Professional Guide Tom Redington's
Lake Fork Fishing Report
Submitted:
6-30-09
The temps have turned hot here at
Fork, grouping up lots of fish out deep. Shallow grass and wood cover are
still producing some good fish and even some big ones, especially early
and late. For the majority of the day though, offshore structure fishing
has been best for me. The hot, sunny afternoons of summer are prime time
to catch these big schools of big fish, and thankfully we’ve had a nice
breeze most days to keep us 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 early September
is the time to head to Lake Fork. And not only is it a great time to
learn, but you’ll probably catch a lot of big fish as well.
Boat for Sale: My 2009 Ranger Z520 boat is for sale. It is fully loaded,
rigged with a 250 HP Mercury Pro XS motor with a 5 year warranty (good
until 2014). It’s value priced and will save you about $10,000 off the
cost of a new boat. For more details and pics of the boat, please check my
website (www.lakeforkguidetrips.com)
or drop me a note.
Lake Conditions: Fork remains full and the grass is green and growing all
over the lake. The lake level is currently at 403.21’ (about 3” above full
pool) and slowly falling. The water clarity is running about normal, with
stained water up north and clear greenish water on the south end. Milfoil
and hydrilla are both growing rapidly and starting to mat out in places,
which should make for great grass fishing in the fall. Water temps really
rose this week, reading 89 to 93 degrees in most areas of the main lake.
With the continued hot days and light winds, I expect the thermocline will
set up around 28’ deep pretty soon, as usual.
Location Pattern: Early and late, I’m finding good bass feeding on points
and flats near or in the main lake. These fish are mostly in 8’ to 15’,
often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like
points, humps, and roadbeds in 18’ to 30’ continue as my main pattern,
producing both good numbers and size. Some days these bass are suspended
and other days they’re on the bottom. Many of these schools have been
small and are relating to a few pieces of isolated cover, so watch your
depth finder closely.
Presentation Pattern: First thing in the morning, I’m working shallow
grass on the main lake and in the 1st half of creeks. For bass feeding
over the top of the grassbeds, try a spinnerbait, chatterbait, or Fork
Frogs. For bigger bass, pitch a 3/8 oz Mega Weight jig or a Texas rigged
10” Fork Worm to holes in the grass and lily pads on flats or near stumps
on points in the deep weedline. I’m using a green pumpkin/black or a
watermelon seed jig with a watermelon/red flake Fork Craw or Hyper Freak
trailer, or a watermelon Fork Worm on the Texas rig.
Out deeper, Carolina rigs, drop shots, and Texas rigs are catching bass
from schools located near the bottom on deep structure. I go with green
pumpkin or red bug 8” or 10” Fork Worms for Texas rigs. Meanwhile, junebug
or green pumpkin Fork Creatures, Baby Ring Frys, and the new 6” Hyper
Lizard are on the business end of my Carolina rigs. The new 6” Hyper
Lizard is the perfect size for Carolina rigs, and it thumping Hyper tail
really calls fish in. A great set up for the C-rig is a stout 7’6” 764C
Dobyns Rod with low stretch 32 lb PowerSilk mono. This set up will allow
for monster casts, while still delivering strong hook sets at long
distances. Drop shots will catch good numbers of fish and the occasional
big bass, rigged with a watermelon or green pumpkin Hyper Finesse Worm.
When the bass are suspended, Fork Flutter spoons, swimbaits or deep diving
crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns are working better than the
bottom presentations, and catching some lunkers too. The trick with
crankbaits is to get them deep, and light line and long casts help you do
this. Therefore, I use the 805CB cranking rod from Dobyns, paired with low
stretch 15 lb to 21 lb PowerSilk line. With this 8’ rod and the zero
memory line, you can whip crankbaits a country mile.
Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of
assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027
(evenings) or e-mail me through
http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com, where your satisfaction is
guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
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