Tim with July 8 pounder:
Greg with a big headed 7 pounder:
Jim and Debbie caught a bunch of nice ones on a windy day:
Tyler celebrated his 7th birthday with some nice fish with his dad and grandpa:
Bass have settled into their normal summertime patterns on Lake Fork and the fishing is pretty consistent. Grassy points produced some nice bass early and late, while I'm spending most of my days fishing deep structure for schools of big fish. Once we've found a school with our graph, it has been pretty easy to catch at least a few of these fish most days. Some days the fish are more scattered and the schools have been smaller and harder to find, while other days there seem to be big schools on every piece of deep structure. Keep graphing until you find a good school, then fish a variety of deep water techniques until you hook up. Once you do, the bass are coming up and jumping several feet out of the air, then diving back down and pulling like freight trains. Needless to say, we've been having a lot of fun on the water for the last few weeks!
As a side note, I've added my July article to my website. It covers my approach to fishing shallow in the summer for bass—a great technique when the deep water bass won't bite or if they're getting a lot of pressure. http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/fishingarticles.htm
Lake Conditions: A few more rains continue to keep Fork's water level high for summertime. The lake level is currently reading 403.55' (about 6" above full pool). Most of the lake is now clear, with some stained water on the north ends. Water temps are mild for this time of year, reading from 83 to 86 in the main lake.
Location Pattern: Early and late, I'm finding good bass feeding on points and flats near or in the main lake. These fish are mostly in 8' to 15', often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like points, humps, and roadbeds in 18' to 30' continues as my main pattern, producing both good numbers and size. Some days these bass are suspended and other days they're on the bottom. Many of these schools have been small, so watch your depth finder closely.
Presentation Pattern: First thing in the morning, I'm working shallow grass on the main lake and in the 1st half of creeks. Pitch a 3/8 oz Mega Weight jig or a Texas rigged 7" or 10" worm a few feet inside the deep weedline and work it out slowly. I'm using a green pumpkin/black or a watermelon seed jig with a watermelon/red flake Fork Craw trailer, and a watermelon/red or green pumpkin Fork Worm on the Texas rig.
Out deeper, Carolina rigs, drop shots, jigs, and Texas rigs are catching bass from schools located near the bottom on deep structure. I go with a green pumpkin or watermelon red Twitch Worm or 10" Fork Worms for Texas rigs. Meanwhile, watermelon candy, watermelon/red, or green pumpkin Baby Fork Creatures, Ring Frys, and Twitch Worms are on the business end of my Carolina rigs. Drop shots will catch good numbers of fish and the occasional big bass, rigged with a watermelon or green pumpkin Twitch Worm. ½ oz Mega Weight jigs with matching Fork Craws are also catching some big bass out deep. When the bass are suspended, swimbaits, spoons, or deep diving crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns are working better than the bottom presentations, and catching some lunkers too.
Boat for Sale: My 2008 Ranger Z520 boat was new in Dec '07 and is for sale. It is fully loaded, rigged with a 250 HP Yamaha Series 2 motor with a 6 year warranty (good until 2014). It's value priced and will save you about $10,000 off the cost of a new boat. For more details and pics of the boat, please check my website (www.lakeforkguidetrips.com) or drop me a note.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom