Lake Fork Trophy Bass Fishing Report
Submitted on September 8, 2008
By Lake Fork Guide James Caldemeyer
September is a great month for catching big bass on Lake Fork and this year will be no exception. As fall rolls in and the weather starts to cool the bass will become more active in their regular feeding patterns and you can expect some very productive days on the water.
The water conditions on Lake Fork are great right now. We have lots of water with levels sitting just a few inches below full pool. The water clarity is fairly clear in most areas with some off colored water in other areas. Water temperatures have been ranging from 80-84 degrees.
With all the shallow vegetation and cover available to the fish this year you will find many fish that are moving into very shallow water to feed. As fall comes in, the shallow patterns will become increasingly more productive early in the day and late or all day on cloudy days. The top water bite has been pretty good lately with white buzz baits, shad colored yellow magics and watermelon/pearl Wave Worm Tiki Toads being the most productive. Fishing these baits up in the matted grass, lily pads, duck weed and over the submerged hydrilla will draw some huge blow ups. Finding areas that have good vegetation is not difficult but the presence of bait fish is the key. The bass are following these schools as they move into the shallows and the more bait you find, the more bass will be with them. Wacky rigged trick worms and Texas rigged 8 or 10 inch worms with a 1/4 to 3/8 oz. pegged weight fished in the grass on the bank out to 12 foot on main lake and secondary points at the mouths of the creeks is also producing well. Best colors have been watermelon red, watermelon candy, june bug, plum, and blue fleck.
The deep fishing is also great this time of year on Carolina rigs, Talon football head jigs and spoons or shad pattern DD 22's. During the day, fishing out deep is where you will find the big ones and large groups of fish as well. On the Carolina rig, I am using a 1oz. weight and 4-5 foot leader rigged with a 2/0 or 3/0 wide gap hook on 20 lb. Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line. Best baits have been centipede or fry type baits and Wave Shaddicks in watermelon colors. Look for schools of fish on your graph to show up on main lake points, roadbeds, humps, and pond dams in 16-24 foot. If the fish are on the bottom, the "jig and rig" pattern is best. Otherwise, if the fish are suspended, you will want to pick up your crank bait or a spoon. There are also a number of fish hanging around the bridges schooling during the day and they can be caught on wacky worms, flukes, spoons, and tail kickers fished around the pilings.
For those of you that are coming out to fish the Mc Donald's Big Bass Splash this weekend, I wish you a safe and productive day on the lake. Remember to handle the fish you catch with care to ensure more tremendous fishing for the future and use Sure Life's Catch & Release or Please Release Me formulas in your live wells when transporting your fish to the weigh in. If you get the chance, come by and say "hello." I will be at the Shimano booth during the tournament. You can also check out the new Curado and Citica reels that just came out. I have been throwing the Curado for the past week or so and I can tell you that it is an AWESOME reel!
If you are interested in booking a Lake Fork guide trip for some spectacular fall fishing, feel free to shoot me an email at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com or you can call me anytime at 903-736-9888. I have a limited amount of dates available for October or November so get in while you can. You can also visit my website at www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com to find lots more great info about Lake Fork.
Thanks to my sponsors for their support and to the good Lord for giving me strength and the provisions to make "all things possible."
Read 2 Corinthians 5:21
Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer