FLW Outdoors fishing forum. Talk general fishing, fishing guides, FLW tournaments and more. http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1 FuseTalk Standard Edition http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=11425 2013-05-04T11:08:15 -07.00 Tom Redington 1

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://lakeforkguidetrips.com/pdf_files/scouts_cover.pdf

Worm fishing article featuring me in "BassWestUSA" Spring '13 issue:

http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/pdf_files/basswest%20spring%202013%20paddle%20worm.pdf


A much cooler spring has Lake Fork running about 3-4 weeks behind what it was last year. Although some bass are still up spawning, I've been concentrating mostly on actively feeding 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 while. A lot of shad are spawning now, plus I'm seeing some bluegill spawning too. As a result, you can catch bass shallow all day as they take advantage of their reproductively distracted prey. 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.

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 more fishing info on shallow spring fishing, you can check out my new article on hybrid soft plastic jerkbaits for spawning and post spawn fish: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/...articles/april2013.htm

Lake Conditions: The strong cold fronts this spring have brought a lot of cold and wind, but not enough rain to raise the lake. The lake level is currently 398.45' (about 4' 6" below full pool). Water temps cooled with the front on Thursday, reading 65-68 in the main lake on Friday. There is a bit of grass on the lake, mostly on the northern ends, and most of it is in extremely shallow water. The backs of a few creeks are muddy, but most of the lake is about normal, becoming more stained as you head up the lake.

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, points, creek bends, and flats 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 throw 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 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 last spring, 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 the bass chasing so much shad, a 4.5" boot tail Live Magic Shad on a swimbait hook will work great as well in the same areas.

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 tom@lakeforkguidetrips.com or get more info on my website 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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=11202 2013-04-04T14:00:14 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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 www.facebook.com/tomredingtonfishing and http://twitter.com/Tom_Redington . For more fishing info, you can check out my spring jig fishing article: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/...ngarticles/feb2013.htm and my article on showing spring bass a new look with soft plastic swimbait/jerkbait hybrids: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/...articles/april2013.htm

Lake Conditions: A few recent rains did little to raise the lake level, although they added some color to the creeks. The lake level is currently 398.71' (about 4' 3" below full pool). Water temps did a big boomerang over the past 2 weeks, going from the mid-60s to lower 50s and rebounding to around 60 now, plus or minus depending on your location. There is a bit of grass on the lake, mostly on the northern ends, and most of it is in extremely shallow water. The backs of some creeks are muddy, but most of the lake is about normal, becoming more stained as you head up the lake.

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 little 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 back half of 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: The biggest spring trend on Fork for the past 2 seasons is "Bubba" versions of finesse rigs. Drop shots and shaky heads are normally thought of as limit fillers and dink catchers, but slightly heavier duty styles of both rigs have consistently hammered big bass on Fork. Instead of 8 lb line and a spinning rod, I start with 15 lb fluoro on a baitcaster, matched with a 7'4" Dobyns Extreme DX743C rod. A long rod with lots of tip like this will throw small baits a mile, definitely a key when dealing with wary lunkers in the shallows. Furthermore, bass around spawn time often don't eat baits well; rather, fish often nip at lures and let go quickly to run rivals and predators out of their bedding areas. A super sensitive rod like the Dobyns Extreme helps detect subtle bites before the fish drop the bait. Ever wonder why your buddy is catching fish and you can't, even though you both are throwing the exact same bait? Might be as simple as you're not feeling the bites you're getting.

As far as the setups, a 3/16 or ¼ oz shaky head jig with a stout hook or a drop shot with a 1/0-3/0 offset worm hook and a 6 to 12 inch leader to a ¼ oz sinker are my normal rigs. You can play with all sorts of colors if you like, yet shades of watermelon or green pumpkin tend to work consistently on about any lake in the country, including Fork. If bass are aggressive, a Hyper Stick's wiggling tail will produce on either rig. When the fish get fussy, downsize to a trick worm, Baby Ring Fry, or a Hyper Finesse Worm and you'll get more bites. Cast around each and every piece of shallow wood you see, as well as the gaps in between them. A good rule of thumb is if you're fishing it so slowly that you can hardly stand it, you're probably still fishing way too fast. Around spawning areas, the guy fishing the slowest in the boat normally catches the most this time of year.

If you drank 5 cups of coffee and can't stand sitting still, chase after the prespawn and postspawn bass with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits, especially on overcast and windy days. A great search tool is a lipless crankbaits like the 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. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5" Live Magic Shad on the back of a 3/8 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.

Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at tom@lakeforkguidetrips.com or get more info on my website 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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=11079 2013-03-21T11:12:22 -07.00 BulBob 1



Paul from www.bulletbobber.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=10604 2013-02-08T19:36:57 -07.00 Hoosier Daddy 1
Contact: jrfeuerbach@yahoo.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=10465 2013-01-29T15:17:36 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=10122 2012-12-21T07:47:45 -07.00 LAWRENCE ECKLOR 1 item numbers 221167366200 221167366933 221167368098]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=10095 2012-12-18T05:52:10 -07.00 chobee5 1
Report by Captain Bryan Honnerlaw/Lake Okeechobee Outdoors
You can contact us on facebook under Lake Okeechobee Outdoors
or email at bassmastercull55@hotmail.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=10051 2012-12-12T07:06:24 -07.00 ArtFerguson 1
During the winter months, I guide in central Florida including Lake Toho, Kissimmee Chain, as well as some on Okeechobee and a lot of smaller lakes around Orlando.

Book a trip and learn from a pro....I've been doing this professionally since 1990!!

Contact me at:

http://www.artoffishing.com

586-531-2821

Thanks!

Art Ferguson]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=9672 2012-09-17T14:12:05 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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.]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=9635 2012-09-09T18:50:12 -07.00 Capt. Tom 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=9385 2012-07-20T14:09:37 -07.00 Tom Redington 1









I've been fishing Lake Fork most days since the 4th of July holiday and the deep structure summertime bite is very good on Lake Fork. Summertime is pretty consistent and you can expect both numbers and size this time of year. Tuesday was our slowest day in the past few weeks, so we stuck around a few minutes after quitting time to get to an even 20 fish in the boat. Most days the numbers have been considerably better and our best 5 is reliably running from 27 to 34 pounds. 2.5 to 6 pound fish have made up the bulk of our catch, with some big fish mixed in. Yesterday I fished with Todd and Brad from AR and we put 39 in the boat with our best 5 weighing 32 lbs and Todd setting his new personal best with an 8-05. It was a fun day, but we had to work for the fish and it honestly felt like a grind versus last week when the bass were a lot more aggressive with all of the storms passing through. Apparently the writers of "Bassmaster", who ranked Fork as the 27th best bass lake in the country, (behind lunker factories like Candlewood Lake in CT and Lake Winnebago in WI) need to come down and do a little more research.

Even on a lake like Fork that is full of big fish, the fishing isn't easy though unless you hit a spot during a feeding period. Outside of those short bursts, you have to trust your electronics and meticulously fish spots and grind them out. Keep your bait in front of the fish and you'll catch one periodically and be in position to light them up when they get active. The DownScan and Structure Scan from Lowrance allows you to see everything swimming on deep structure spots and once you locate the bass, it is just a matter of time until you make some of them eat.

There aren't a whole lot of changes to my report from June. It's a pretty basic arsenal for summertime structure fishing. Again, the key is using your graph to stay on the fish more so than a hot lure. Many baits will work in the right place, while none will work if there aren't any fish around.

As a side note, my July article covers my recommendations for the best knots for a variety of applications with today's high tech fishing lines: http://lakeforkguidetrips.com/...garticles/July2012.htm

Lake Conditions: Fork is down a bit this summer, but not much more than normal for the middle of summer and some recent rains have kept it in good shape. The lake level is currently 400.50' (2.5' below full pool). Water temps in the main lake are reading 85-89, 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. I'm seeing the thermocline showing up around 28' on my graph most days.

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 12' to 20' are best on the cloudy days, while I look more in 20' to about 32' 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. TX rigged Fork Worms will catch a few more in these places once the bass stop hitting the surface in the mornings.

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 fluoro 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 red bug 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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=9265 2012-06-18T17:37:13 -07.00 Tom Redington 1


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/...articles/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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tdYT3i9ip8 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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5GdXXQKQB0

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=9094 2012-05-12T20:52:32 -07.00 hothoosier47807 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=8925 2012-04-13T09:11:06 -07.00 Tom Redington 1











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/...articles/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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=8732 2012-03-18T14:36:48 -07.00 Tom Redington 1





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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=8725 2012-03-16T04:19:15 -07.00 jack01 1

Boats for sale]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=8439 2012-02-19T13:44:51 -07.00 Tom Redington 1


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:


">http://lakeforkpictures.com/20.../120217bernie.jpg[/img


Video of a few nice fish, including an 8, while breaking in my new boat last month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Xf_hrzWa8


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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=8278 2012-02-04T10:57:59 -07.00 Capt. Tom 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7956 2012-01-06T10:04:20 -07.00 Jeffrey Alston 1
cl:843-475-5061]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7812 2011-12-18T16:17:00 -07.00 Tom Redington 1

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7636 2011-11-20T15:05:09 -07.00 pghpanther88 1
Cayuga Lake
Oneida lake
Conesus Lake
Canandaigua Lake
Honeoye Lake
Sodus Bay, Irondequoit Bay(Lake Ontario
Erie Canal





www.nybassinaction.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7494 2011-10-18T15:01:09 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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/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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7363 2011-09-07T15:12:31 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7173 2011-07-19T11:56:48 -07.00 #1caster 1 Table Rock Lake Fishing Report 7/19/11
Posted on July 19, 2011 by admin
The lake is still over 3 feet above power pool and slowly falling. The water temperature is in the mid to upper 90s. With this week of hot weather ahead I wouldn't be surprised if we see 90 degree water by the end of the week. The Bass fishing continues to be good with 20-30 fish catches in a half or three quarter day trips. During the peek of the full moon fishing did slow some as I believe they did more feeding during the night. There are still some shallow fish being caught. These fish can be caught on jigs , tubes or lizards fished from the brushline out to about 20 feet. These are mainly Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass. The deep Kentucky Bass fishing continues to be very good on nightcrawlers and drop shoting little finese worms. These fish are sticking very close to the bottom and are hard to detect sometimes. I can't tell you how many fish that come off the bottom and look at the nightcrawler then just go back to the bottom. If you experience this you just need to go back to that spot later in the day . These fish seem to be feeding at different times in the morning. One day it will be early and then the next day they may wait till mid morning to feed. You just have to keep checking them and eventually you will catch them. The depth of the deep fish is anywhere from 27 feet down to 50 feet. You just have to keep looking you will find the depth pattern that is working for that day.
Till next time, Good Fishin'
Jamie

http://tablerockfishingpro.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7145 2011-07-09T16:07:23 -07.00 #1caster 1 Posted on July 9, 2011 by admin
The fishing remains very good on Table Rock during the extereme heat we are having. The water temperature is still hanging in the mid 80s. The water level continues to fall about a quarter foot a day. There are still fish hanging around the original shore line out to about 20 feet. These fish can be caught on a tube, a shaky head, a jig and I've been having some good luck throwing a texas rigged green pumpkin lizard. The deep Kentucky fishing is just getting better. The depth seems to change a lot but once you establish how deep they are that day you can go just about anywhere and fish that depth and catch some fish. There are a few areas that are just stacked with fish so when you catch one check the area carefully as you might be in one of those spots. We had a front go through Thursday night and on my trip on friday the morning started off very slowly. We would watch the fish come up off the bottom and just look at the nightcrawlers then swim back down to the bottom. It got to be frustrating but I knew it would just be a matter of time and they would become more aggressive. We went and fished a ledge on a bluff and picked up 6 fish in about a half hour. We then checked out some deep treetops with no success. By this time we had some good cloud cover move in and a nice Northeast wind pick up. I told my clients it was time to go check those crawler fish. When we got there it was on. Not only did they get aggressive but the big girls came up to feed also. In the next hour we put probably 20 fish in the boat and lost about 10 others. We had several Kentuckies that were pushing the 4 pound mark. I'll bet our best five would have weighed atleast 18 pounds. Thats a good string of Kentuckies no matter where you fish. That just goes to show you that you have to check your main spots a couple times each day especially when conditions change.
Untill next time Good Fishin'
Jamie

http://tablerockfishingpro.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=7031 2011-06-10T11:06:23 -07.00 Tom Redington 1
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....garticles/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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6958 2011-05-23T19:06:12 -07.00 chobee5 2 By: Captain Bryan Honnerlaw

Fishing has been tremendous at The "Big O." Bream fishing has been outstanding in Harney Pond Canal, Sportsmen, and on the lake. Bass are grouped up on the outside edges of weeds in a foot of water, as well as in the rim canal along rock banks. Catches of over 100 fish are common. Unfortunetly, the lake level is still dropping and extreme caution should be used when running out on the lake. The rim canal is safe to run, just stay in the middle or towards the riprap side. Try using shaky heads with a watermelon or junebug finnesse worm, or crank-baits along rip rap banks in the rim canal. Any ridge or structure you can find in the rim canal try a carolina rig or deep diving crankbait in yellow or fire-tiger. Weights for five fish tournaments are still taking 30-34 lbs. every weekend!!
For bluegill and shellcrackers, use a flyrod with poppers, crickets, red-worms, or grass shrimp with a small split shot and bobber on the edge of drop-offs set 2-4 feet deep.



visit us on facebook at lake okeechobee outdoors

Lake Okeechobee Outdoors is a complete Fishing Guide Service owned and operated by Professional Guide Bryan Honnerlaw and his wife Amy. Lake Okeechobee Outdoors is located on the banks of Lake Okeechobee in the fishing town of Lakeport, Florida. Lakeport is on the west side of lake about 2 miles from the world famous Monkeybox. We can also arrange your hunting trips, lodging, and docking if you prefer. Call (937)728-1344 or email at bassmastercull55]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6891 2011-05-12T14:02:12 -07.00 Tom Redington 1















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....ngarticles/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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6861 2011-05-07T09:37:10 -07.00 bhall.1123 2 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6789 2011-04-21T20:00:14 -07.00 booyahfish 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6775 2011-04-20T10:49:09 -07.00 dkiefer19 3
-Dave-

email: dkiefer19@yahoo.com]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6682 2011-04-07T09:38:11 -07.00 Tom Redington 1













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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6491 2011-03-16T09:59:38 -07.00 Tom Redington 1












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/...ngarticles/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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6487 2011-03-15T21:59:49 -07.00 coop1502 1
many will pay $9.99 for a lure. Why not spend that money on a chart that will forever improve your understanding of what conditions to fish which lure.]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6222 2011-02-24T14:15:58 -07.00 Tom Redington 1

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=6001 2011-02-07T19:45:54 -07.00 Capt. Tom 2
I am ready for the spring thaw.. plans are made customers are calling anxious to get out to fish from a boat. Anyone want to try it visit www.gr8lakesfishing.com for details.]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5868 2011-01-27T15:46:38 -07.00 Tom Redington 1












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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5499 2010-12-18T14:26:33 -07.00 Tom Redington 1









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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5378 2010-11-18T12:25:43 -07.00 Tom Redington 1









This fall has been very mild and a lot of fun on Lake Fork. Last year's autumn was rainy and cold, with muddy water and overall the slowest fall and winter bite that I can recall. Fall 2010, on the other hand, has generally been mild, dry, and warm; and the fish have responded. After an active shallow bite in the first half of the fall, Fork finished up turnover in October and the deep bite has been quite consistent. I'm still catching most of my offshore fish in the shallower range, about 17 to 25 feet, whereas I normally catch a lot of fish in 28' to 38' zone by this time of year, so expect the good fall bite to carry on for a while. Furthermore, with the warm water temps and low water levels, winter and spring fishing should be excellent this year for wintering and early staging females in the creeks.

With the holidays just around the corner, I do have gift certificates available for those looking for a present for their angling buddies. 2010 has been another super year on Fork, and the prospects for 2011 look even better with the low lake level and warm temps. Moreover, forecasters are calling for a warmer and drier than normal winter and spring, setting up perfectly for good spring fishing. Prespawn starts in late-December, so it won't be long until my favorite lunker time of the year is here, January through March. If you're looking for a fish of a lifetime, prespawn is the time to head to Fork.

My fishing report is below. If you want more information on fall fishing, check out the articles on my website: http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles.htm . Included is the In-Fisherman story from the October issue with me talking about fall fishing, an article with my flutter spoon techniques in Bass West, plus the dozens of articles I've written, including the Nov 2010 article about the basics of deep water fishing.

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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Fork's water level continues to slowly drop, as it has all autumn. The lake level is currently 400.04' (just less than 3' below full pool) and a lot 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 have been bouncing up and down with the regular passage of fronts, but in general the main lake has been holding in the mid-60s. The main lake has returned to 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: There are still lots of fish to be caught up shallow. Grass on the main lake or around points in the creeks has been consistently good, while I haven't done as well in the very backs of creeks lately. With all of the exposed timber, creek channel edges, fencerows, and treelines are all productive areas as well. For the past couple of weeks, the deep bite has been my most consistent bite during the middle of the days. The schools have been big and easy to find with your graph. Some of the schools are very large, with huge numbers of yellow bass, white bass, and catfish mixed in the with largemouth; while other schools have been entirely largemouth. It is a safe assumption this time of year that if you find the white bass and yellow bass, the largemouth will be there with them. Usually it is just a matter of figuring out some that the bass will eat and the smaller fish will leave alone, but sometimes you just have to weed through all the smaller fish to get to the black bass. Shallower main lake structures still seem to be best for the offshore bite, with areas topping out in 17' to 25' being the most productive.

Presentation Pattern: During fall, bass key on shad and most of my lure choices and colors will reflect that preference. Shades of white or chrome are always good choices in the fall on Fork. In the shallows, the topwater action has slowed for me, especially on cool mornings. I have had better luck, especially in the afternoons, in areas with loosely matted grass using topwaters like buzzbaits and Fork Frogs. Shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft's RC 1.5 or BDS3 square bills, spinnerbaits and rattle baits, and 3/8 oz chatterbaits with 3.5" Live Magic shads have been productive, especially on the windy and cloudy days. As I mentioned before, bass are grouping on grass points, main lake grass, and treelines, so try these lures out in those areas and experiment until you find the hot lure that day. As you might expect, the best bait and color changes dramatically from day-to-day. It's the time of year when dozens of different baits will work, so having several jack-of-all-trade rods on the deck is more helpful than a few specialized Carolina rig or cranking rods. Rods like the Dobyns Champion 733C and 734C (7'3" rods in medium to medium heavy powers) are equally adept at throwing topwaters and spinnerbaits to weightless soft plastics and jigs. Pair them with easy casting 15 lb PowerSilk mono and you'll have some rigs that will be up to all but the most demanding bass fishing tasks this fall.

If the bass aren't in a chasing mood, switch to a Carolina rigged Baby Ring Fry or Baby Fork Creature with a ¼ oz weight and a 12" leader and work along the grass edges for quality fish. If the bass won't respond to the C-rig, slow down even more with a wacky rigged Hyper Finesse Worm and the slow fall of these worms will get lots of action from the smaller fish and an occasional good one. 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. These techniques will also catch additional fish in areas where I've already caught some fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. For a shot at a true lunker, a 3/8 oz green pumpkin or blue bruiser colored MPack Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer or a 10" Fork Worm Texas rigged will produce big bass when pitched to the deep weed edge, especially on points and around creek channels.

For the bass out deep, Fork Flutter Spoons and tail spinners are catching a lot of suspended fish. The more wind and cloud cover, the greater the likelihood that the bass will be suspended. Here again, the 3 and 4 power Dobyns rods do these chores well, with the 733C working great with tail spinners and smaller spoons, while the 734C is better when you break out 1 oz jigging spoons or throw the big 5" and 6" Fork Flutter Spoons. Fish relating to the bottom are a lot more dependable, so seek out these schools if you can locate them. Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms work best. Once you get around a good school, catching these fish is usually just a matter of staying on them. The real key is finding the good schools with your graph.

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5285 2010-10-16T13:38:24 -07.00 Tom Redington 3





High pressure has dominated the weather at Lake Fork for the better part of 3 weeks now, with cool mornings and comfortably warm mid-70s to low-80s bluebird days and light winds. Lots and lots of small to keeper sized bass are in the shallows and very willing to bite most days, with the occasional very aggressive or slow day mixed in around the infrequent weather fronts. The lake seems to be getting closer to finishing up turning over, but until then, the deep bite has been less consistent that the shallow bite. In another week or two the deep bite will really turn on as bass follow the hordes of shad and yellow bass school up. In the meantime, we are slowly but surely starting to see the big fish being caught more regularly in the shallows as the water continues to cool.

At this point last year, the lily pads and cattails had already died way back, yet they remain green and thick now. This suggests to me that fall is running significantly later this year on Fork and we should have good fishing well into November this year, both shallow and deep.

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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Fork's water level continues to drop after a small rise from a healthy rain on Monday. The lake level is currently 400.34' (about 2' 8" below full pool) and a lot 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 fell quickly early in October but have now stabilized, holding in the 71 to 72 range in most areas, although I have seen it as low as 66 degrees a couple of times in the creeks. The main lake is closer to the normal Fork clear-greenish color in some areas, yet many places are still brownish and murky from the turnover. Most of the creeks remain stained.

Location Pattern: The most consistent pattern continues to be shallow grassbeds. Some days they are biting better on points and flats with grass on the main lake, while other days the points, creek channels and flats in the backs of creeks are better. Regardless, I've consistently done better in areas with hydrilla, milfoil, or coontail. Early and late and all day on cloudy and windy days, I'm focusing on shoreline grass, openings in clumps of grass, and the inside weedline. When the sun gets up, concentrate on the deep weed edge in 6' to 10'. Key on points, inside turns, and along ledges and you're likely to find more fish. Most of the shallow fish have been in groups, so you'll fish for a while without getting a bite, and then catch several in a small area. I've found a few good schools out deep, but the shallow bite remains more consistent. Shallower main lake structures seem to be best for the offshore bite, with areas topping out in 12' to 24' being the most productive.

Presentation Pattern: During fall, bass key on shad and most of my lure choices and colors will reflect that preference. Shades of white or chrome are always good choices in the fall on Fork. In the shallows, topwaters are catching a lot of good keeper fish early and late. Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the shad and catch lots of keeper fish, 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. I throw these topwaters on floating mono line like PowerSilk for the best action with my lures. Bass in areas with loosely matted grass will bite topwaters like buzzbaits and Fork Frogs even with the sun beating down, so try these on braided line if you want to topwater fish all day. After the sun gets up a bit, I normally switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 0.5, RC 1.5, or BDS 0 square bills, ¼ oz spinnerbaits and rattle baits, and 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 line like FluoroHybrid Pro and you'll still have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod.

If the bass aren't in a chasing mood, switch to a Carolina rigged Baby Ring Fry or Baby Fork Creature with a ¼ oz weight and a 12" leader and work along the grass edges for quality fish. If the bass won't respond to the C-rig, slow down even more with a wacky rigged Hyper Finesse Worm and the slow fall of these worms will get lots of action from the smaller fish and an occasional good one. 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. These techniques will also catch additional fish in areas where I've already caught some fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. For a shot at a true lunker, a 3/8 oz green pumpkin or blue bruiser colored MPack Jig with a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer or a 10" Fork Worm Texas rigged will produce big bass when pitched to the deep weed edge, especially on points and around creek channels.

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. Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are working best. I like using the 7'8" Dobyns Champion Extreme model DX784ML for Carolina rigs and the extra length allows me take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end of long casts. If you haven't tried worm and jig fishing with a longer rod, give it a try and you'll land more fish.

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5240 2010-10-03T15:01:47 -07.00 wilty 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5237 2010-10-02T10:37:20 -07.00 Capt. Tom 2 If the FLW American Series comes to Buffalo next year you might want to know a few of the secret spots, visit www.gr8lakesfishing.com I have some days in October open.]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5192 2010-09-15T13:18:25 -07.00 Tom Redington 1





It's tournament season on Lake Fork, with a big tournament or two every weekend for the coming month. The Big Bass Splash this weekend kicks things up a notch with the 3000+ anglers competing for $500,000 in cash and prizes. 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 all around the lake, including in the backs of many creeks and we are catching a lot of fish on most of our trips. 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. There are still some fish in deep water holding in about 14 to 22', 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 article about tournament fishing on Lake Fork. Good luck to everyone this fall and I hope some of this info helps.

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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Fork's water level continues to drop. The lake level is currently 401.00' (2' below full pool) and a lot of stumps are now visible. Water temps are in the low-80s (I was reading 81-82 this morning) and water clarity is clear on the south end and stained up the lake. The hydrilla and milfoil are really starting to mat up in the shallows as the water drops.

Fork Tournament Fishing in the Fall

Fall is tournament season on Lake Fork, with thousands of anglers in several big bass tournaments, as well as a number of regional trail events. Due to the restrictive 16" to 24" slot limit on Fork 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 grassbeds and timber 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. Remember to cast these on a floating line like with low memory PowerSilk mono so you can cast these baits a long ways and still keep them on the surface. A long rod with a soft tip helps a lot too, with the Dobyns Champion 7' long 704CB being a good example. 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 now, so chrome or shad colors of LVR Mini 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 Redemption 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 more bass from the spot. The #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 grass a little more, or when they're holding in deeper water just off the edge of the grass, a finesse Carolina rig with 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro 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 Finesse Worm 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 the grass. 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 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 Pig Claw trailer early in the morning along the deep grass edge on main lake points.

Best of luck to those of you tourney fishing Fork this fall. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through my website, www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com.]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5056 2010-08-11T15:04:14 -07.00 Tom Redington 1

Chase caught numbers with worms while Chad went for size with crankbaits:


Despite the hot weather, the big bass continue to feed, including a 14.4 lb trophy caught by my friend Cameron, whose family owns Lake Fork Marina. The bass are certainly not feeding all of the time or everywhere, so you really have to hit it right. Some days the best bite is during the day, others it is early or late. Some days they are schooled up and eating out deep, while other days you they will bite better up shallow. If you time it wrong, it can make for some pretty slow fishing. Keep at it and try a mix of shallow and deep until you find them though and you can get some good action, including some lunkers.

Looking forward, September & October are always popular months on Fork as the fall tournament season really cranks up. It's perfect timing for the tournaments too, because the cooling water turns on the fishing in both the shallows and out deep. September-November normally produces our fastest action on Fork for numbers, with lots of keeper sized fish chasing bait in the shallows, while big groups of bass school up out deep. Whether you like topwaters, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits up shallow or fishing with soft plastics and spoons out deeper, fall is a fun time to fish Lake Fork.

