait that looks like a shad. The trick is making a long accurate cast directly into the school. Soft plastic shad imitators like Magic Shads rigged on small jigheads work great for this. Big topwaters and lipless cranks cast a mile and can reach those schoolers when your buddy’s casts won’t quite reach them, so compact, heavy topwaters like a Sammy 115 and ¾ oz LV500 lipless rattlers are great choices too. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Sorry, not many pics this time. Had a little camera trouble and waiting on some recent pics to be emailed to me. If I get them soon, I’ll add them. We had 4 over 8 lbs on Wednesday, including 3 by Gary from IL. DeMarcus with a good TX rig fish The weather has been hot and dry for the past few weeks at Lake Fork and the bass have settled into their normal summertime routines. The predictable weather, as opposed to the constant frontal passages in the spring, makes for consistent fishing and guys have really been catching the bass well. With lighter winds and hot days, the lake may be starting to stratify already, with the formation of a thermocline starting to keep the fish a bit shallower. Last week a lot of fish were being caught very deep on spoons, as deep as 37’. This week the offshore fish were holding about 10’ shallower and many were suspended. When that happens, shallower structure like the 8’ to 20’ range often is your best bet. Just keep looking on your graph until you find where the fish are located and you will likely put a lot of big ones in the boat once you do. Deep structure fishing is really a matter of being on the right school when they are biting, so timing determines whether you are catching them or just practicing your casting. New breakthroughs in sonar technology have made finding these schools of fish buried in timber much easier, so now is a great time to work on your deep structure fishing skills by catching a few hogs. The hot, sunny afternoons of summer are prime time to catch these big schools of big fish, and thankfully we have a nice breeze most days to keep us relatively cool. If you’re looking to learn deep structure fishing skills—reading topo maps, setting up your graph correctly & decoding the images on your sonar to find schools, and learning deep water techniques like big spoons, football jigs, drop shots, Carolina rigs, swimbaits and deep crankbaits—now through the fall is a good time to head to Lake Fork. And not only is it a great time to learn, but you’ll probably catch some big fish as well. If you want to learn more about a few simple rules for choosing between the TX rig and Carolina rig, you can check out my June article called “Rules of Thumb for Texas and Carolina Rigs” here: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/june2011.htm Lake Conditions: With most of our spring rainy season past us, look for the lake to be low for a long time unless we get hit by a tropical storm this summer. Currently it sits at 399.28 (about 3’ 9” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps were showing 83-86 in most areas of the main lake, warmer in creeks. The lower main lake has a greenish tint but is pretty clear, with about 6’ visibility when the water is calm. Meanwhile, the backs of many of the creeks are still stained, as is the upper end of the lake. A decent amount of milfoil and hydrilla are showing up around the lake now, but the coverage is still significantly less than in past years. Location Pattern: Early and late and when it is cloudy/windy/rainy, I’m finding bass feeding on points and flats near or in the main lake. Look for birds feeding on shad and schooling fish for the best locations. Deep structure like points, humps, creek bends, and roadbeds in 8’ to 37’ are best on the sunny days, both for numbers and size. While bass are suspended over many deep structure spots, finding places where they are on the bottom has been the key. Most of these schools are relating to a few pieces of isolated cover, so watch your depth finder closely or you’ll bypass the mother lode. Presentation Pattern: Topwaters like Lucky Craft G Splashes, Sammys, and Gunfish are still getting some active fish early and late, as well as schooling fish when they come up during the day. Shad or chrome colors work best. When the fish go down, you can often catch a few more on a TX rigged 8 or 10” Fork worm in the same areas until they start schooling again. On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and Fork Flutter Spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. Lots of bass suspend during the summer and super deep cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 and RC3.5XD are very effective, with Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue being my favorite colors. Fork Flutter Spoons will trigger a lot of these same fish too as they slowly wobble down through the schools like a dying shad. Try both aggressive rips and small hops with the spoon to determine the mood of the bass. A 7’8” Dobyns Extreme DX784C rod with 20 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line handles the heavy spoons very well and keeps those leaping lunkers hooked up. When bass group up on the bottom, they are easier to catch. Carolina and Texas rigs are my first choice. I’ll try a variety of baits on both rigs and let the bass tell me how much or how little action they want. Hyper Worms, Fork Worms, Fork Creatures, Hyper Lizards, & Hyper Freaks have a lot of action and trigger big aggressive fish. If the bass are more finicky, straight tail baits like Hyper Finesse Worms, Hyper Sticks, and Twitch Worms are normally more productive. The most productive bait seems to change daily, so experiment until you find what they want. Many of the bites are light, so a super sensitive Dobyns Extreme DX744C handles the regular rigs, while the 7’4” Mag Heavy DX745C handles big worms and football jigs better. If the bass won’t respond to those offerings, switch to a Hyper Finesse Worm on a drop shot with 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line and a Dobyns Extreme DX743 spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. In the darker water, June bug, plum and blue fleck have been good, while the various shades of watermelon and green pumpkin have worked best in the clearer water. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Post spawn females of all sizes have been coming in consistently. A few representative fish, including Zac’s 9 lb 4 oz beauty. Bass are wrapping up the spawn and concentrating on eating in both the shallows and out on deep structure. Hordes of spawning shad and bluegill plus a lot of new weed growth, in addition to the tons of stumps and stained water, mean that a lot of bass will be hanging out shallow for quite a while. For these fish, crankbait, topwaters, chatterbaits and soft plastics will provide a lot of action. If fishing offshore structure is your deal, more and more fish are migrating to classic summertime haunts each day as the water temps keep rising. And in between, fish can be caught on the same points and creek channels where they staged before spawning. Shallow, deep, or in-between, May is a wide open month on Fork that allows you to fish your strengths and catch lots of good fish. As the bass feed up after the spawn, the result is our most consistent fishing of the year for numbers of quality fish in the 3 to 7 lb range, with a shot at a 10+. That means topwaters and moving baits early or all day on cloudy days. If the sun comes out, it is offshore structure fishing the rest of the day on possibly the best structure fishing lake in the country. So if your plans didn’t allow you to take advantage of the spawn this year on Fork, don’t despair, you can still enjoy what most locals consider the best fishing of the year on Fork—May through July. In addition to catching a lot of big fish, it is also the premier time to learn how to read your electronics to graph big schools of bass on deep structure. If you haven’t caught it yet, I’m a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Battle” on Versus. The show also runs on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. More new episodes will air soon, with trips to Fork, LA, and MS. If you want to learn more about the shad and bluegill spawns and how to catch bass following them, you can check out my May article called “The Other Spawns” here: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/may2011.htm Lake Conditions: Despite a few storms, the lake level remains low. Currently it sits at 399.66’ (about 3’ 4” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps are currently reading in the low to mid-70s. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color but many creeks and the upper end of the lake are pretty stained due to all of the wind. A decent amount of milfoil and hydrilla are showing up around the lake now, but the coverage is still significantly less than in past years. Location Pattern: For the last of the spawners, check out the main lake flats on the south end of the lake. The slightly deeper structure like points, creek channels, and ledges in 4’ to 12’, adjacent to areas with numbers of shallow spawning bass, is where we’ve found most of the bigger females, staging on their way back to deep water. On the northern half of the lake, timber or grass flats and clay points will continue to hold numbers of fish until the bluegill and shad finish their spawns and temps turn hot. Some of the early spawners are showing up on offshore structure in 12’ to 30’ as well. Presentation Pattern: Topwaters are not only fun to fish, but producing some big fish all day, so try your Lucky Craft G Splashes, Kelly J’s, and Gunfish. You can work these baits all day long and catch good fish, especially if you are in areas with lots of bass fry. Work these lures on a floating mono line like 15 lb PowerSilk. If the wind kicks up, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and vibrating jigs work well in shad or bluegill color schemes. ¼ oz Redemption spinnerbaits, Lucky Craft RC 1.5 square billed cranks, and Phenix Vibrator jigs with 3.5” Live Magic Shads will all catch good bass, especially on the windy and cloudy days. For a real pig, try slow swimming a 5.5” or 8” Live Magic Shad on a swimbait hook through the same areas. You’ll get fewer bites, but some real monsters. If the action slows, rig a Hyper Stick or Ring Fry on a 12” leader and a ¼ oz weight on a Carolina rig with 17 lb FHP line and you’ll keep on catching them. Finally, I’ll pitch a 3/8 oz green pumpkin MPack jig with a matching Fork Craw with a 7’4” Dobyns Extreme DX745C rod to shallow cover like stumps, laydowns, and clumps of grass, plus pitch to the deep weed edge. Big females hang out here before and after the spawn and this is a great way to catch a lunker in the late spring. On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and Fork Flutter Spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. Lots of bass suspend early in the season and super deep cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 and RC3.5XD are very effective, with Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue being my favorite colors. To get the most depth out of them, use a small diameter sinking line like 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro and launch them as far as you can. The hands down best deep cranking rod these days is the 8’ Dobyns 805CB RM—it’s a unique blend of a rod that can cast a country mile, yet has the power to handle a leaping lunker at great distance. Deep cranks are notorious for losing fish and this rod will help you keep them on-line. Fork Flutter Spoons will trigger a lot of these same fish too as they slowly wobble down through the schools like a dying shad. When bass group up on the bottom they are easier to catch. Simply keep a Carolina rigged Baby Fork Creature or a TX rigged 10” Fork Worm in front of them long enough and they’ll eat sooner or later. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

A few representative fish from the past week, including a couple for me on my scouting day (that's my brother's little 6 lb dink in my right hand, he hooked it while it was trying to take the lure from my fish). Bass are in all stages of spawn right now on Lake Fork—prespawn, spawning, and postspawn. I’d estimate about 50% of the fish have spawned so far and we will have fish on beds into early May as usual. Because of the variety of patterns, Fork is fishing wide open right now and you can fish your strengths. Either pick a style of fishing that you’re good at and find a part of the lake where the fish are doing that, or pick a part of the lake you know well and figure out what spawning stage the bass are in there and work them over. The prespawn fish are heavier but a bit more here today, gone tomorrow. The spawning fish are moody but make for fantastic fishing if you find them moving up, either by sight fishing or fishing soft plastics. The postspawn fish feed the most aggressively and are predominately females right now because the males are still guarding beds in most cases. We’ve had so much wind lately that I’ve concentrated mostly on the postspawn patterns on my guide trips. The wind allows for big baits with heavy gear and you can run the patterns from spot to spot and catch a lot of fish. Most of these fish are skinny, beat up females that now weigh 3 to 6 lbs, with some 8s thrown in the mix. Because there is very limited grass on Fork this year, bass are transitioning to points and structure very quickly and grouping up already. When another major wave of spawners hit the bank, it’ll be time to move back up shallow to take advantage of the easy pickings. Look for the spawn to continue for about another month. After that, it’s topwaters for post spawners and then our best deep water structure bite of the year for big fish with deep cranks, Carolina rigs and football jigs from May into July. If you haven’t caught it yet, I’m a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Battle” on Versus. The show also runs on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. More new episodes will air in a couple weeks, with trips to Fork, LA, and MS. Lake Conditions: Storms and fronts have the lake level, clarity, and temps bouncing around a bit. The lake level is currently 399.71’ (about 3’ 3” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are now visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps were reading 61 to 67 yesterday in the main lake, after being up to 71 on Saturday. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color but many creeks and the upper end of the lake are pretty stained due to all of the wind. There remains very little grass on Fork but I’m starting to see more and more milfoil popping up and a bit of hydrilla coming back too. Location Pattern: For prespawn and staging fish, key on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. With very little grass on the lake this year, bass are relating to the timber. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of flats and creek channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move through April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May. Presentation Pattern: No real changes here, although just about every category of lure in the tackle box will be working by later this month. For prespawn and postspawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits will catch bass, especially on overcast and windy days. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 2.0 or BDS4 square bills. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse vibrator jigs with Sun Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the first breakline and creek channels is the way to go. I go with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin with a Lake Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in matching colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon, Bama Bug or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. The new Dobyns DX745C Extreme rod rigged with 40 lb HyperBraid has been landing the light biting bass from the thickest timber without fail. For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Live Magic Shads, and the Hyper Stick become your best option. The Hyper Stick combines the shape of Senko-style stick worm baits with the segmented body action of the Live Magic Shad. The result is a worm with unique action from even the slightest rod movement. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Magic Craw Swirl and Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I like using the Dobyns Champion 733C with 20 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The 7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts. The FluoroHybrid Pro line has the feel and invisibility of fluorocarbon, yet it casts well and ties strong knots like mono—it’s truly the best of both worlds. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Congrats, sounds like you had a good trip. Been a number of guys night fishing down here lately and reporting similar results to yours.

A few representative fish from the past few days. No double digits for us this week unfortunately but very good numbers of solid females on most trips: The bass are moving forward steadily in their progression towards the spawn on Lake Fork. After a cold February that was dominated by a jig bite, bass moved towards the backs of creeks and now bladed Phenix Vibrator Jigs with Live Magic Shads and TX or Carolina rigged soft plastics are dominating. We saw a number of pairs move up shallow yesterday afternoon and the continued warm weather this week should produce the first major wave of spawners. Once that happens, weightless soft plastics will be the primary bait on the flats on the upper ½ of the lake. Or if you’d rather focus on the big staging fish, you can back out a bit deeper or head to the southern end and still catch the April and May spawners. The prespawn bite has been very good on Fork so far this season and the big fish are starting to come in now with regularity. With the spawn just beginning soon and running into May every year, it’s not too late to join the fun. After that, it’s topwaters for post spawners and then our best deep water structure bite of the year for big fish with deep cranks, Carolina rigs and football jigs from May into July. If you haven’t caught it yet, I’m a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Battle” on Versus. The show also runs on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. More new episodes will air in a couple weeks, with trips to Fork, LA, and MS. As a side note, my March article is now posted and it details how to catch big bass during the spawn with tactics other than sight fishing. For those of you who don’t like sight fishing or have trouble spotting the bass, here’s how. http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles/mar2011.htm Lake Conditions: Fork’s water temps rose considerably this week despite a couple cold fronts. The lake level is currently 399.85’ (about 3’ 2” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are now visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps were reading 54 to 64 yesterday in the main lake to 66 degrees in the warmest creeks. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color but many creeks and the upper end of the lake are pretty stained due to all of the wind. Apparently because of the low water and very cold water temps, there is currently very little grass cover on Fork. Location Pattern: For prespawn and staging fish, key on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. With very little grass on the lake this year, bass are relating to the timber. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of flats and creek channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move towards April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May. Presentation Pattern: For prespawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits will catch bass, especially on overcast and windy days. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 2.0 or BDS4 square bills. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse vibrator jigs with Sun Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the first breakline and creek channels is the way to go. I go with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin with a Lake Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in matching colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon, Bama Bug or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. The new Dobyns DX745C Extreme rod rigged with 40 lb HyperBraid has been landing the light biting bass from the thickest timber without fail. For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Live Magic Shads, and the Hyper Stick become your best option. The Hyper Stick combines the shape of Senko-style stick worm baits with the segmented body action of the Live Magic Shad. The result is a worm with unique action from even the slightest rod movement. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Magic Craw Swirl and Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I like using the Dobyns Champion 733C with 20 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The 7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts. The FluoroHybrid Pro line has the feel and invisibility of fluorocarbon, yet it casts well and ties strong knots like mono—it’s truly the best of both worlds. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Paul from Indiana released his 11 lb 6 oz trophy to make lots of lunker babies: As did Barry with his 10 lb 5 oz jig fatty the next day: 13 year old Kyle tied his personal best with a 5 lb’er, then smashed it with a 6.6 and a 9.1 Jacob & Robert from MO put their jig expertise to good use: I did some “field research” on the new Dobyns DX745 rod with an MPack jig on my day off: After a very cold start to February, a prolonged warming trend has the big prespawn females moving towards their spawning grounds on Lake Fork. The fronts are moving the fish around and the bite changes daily but many fish are committed to the creeks and won’t be leaving until after spawning. For example, the sun beat down last weekend and water temps were getting as high as 65 in the pockets. Shad started showing up in the backs of the bays and my guide customer Paul from Indiana caught an 11 lb 6 oz bass from 3’ on a lipless crankbait on Monday. A cold front came through that night so Tuesday morning had air temps in the 30s and the water temps dropped as low as 49 degrees in some areas. After striking out that morning in the backs of creeks, we dropped back to the channels in the middle sections of creeks and started connecting with the big fish again. The bass had moved less than 100 yards in most places and were tight to the lip of the creek channels, including a super fat 10 lb 5 oz trophy for my customer Barry. Yesterday (Wednesday) saw a little warm front and the bass started creeping shallower again. We found them stacked on key channel spots in the morning with jigs in about 10’ (including 9 good slot fish from one tree) in 53-55 degree water. Later in the day, stumps in the back of the warmest pockets with 60-63 temps had very active fish in 2 to 5 feet. I suspect the thunderstorms and ensuing cold front today will knock them back a bit again but a few warm days later this week will send them right back up shallow. The prespawn bite has been very good on Fork so far this season and the really big fish are just starting to show up. With the spawn beginning soon and running into May every year, it’s not too late to join the fun. After that, it’s topwaters for post spawners and then our best deep water structure bite of the year for big fish with deep cranks, Carolina rigs and football jigs from May into July. If you haven’t caught it yet, I’m be a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Battle” on Versus. The show also runs on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. More new episodes will air in a couple weeks, with trips to Fork, LA, and MS. In addition, I was featured recently in the In-Fisherman’s story about fishing chatterbaits for big bass, one of the hottest rigs for spring on Lake Fork and on the tourney trail for the past few years. You can check it out on my media page: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles.htm Lake Conditions: Fork’s water temps continued to warm after the snowstorms earlier this month. The lake level is currently 399.72’ (about 3’ 3” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are now visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps were reading 51 to 55 yesterday in the main lake to 63 degrees in the warmest creeks. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color but many creeks and the upper end of the lake are pretty stained due to all of the wind. Apparently because of the low water and very cold water temps, there is currently very little grass cover on Fork. With a good rain today and so little vegetation, expect the water to be muddier than normal this spring. Location Pattern: From late-December through much of March I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and onto the flats. After cold fronts, they’ll typically drop back just a little bit to adjacent points and creek channels. As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish. Presentation Pattern: Jigs, suspending jerkbaits, and lipless crankbaits have been my workhorses so far this spring. With the fish moving up from the points and creek channels onto the spawning flats, expect spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and soft jerkbaits to become much bigger players in the coming days. Lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7, will work about any day of the spring if you stick with them. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. As the water warms and they start to think about spawning, moving baits don’t work as well and soft plastic jerkbaits take over. Lake Fork Trophy Lures’ new Hyper Stick was far and away the most productive soft jerkbait on Fork last year with a dying shimmy that soft plastic stickbaits are famous for on the fall, plus the added attraction of a swimbait swimming motion when you move it. Rig it weightless on a 4/0 offset or wide gap hook and fish it with long pauses. I’ve paired it with a 7’3” Dobyns Savvy Series SS733C rod and 17 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line so I can make long casts to skittish shallow lunkers, yet still have enough feel and power to pull them out at great distances. After cold fronts like we’ve had recently, the bite slows and I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses around grass or wood cover. For jigs, I go with the ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. I’m using Dobyns’ brand new 7’4” Extreme model DX745C for pitching my jigs and Texas rigs. It is well balanced making it easy to pitch all day and it is ultra sensitive which is important because the jig bites in this cold water are ultra faint. Occasionally you’ll feel a slight thump but most of the time the fish just pick up the jig and hold it. If you put a little pressure on them they’ll drop it immediately, so you need a rod that detects even the slightest bit of pressure. The heavy power rod has plenty of muscle to horse fish out of cover when paired with Lake Fork’s new fluorocarbon coated FluoroBraid. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker. Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

Thanks guys!

Bernie from MN with a few nice ones. At 6’3” and a former collegiate linebacker, Bernie’s great a hammering home a jig but not so good at making fish look big, LOL. I’ve been fishing most days for the past week and a half on Fork and the bite has been quite good for numbers and average size. Outside of a very slow day on Saturday, we’ve had consistent success with jigs, suspending jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits. Because of the cold couple of weeks in the middle of January, concentrations of bass have fallen back a little deeper to creek channels, ledges, and points. It takes a while to find these groups but the fishing is very good once you do. Case in point, my customer and I had 8 fish in one spot yesterday plus 6 more in another. Neither area was longer than 15 yards, nor could be get bit anywhere else in those areas. We didn’t catch that many at all the spots we fished and not everywhere produced, but almost everywhere that we caught a fish, we caught at least one or two more. That’s the mixed blessing of cold fronts in the spring—the fish aren’t nearly as active but they are grouped up. We fished both areas for over an hour so it’s not like you catch them on every cast, but once you get bit in the spring you really need to work the area over thoroughly. With temps in the 60s for the next few days, I suspect the bass will be roaming the flats a lot more again like they were earlier in the month and we’ll start doing better covering water. The only disappointing part of the fishing lately has been the absence of a great big fish. While almost all of the fish we’ve caught have been nice slot fish from 3 to 7 pounds, we’re overdue to start catching a few big ones. I’ve been concentrating on patterns for prespawn staging females, so a big bass is only a cast away on Fork. The best part about the fishing has been the complete lack of fishing pressure. The most trailers we have seen at Lake Fork Marina on a weekday were 3 (counting mine) and I’ve only seen a couple other guides out all week. If you want to beat the spring crowds at Fork and have a shot at a true lunker bass, now is a great time to come. If you haven’t caught it yet, I’ll be a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Battle” on Versus. The show will also run on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. The show features 4 anglers on the same lake fishing at the same time, all trying to catch the one largest bass that day. With bragging rights on the line, guys use their very best tactics to catch them and there should be a lot of good instructional material in the show in addition to big fish catches. I’ve recently filmed shows at Fork along with some other lakes in TX, MS, and LA. It has been a lot of fun to film and I hope everyone enjoys watching it. Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer and you’d be titled as the first owner. She’s value priced to save you big bucks 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. Here’s a video: Lake Conditions: Fork’s water is clearing and warming after some cold rain and snow earlier this month. The lake level is currently 399.56’ (about 3’ 6” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are now visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Water temps are slowly climbing back up with temps reading 47 to 49 yesterday in the main lake and in the upper 40s to just over 50 in the creeks. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color, except on the north ends where it is more stained. Some of the creeks are stained, but those with grass are pretty clear. Speaking of the grass, it is very spotty on the northern half of the lake but the south end still has a lot of green grass and subsequently clearer water. Location Pattern: Many big bass are schooled up in deep water right now and it’s a great time for spoon fishermen. With the colder temps, offshore structure in 23’ to 36’ have some very large schools this time of year, so keep searching with your graph until you find them. You can find these deep fish into early Feb each year. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation for cover will typically have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves hold a lot of fish this time of year, as do main and secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and onto the flats. After cold fronts, they’ll typically drop back just a little bit to adjacent points and creek channels. . As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish. Presentation Pattern: A few simple lures produce big bass each winter from grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is normally best, but after cold fronts, letting the bait fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. After cooling trends like we’ve had recently, the bite slows and I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. For jigs, I go with the ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon or blue bruiser with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight. I’m using Dobyns brand new 7’4” Extreme model DX745C for pitching my jigs and Texas rigs. It is well balanced making it easy to pitch all day and it is ultra sensitive which is important because the jig bites in this cold water are ultra faint. Occasionally you’ll feel a slight thump but most of the time the fish just pick up the jig and hold it. If you put a little pressure on them they’ll drop it immediately, so you need a rod that detects even the slightest bit of pressure. The heavy power rod has plenty of muscle to horse fish out of cover when paired with Lake Fork’s new fluorocarbon coated FluoroBraid. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker. Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom

A few representative samples of solid fall fish we’ve been catching, including a nice 8 lb 15 oz pig that Western Coast ace Gary Dobyns caught. The last fish is a fat 8 lb 2 oz prespawn female that I caught on Monticello. Happy Holidays to everyone. Thanks to all of my friends, family, sponsors, and customers for a very rewarding 2010 season and I hope everyone has a year of great catches in the coming year. In 2011, I’ll be fishing as a pro in the FLW Tour for my 3rd season as well as guiding for my 7th year on Fork. I learned a lot by competing at the top level of bass fishing this season, and I look forward to making good use of that information on the tourney trail and guiding this year. Heading into the New Year, the early stages of prespawn are ready to get underway in some areas of Lake Fork. Considering I’ve seen some bass on beds as early as Feb 10th in years past, spring on Lake Fork is truly just around the corner. With a warmer and drier forecast for this winter, it should be a lot more consistent season than the bitterly cold and extremely wet winter we had last year. Meanwhile, lunker bass continue to be caught from deep water as well, including two fish that were just shy of 13 lbs in the past couple of weeks. With big prespawn bass smoking jigs, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits now through March, this is my favorite time of the year on Fork. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for the year, usually in the 3.5 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at bass 7 lbs or greater. It’s also the time of year that more 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, and bigger are caught. Best of all, you’ll have the lake mostly to yourself, especially on the cold and nasty days when the lunkers bite the best! Starting in January, I’ll be a frequent participant and host of “The Big Bass Batttle” on Versus. The show will also run on WFN (World Fishing Network), as well as on Time Warner cable in the Dallas area. The show features 4 anglers on the same lake fishing at the same time, all trying to catch the one largest bass that day. With bragging rights on the line, guys use their very best tactics to catch them and there should be a lot of good instructional material in the show in additions to big fish catches. I’ve recently filmed shows at Fork along with some other lakes in TX, MS, and LA. It has been a lot of fun to film and I hope everyone enjoys watching it. January Special: Book a 2-day guide trip for January and I’ll add an extra half day trip for free. Book a 3-day or longer guide trip for January and I’ll add an extra full day trip for free. In addition, I worked with the most popular resort on Lake Fork to secure special hotel pricing as well. Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer and you’d be titled as the first owner. She’s value priced to save you big bucks 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. Here’s a video: Lake Conditions: Fork’s water level continues to slowly drop, as it has all fall. The lake level is currently 399.62’ (about 3’ 5” below full pool) and a ton of stumps are now visible. The boat lanes are still safe to run in general, but definitely exercise caution when heading out of the clear-cut areas. Regular passages of cold fronts finally cooled the water after it was running pretty warm earlier in the fall, and you’ll find temps from the upper 40s to lower 50s, depending on your location and the day. The main lake is the normal greenish clear color, except on the north ends where it is more stained. Some of the creeks are stained, but those with grass are pretty clear. Location Pattern: Many big bass are schooled up in deep water right now and it’s a great time for spoon fishermen. With the colder temps, offshore structure in 23’ to 36’ have some very large schools this time of year, so keep searching with your graph until you find them. You can find these deep fish into early Feb each year. If you’re like me though, from late-December through much of March, I concentrate on the early prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation for cover will typically have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves hold a lot of fish this time of year, as do main and secondary points inside the coves—provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and onto the flats. After cold fronts, they’ll typically drop back just a little bit to adjacent points and creek channels. . As I say each spring, bear in mind that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish. Presentation Pattern: A few simple lures produce big bass each winter from grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is normally best, but after cold fronts, letting the bait fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. I’ll rig both the spinnerbait and vibrating jig on a 7’ 3” Dobyns 734C rod so I can cast them a mile to cover water, yet still have enough power to bring big fish under control. With the spinnerbait, mono like 28 lb PowerSilk line works best, while 30 to 50 lb braided line works better with the vibrating jig to help get it through the grass. When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I’ll switch to a suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Lucky Craft’s model 100SP Pointers in gold or chrome patterns are my traditional choices, although Gunmetal Shad & Phantom Chartreuse Shad are my new favorites. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. A long rod with a forgiving tip helps land big fish that just slap at these baits, so I throw them on a Dobyns 704CB cranking rod. Match it with 12 to 17 lb Fluorohybrid Pro, a new line that is as clear and sensitive as fluorocarbon, yet as smooth and easy handling as mono. On cold winter days, the reduced memory of FHP really makes jerkbait fishing a lot easier. For jigs, I go with the new ½ oz black and blue MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures and pair it with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer in the blue bruiser color. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon or blue bruiser with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight. Work your jig or Texas rig very slowly along creek channels or through deep grass for a great shot at a lunker. Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you’ll have a milk run of honey holes now through March. Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed. Good Fishing, Tom