James Caldemeyer's
Lake Fork Trophy Bass
Fishing Report- 6/1/2010
My favorite month of the year is finally upon us. June is such an amazing fishing month each year here on world famous Lake Fork! I look forward to June because the bass have progressed fully into their post spawn feeding regimen and that means lots of hungry bass around the lake to catch. It has not been uncommon to have many 40-60 fish days right now. It's a lot of fun catch these numbers of quality fish and man do they fight hard!
The lake is in great shape going into summer right now and lake levels are still near full pool. We will take any rain that we can get though as we may need it a month or two. Water clarity is good to about 3 feet in most areas and the lake is staying clearer now that the grass has started to grow back from the cold winter we had. Water temperatures are ranging from 80-88 degrees on most of the lake right now.
There are a number of ways that you can catch fish as the bass are hungry and re-cooperating from the spawn. The top water bite is a great way to start of the morning. Yellow magics, buzz baits, zara spooks, or a frog are excellent choices. Targeting shallow grass beds on main lake points has been very productive for some big bass surface action. The bite can be very brief if the sun comes up right away but if it stays cloudy, you can catch them all day on it. A shallow running crank bait has also been good over shallow grass in and around bream beds. A lot of these bass are up there eating bluegill to fill their bellies. A 1/4 or 3/8 oz. swim jig in bream colors or swim bait will catch a big fish in these same areas right now. Wacky worms like the Berkley 5" or 7" Shaky Worm in blue fleck or watermelon red and rigged weightless on a 2/0 hook with a nail in the head is a killer over the grass.
I am a big deep structure fisherman and what better time of year to have a blast catching numbers of big ole bass than on Lake Fork. On a lot of days that the sun comes up right away and it gets hot I will start my days out in deep water. Your electronics are a vital component to locating active fish in deep water. I depend on my Lowrance HDS units daily to show me accurate information about the areas that I am fishing. The new Structure Scan really adds a new dimension to fishing and reveals some amazing images. www.lowrance.com I have located so many things on the bottom of Lake Fork that I didn't even know were there. From boat trailers to metal chairs, you can see it all!
Once I have a school of fish with my electronics, I am targeting them several different ways depending on how the fish are arranged in the water column and relating to structure or cover. Most of these fish can be found in 18-30 feet of water on points, humps, road beds, ridges and old pond dams. If the fish are on the bottom the number one producer has been a Carolina rig. I like to use a long leader (5ft.) and a big heavy 1 oz weight to drag the bottom. Trilene 20 lb test Fluorocarbon is a must with a 2/0 or 3/0 wide gap hook. Best baits on the c-rig have been Berkley Powerbait 7" or 10" Power Worms, Power Lizards, 4" Power Hawgs, and Wacky Crawlers in blue fleck, watermelon red, green pumpkin, and watermelon candy. www.berkley-fishing.com Drag these baits slowly over the areas you are fishing and hang on! Texas rigged 10" Power Worms have also been doing very well in the same colors rigged with a 3/8-1/2 oz weight and a 5/0 hook. If you want to catch the biggest fish out of the school, you will definitely want to have a Talon Lures 3/4 oz football head jig tied on. www.talonlures.com I like to throw watermelon candy, watermelon red, California 420, Willies Weed, or Texas Craw with a twin tail grub trailer, Berkley Chigger Craw, or your favorite trailer. If throwing a jig intimidates you, now is the time to gain some confidence with it. Just throw it out there in the same areas you would fish anything else and drag it until you feel one thump it. You'll be glad you did!
When you find the deep fish suspended the fishing can get a little tricky. Using deep diving crank baits are always best when the fish are suspended in June. DD 22's are really smoking the fish right now. You can catch a lot fish digging it down on light line. Another hot bait for those suspended fish is a big flutter spoon. Tossing it out there and letting it fall on slack line will catch some toads from now through the summer and even into fall. You always want to keep one nearby to cast into schooling fish as well when they bust the top.
If you are thinking about heading out to Lake Fork this summer and would like to book a guided trip, feel free to email me at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com or you can reach me by phone at (903)736-9888. You can also get more information about Lake Fork by visiting my website www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com or join my Facebook page to see up to date information about what is going on at Lake Fork. Big thanks to all my sponsors: Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, I AM SECOND, Berkley, Abu Garcia, All Star, Oakley, Talon Lures, Interstate Batteries, Line & Lure, BTS Protectant, Navionics, Sure Life, DFW MRI and newest addition Lowrance Electronics.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! -Philippians 2:8
Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