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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Fork is in good shape for the late summer. The lake level is currently 401.94' (about 1' below full pool) and dropping. Water temps are holding in the upper-80s to low-90s in the main lake and water clarity is the normal Fork clear green to light stain. The hydrilla and milfoil are really starting to mat up in the shallows as the water drops.

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. These fish are mostly in 6' to 12', often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like points, humps, and roadbeds in 20' to 28' is good when you graph schools of fish on the bottom. Many days, they are suspending in the submerged timber or schooling near the surface and tougher to catch. On those days, fishing creek channel bends and drop offs in 10' to 18' is producing better.

Presentation Pattern: Topwaters have been good some mornings but the bite only lasts until the sun cracks over the horizon. Poppers like the Lucky Craft G Splash work best some days, while walkers like Sammys and Gunfish are better on others. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. Once the topwater action slows, Texas rigged worms and wacky worms have been the best producers on the edge of the grass. We've had good luck on blue fleck, junebug, and green pumpkin 8" and 10" Fork Worms (TX rigs) and Hyper Finesse Worms (wacky rigs).

On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina rigs, drop shots, 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 are suspend this summer, often schooling on the surface. Deep diving 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. When bass are high in the water column and schooling, I'll throw them on 20 lb PowerSilk line and use a stop-and-go retrieve to keep my lure running shallower. When they are closer to the bottom, 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.

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. 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 DX743 spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. On darker days, junebug, green pumpkin, and Bama bug have been good, while the various shades of watermelon have worked on the bright days.

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=5012 2010-07-31T17:34:24 -07.00 Capt. Tom 1 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=4902 2010-07-02T21:53:04 -07.00 BlaineHill60 2 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=4829 2010-06-16T15:43:47 -07.00 Tom Redington 1



With the spawn behind us (well mostly, there were still a few on beds last week!) and the weather turning hot, bass are settling into traditional summer patterns. The hot days with lots of sunshine have been best for me, grouping big schools up on deep structure. These deep fish have been hard to find because they are normally relating to a single tree or two. If you're good at deciphering your graph and can position your boat correctly, once you find them you can mine bass after bass from a small area though. On the many windy, overcast, and rainy days, bass have been suspending and the deep bite is tougher. Those days, we've had better luck by fishing shallow grassbeds and points. All things being equal, the sunny and hot days have been considerably better for me.

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 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 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer with low hours 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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is full and has finally cleared to its normal water color. The lake level is currently 402.98' (full pool is 403'). Water temps were reading from 84 to 86 in the main lake yesterday (Tuesday). The hydrilla and milfoil are rapidly growing and expanding in coverage in the shallows all over the lake, as are the lily pads. The grass has not matted up yet in most areas, so you can still work topwaters over it without fouling too often.

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. These fish are mostly in 6' to 12', often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like points, humps, and roadbeds in 12' to 30' are best on the sunny days, producing both good numbers and size. While bass are suspended over many deep structure spots, finding places where they are one 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 have been good some mornings but the bite only lasts until the sun cracks over the horizon. Poppers like the Lucky Craft G Splash work best some days, while walkers like Sammys and Gunfish are better on others. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. Once the topwater action slows, Texas rigged worms and wacky worms have been the best producers on the edge of the grass. We've had good luck on blue fleck, junebug, and green pumpkin 8" and 10" Fork Worms (TX rigs) and Hyper Finesse Worms (wacky rigs). Finally, I'll pitch a 3/8 oz green pumpkin MPack jig with a matching Fork Craw with a 7'3" Dobyns 736C Champion rod and 25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro to shallow cover like stumps, laydowns, and clumps of grass, plus pitch to the deep weed edge. The jig will produce less bites but a good shot at a lunker.

On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina rigs, drop shots, 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 are suspend this summer, often schooling on the surface. Deep diving 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. When bass are high in the water column and schooling, I'll throw them on 20 lb PowerSilk line and use a stop-and-go retrieve to keep my lure running shallower. When they are closer to the bottom, 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.

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. 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 DX743 spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. On darker days, junebug, green pumpkin, and Bama bug have been good, while the various shades of watermelon have worked on the bright days.

