Week of March 26, 2012 personal best

I booked 2 and a half days with Dale Stokes this week and the weather was as good as it ever gets.  Lows in the 60's and highs in the low to mid 80's.  Winds were light except for Tuesday afternoon, when they were a bit blustery.  Nothing like what we have been through before, though.  The lake is now just 2 feet low.  It has come up over 5 and a half feet in the last month and is looking like the Lake Fork of old again.  It sure is nice to be able to run the boat lanes.

The main comment for this week was the fishing was SLOW!!  I caught 3 fish each day with only 5 to 7 bites a day.  Even the bites were a bit tentative, like they didn't really want to take the bait.  Tiny little taps with only a couple of bites where they really wanted it.  We saw a LOT of carp, crappie, and gar up shallow and I even hooked a 2 pound drum on a shakey head jig.  That was a first.  Might have been some crappie and carp pecking at my bait at times.

On Monday we had a few bites early and I caught one small bass dead sticking a fluke.  Then I had 4 straight hours with zero bites at all.  We fished wacky worms, shakey heads, flukes, all the usual suspects with no joy.  Finally I just decided to stick with a shakey head for the rest of the day and was quickly rewarded with a small tap about 1 pm.  I whanged on it and no fish.  Drat. 

We moved around a bit and I had another little tap at 2 pm.  This time I tightened up and lifted the rod tip to see if the fish was there.  Nope.  Felt the shakey head but no fish.  So it twitched it once and let it sit.  Another tap and a slight pull and I set the hook.  When I pulled back, the rod stopped dead at 10 o'clock and bent over double.  I saw this big mouth wallowing at the end of my line and knew I had a good fish.  She came to the boat no problem and when I saw it I thought it would go 8 or 9 pounds.  As Dale went to net it, the fish dove trying to go under the boat stripping off drag as it went.  I got my thumb on the spool and horsed it up and it made another dive for the prop and a stump near the back of the boat.  Again, I stopped the run and horsed her back towards Dale's net and she was in.  As I reached in the net to get the fish I saw the gut and knew I had a new personal best.  Dale's scale said 10.2 pounds and I don't doubt it.  My new personal best and my first double digit bass.  After a couple of quick pictures we sent her on her way and off she went to make more baby bass.  Woo hoo!  Now that's a nice reward for 4 hours with NO bites!

 

The next two days were anti-climactic after that fun.  We caught a few more small bass the next day and a half but they just were not biting very good at all.  Most of the other fish came dead sticking flukes with a few on shakey heads.

March 12-15, 2012

After getting blown off the lake by high winds last week, I was happy to see this week's forecast was much improved.  Temperatures were forecast for the high 70's and winds in the 10-15 mph range.  Just about perfect weather.  I booked 3 and a half days with Dale Stokes and was convinced we would hang a gorilla or two.  Unfortunately, the weekend dumped almost 6 inches of cold 50 degree rain around Lake Fork and I think that had an effect.

The lake is up a bit more and is now just 4.5 feet low.  Just!  However that's a big improvement to the 7 feet plus it has been down lately.

We started out Monday fishing the main lake banks and I was convinced slow fishing a big jig was the way to go.  I didn't want to be bothered by little males and had dreams of hooking another 8 lb plus like I did a few weeks ago.  Nope.  After four straight hours of fishing that jig slow and steady, without even a single nibble, I just had to put it down.  Dale had switched to a shakey head and landed 3 fish and missed a couple of more before I made the change.  I still didn't get a bite til after noon and I think I ended up with a total of 3 small fish for the day.  Dale had 8.

Tuesday started out the same way, but I just stuck with the jig for an hour before giving up on it for the rest of the trip.  Things were even tougher on Tuesday as we tried different areas and different water depths looking for some active fish.  I totaled ONE, all day long, but it was about a 5 pound fish.  Dale had another 7 fish, none of them of size.

Wednesday we had a few more bites on a combination of shakey heads and wacky worms.  We stuck 4 fish that got off, don't know why, but it happened twice to me and twice to Dale.  Bites were so light that several fish were hooked swimming off with our worm.  Nothing of any size, again, but we had more bites and boated 11 fish.  We worked hard for those  fish!

Thursday morning was more of the same.  We pulled up on a new spot in Little Caney and I caught a little one on the second cast.  I had another bite on about the fourth cast, then nada. We hunted and pecked them for 4 hours with a grand total of 5.  Dale caught one decent female about 6 pounds, but that was it.  The rest were dinks.  Wackey worms, shakey heads, and dead sticking flukes was not the ticket.

35 fish over 3 and a half days is a tough slog for Fork.  However no one fell out of the boat, no one got a hook in the face, no props were bent (even when running into Little Caney!), the weather was very nice, and we each caught fish every day.  No skunks. 

Check out this interesting stump below.  Sticking up on two legs like it is walking.  When the water level comes back up you would never guess there is a fish umbrella there.  I can't wait to pitch a worm into that and try to get a fish out.

March 5 and 6, 2012

I had planned a 3 day trip with Dale this week but 40 mph winds howling out of the south put a stop to that.  Monday was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70's and light winds.  We boated 12 bass on jigs and shakey heads, but nothing over 5 pounds.  We deliberately stayed out in deeper water, 10-15 feet, and pitched up toward shore and around timber.  There are a lot of small males moving up shallow getting ready for the spawn and we had hopes of snagging a better staging fish like I did a couple of weeks ago.  No luck.  Tuesday the forecast was for extreme winds, but the morning was fishable.  We poked around til the winds got nasty around 10:30 am, then fled to the shore.  I fished a jig all morning and only had about 4 bites and landed 1 small bass. Dale did about the same.  Fork is just short of the spawn and things should get hopping pretty soon.  I plan to go back soon!

First trip of 2012

Tuesday, February 21 and Wednesday, February 22

A spell of VERY nice weather at the end of February called for an early trip to Lake Fork with Dale Stokes. I know fishing is always slow this time of year with water temperatures in the low 50's.  Usually, if you get 5 or 10 bites a day you are about average.  However daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s with low winds made it just irresistible.  Plus you have a chance of catching fish at their heaviest, before the spawn.

I drove out Monday night and drove through some very heavy rain.  The drought is not yet broken but things are definitely improving.  The lake is up about 2 feet since my last visit  and is now down about 5.5 feet from normal pool.

Tuesday started out about as expected.  I think we had 6 or 7 bites all day and boated 5 fish, all little ones.  We caught two on stick baits, two on rattle traps, and one on a jig.  It started out a bit cool but warmed up to a beautiful day, even if the fish never turned on!

Tuesday we started a bit earlier and decided to concentrate on jig fishing, hoping to get something of size.  About an hour in, I got a slight little tap on my jig, set the hook, and had a nice fight with a fish that weighed 8 pounds and 9 ounces.  Now THAT is why I like to fish in February when lesser fishermen don't want to bother with 5 bite days.

 

Check out the gut on that fish while Dale is weighing it.  It was not a very long fish, but it looked like it had swallowed a softball!  If that is any sign, the spring spawn may just come a bit early this year.

I had 3 more bites, all day long, and boated another fish that weighed around 5 lbs.  Not much on quantity, but I liked the quality!

I had planned to fish another half day on Thursday but winds kicked up to 20-30 mph and we decided to wait for another day.  I am sure looking forward to spring fishing on Lake Fork!

week of November 13, 2011

I spent 3 and a half days out at Lake Fork this week, battling weather mostly, and occasionally catching some fish. 

Monday I started out with Dale at 6:30 am and we had a blustery south wind all day long.  That wind limited where we could fish and the fish were still being onery.  I think we only had 4 little ones by noon after trying multiple spots using carolina rigs, chatter baits, shakey heads, crank baits, and excalibers.  Nothing seemed to work for us.  Finally, Dale's trolling motor started running low on juice so he decided the best plan was to let the wind blow us down a long windy bank, just using the trolling motor enough to keep us out of the timber.  We hooked on some crank baits and started blasting down the bank in the high wind, trying not to hang up.  After about 10 minutes, we came around a small point and I hooked a 6 and half pounder who flat swallowed my excaliber.  Dale managed to extract the bait, but one barb nicked a gill and it was bleeding like crazy.  After a picture it swam off just fine.

We managed to hang in the same spot for a few more casts and I boated another nice fish that was at least 5 and half pounds.  Once again it swallowed the crank bait and nicked a gill, making another mess.  It also swam off just fine after the encounter.

We didn't weigh either fish because we were being blown swiftly down the bank, plus we wanted to get them back in the water ASAP due to the gill nick.  The estimate on both fish might have been a bit low, but not by too much.  They sure beat the dinks we had earlier!

We continued on down the bank and eventually found another sweet spot, but no fish of any size there.  Despite being blown down several miles of bank we only found those two spots that produced any fish.  I think we ended up with 12 fish for the day.

On Tuesday the weather was better.  The wind died down but the fish were just as stubborn.  We caught some little ones at our sweet spots from Monday but nothing of size.  Next we tried some deep water with carolina rigs and jigging spoons.  The spoons only produced a few tiny bar fish.  We could find fish on the graph, but they just were not interested.  We moved around a lot, varied techniques, but never had any real success.  I think the best spot was a deep water hole near Dale Creek hump that produced 3 fish up to 3 pounds.  We ended up with 9 fish for the day and got run off the lake by thunder and dark clouds a little after noon.

That same evening I hooked up with Rhandy for some afternoon and evening fishing.  There was a strong thunderstorm about 3 pm that kept us on the bank til 4:30.  As we pulled out, it was still raining a bit and we were the only boat we saw on the lake for the next 4 hours.  Rhandy found a nice point where the schooling action was on and we hooked maybe 20 fish and boated about 9.  Once again crank baits were the ticket.  I was getting bites with a carolina rig, but never could hook a fish. 

After dark we went to shakey head worms but found bites few and far between.  Carolina rigs and Texas rigged worms were no better.  Eventually, we came around another windy point and I hooked a 6 pound 14 ounce bass on a shakey head.  I managed to fight him through the timber to the boat and got a nice photo with a surprised look on my face.  That one got weighed!  Look at the mouth on that sucker!

Wednesday started out nice but the wind had shifted around to the north as a cold front passed.  The wind steadily increased through the day.  Our sweet spots from earlier were no longer productive and once again we one'd and two'd them with lots of traveling around trying to find some cooperative fish.  we never succeded, despite Dale's heroic efforts.  We even putted way back up into Little Caney branch which is pretty much idle all the way now, due to the lake being so low.  We went in about 2:30 pm and ended up with 9 fish, nothing of size.

Rhandy came by about 4 pm that afternoon and we headed out for some more evening fishing.  However, since I had come in earlier, the wind had begun screaming out of the north.  I'd guess it was steady 20 mph with regular gusts over 30 mph.  We made it back to his schooling corner and sure enough the fish were still there and biting.  It was a very bouncy trip and we quickly decided that would not be fun after dark, especially with the lake 7 feet low and timber poking up everywhere.  So after about an hour of catching and missing the schooling bass, we called an early evening and ran in to drink much beer. 

Thursday dawned COLD with a ramp air temperature of 39 degrees and a stiff 15 mph north wind when we pulled out.  Originally, the plan had been to fish crappie, but the wind killed that deal.  Instead we moved around and tied up to timber, fishing carolina rigs and catching a few small bass before calling it a half day.  We did see some bald eagles, mateing in mid air.  Pretty cool.  We also saw a big bobcat, wild pigs, lots of deer, otters, raccoons, and other wildlife.

