Lake Fork Report & Pics—Aug 27, 2013

[Tom Redington]

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

[Quillback]

Thanks for the report!