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=4663 2010-05-19T10:37:11 -07.00 Tom Redington 1



Darrell enjoyed a birthday gift trip with two over 7 lbs:



Mike won his company's big bass pot for the day with this 8 lb 9 oz lunker:


Todd brought his son from AR and we caught three fish between 7 and 8 lbs:




It's that wonderful time of year on Fork. Most bass remain shallow and even a few are still spawning, with some already making their way out deep. Having finished up their reproductive duties, the bass are now hungry and feeding aggressively on the spawning shad and bluegill. Whether you like fishing shallow or deep and anything from topwaters to deep diving crankbaits, you can consistently catch fish right now. Sure the best tactic will vary from day-to-day depending on the conditions, but in the course of a week just about anything in the tackle box will work right now. With so many aggressive fish, now's the perfect time to try a new fishing tactic and improve your skills. And if the new lure you bought can't get bit right now, you'd better find the receipt and take it back because it's a dud!

Because of the late spring, things are running behind and awesome fishing is just around the corner. 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 early or all day on cloudy days. After that, 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.

Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer with low hours 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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is full and much more stained than normal but slowly clearing. The lake level is currently 403.13' and slowly dropping, about 2" above full pool. Water temps were reading from 74 to 80 in the main lake yesterday (Tuesday). The hydrilla and milfoil are rapidly growing and expanding in coverage in the shallows all over the lake, as are the lily pads.

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, grass flats and points will continue to hold numbers of fish until the bluegill and shad finish their spawns and temps turn hot. In general, the fish up north are getting way less pressure than the areas down south too. Some of the early spawners are showing up on offshore structure in 12' to 30' as well.

Presentation Pattern: Topwaters remain good producers, so try your Lucky Craft G Splashes, Kelly J's, and Gunfish early and late. 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. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. 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.

For bass that are on weed flats and on points, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Zig Zags, and the all new Hyper Stick work. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don't forget Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I'm using Dobyns' 733C with 14 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 new 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. If the wind is blowing, rig the Hyper Stick or Zig Zag 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 7'3" Dobyns 736C Champion 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 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. 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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=4566 2010-05-04T14:39:58 -07.00 Tom Redington 1


April 28: Alan caught numbers, Jason his biggest ever (9-02) and a 9-14 for me:





A couple more over 7 on April 29th:



April 30: Mark enjoyed a day hammering slot fish, with our two biggest going 7-01 and 8-14:




May 1: Enjoyed a great afternoon with my brother. Steak and eggs at Moser's for a late breakfast, then a 36 lb limit that included two 8-01s and a 7-11.




May 2: While some guys hammered them, I lost track of the big ones that day and my trip was slower. We broke off and jumped off a couple good ones, but mostly just caught dinks except for a 7-06, a nice catfish, and a gar.

May 3: Doing a bit of sponsor "work"


The fishing at Lake Fork has been good to fantastic almost everyday for the past week. Since last Tuesday (April 27) through yesterday (Monday), we've had at least a 7 lb'er in the boat every single trip and a number of 8 to 10 pounders. Our best 5 fish weighed 31 to 36 lbs each day from Wednesday through Saturday. The good news is that most of the fish are still up shallow and many folks are really strokin' them right now on a wide range of presentations. Basically, focus on a shallow technique that you like and you'll probably be able to catch some good fish right now. Muddier than normal conditions have them holding shallow and actively feeding as opposed to being spooky while shallow in clearer water.

Because of the late spring, a lot of bass are still spawning and many of the early spawners are just now starting to turn on again while chasing shad and bluegill. As those females 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 early or all day on cloudy days. After that, 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.

Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer with low hours and you'd be titled as the first owner. She's value priced to save you big bucks off the cost 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=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is full and considerably more stained than normal. The lake level is currently 403.29' and steady, about 3" above full pool. Water temps are reading from 68 to 72 in the main lake, warmer in the creeks.

Location Pattern: I'm finding most of the bigger spawning fish near the mouths of coves and on main lake flats in 6' and less. The northern half of the lake still has a few spawners, but the south end has more fish moving up. 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, both prespawn and postspawn. On the northern half of the lake, grass flats and points will continue to hold numbers of fish until the bluegill and shad finish their spawns and temps turn hot. In general, the fish up north are getting way less pressure than the areas down south too.

Presentation Pattern: Topwaters are starting to turn on, and Lucky Craft G Splash, Kelly J's, and Gunfish will get a lot of bites early and late. 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. A Dobyns 704CB Champion rod will cast these smaller topwaters very well and has a soft tip to help you land more fish too. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. 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 2.0 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.

For bass that are on spawning flats and on points, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Zig Zags, and the all new Hyper Stick work. 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 Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I'm using Dobyns' 733C with 14 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 new 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. If the wind is blowing, rig the Hyper Stick 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 7'3" Dobyns 736C Champion 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.

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]]> http://www.flwoutdoors.com/community/talk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=28&threadid=4539 2010-05-02T08:20:17 -07.00 Capt. Tom 1