Week of October 23rd, 2011

On this trip I had two days with Rhandy and a half day with Dale.  Rhandy and I started out on 10/24 at Lake Cypress Springs, just northeast of Lake Fork.  That is a big crappie lake and Rhandy has been bragging on it for quite awhile.  This was my first chance to visit.  Unfortunately, the morning fishing was hampered by a thick, zero visibility fog.  After some slow wandering around on the lake, we finally got to Rhandy's usual spot under the bridge.  We one'd and two'd them off pilings for a couple of hours, ending up with 10 by the time the fog lifted.  Afterwards, we hit a couple of brush piles and did much better.  We ended up with a limit of nice crappie and Rhandy fileted them at a dock belonging to one of his buddies.  I had some for dinner tonight and they were delicious!

The next day we were back at Lake Fork for a day of bass fishing.  We started later then usual, about 10:30 am, with a plan of fishing into the evening.  The wind was up a bit so we spent most of the day hooked onto stumps to save the trolling motor.  Bites were few and far between til we found a spot out near Dale Creek hump.  I think Rhandy caught about 10 of our 15 fish out there, with all but one being small ones.  I told him I was holding out for quality, and proved it when I landed a 6 pound 12 ounce fish.  All of our fish came on Carolina rigs with flukes, though we did try some rattletraps and crankbaits.

Dale and I had a tough day on Wednesday.  After 4 hours of fishing hard, we only had two fish to show for it.  As the wind was quickly picking up and 3 foot rollers were out on the main lake, we decided to call it half a day and call it quits.  I think it was a good decision and we'll resume the quest another day!

Week of 9/26/11

Another fun trip to Lake Fork with full 2 days and a half day with Dale Stokes and 2 half evenings with Rhandy Simmons.  The lake is down almost 7 feet now, and there is timber everywhere.  Many ramps are closed but the Minnow Bucket's ramp is still functioning just fine.  Fishing was SLOW.  During the day with Dale we caught 8 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, and 6 on the half day Thursday.  Tuesday we scurried from spot to spot trying to make something happen.  It didn't.  Wednesday we hung around a good point half the day and grinded on them.  That didn't do much either.  Thursday we kind of split the difference, again without much success.  Big fish of the week went to Dale who bagged a 7 pound 8 ounce bass on Tuesday.  My biggest was a 5 pounder on Monday.  I almost got skunked on Wednesday, but a last minute crank bait fish (a little one), got the white stripe off my back before I headed back home. 

Evening fishing with Rhandy was "interesting".  We hit a lot of the usual spots with only 3 fish to show on Tuesday evening.  I think we had only about 6 bites.  The amazing thing were the BUGS!  Swarms, clouds, biblical end times numbers of bugs were swarming all around the boat as soon as the sun set.  It was truly astounding.  I snapped one little shot of Rhandy with a tiny swarm above his head, and this was while we were idling!  When we stopped, we were engulfed in clouds of them.  Click on the picture.

Below is a video of Rhandy fishing as the swarm descends on us.  Listen to the buzzing around 2:10 in the video.  It is amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55UHMVD35M8

Wednesday night, things started out the same.  Very slow.  I think we had 2 fish in the boat by sunset.  We put slabs on and pulled in a few schooling sandbass, just to end the boredom!  After that we idled around to a roadbed to try some buzz baits.  On the way, we ran into some schooling bass and proceeded to murder them til they went under.  In about 20 minutes I think we boated 15 bass, mostly in the 2-3 pound range.  It sure was fun watching them blow up on those buzz baits.  I kept hoping a gorilla would pop up from underneath, but he never did.  It was still a blast!

Oh, and if you've ever wondered why Lake Fork is such a great lake and why you lose so many lures and carolina rigs, take a look at the photo below.  This is one bank that usually has 3 feet of water over it.  It's a wonder we ever land ANY fish, much less get a bait back!