The big fish are chomping right now on Fork! The past week has been very good for quality bass. Of course there have been a couple slower days when it takes a lot of work to find fish positioned in deeper feeding areas, but overall the fishing has been consistent.

Right now I’m checking a number of spots until I see what I’m looking for on my Lowrance HDS. Once we find them, I’m throwing a variety of presentations. I have a big spoon, deep diving crankbait, Toadwrangler football jig, and Carolina rig on the deck at all times. The depths I am targeting are relative to the area of the lake and cloud cover. On the northern ends of the lake the bite seems to range from 8′ to 18′. Further down the lake I am spending most of my time in 20′ to 25′. When its cloudy, finding the fish is much more challenging as a rule. On those days I look a little shallower.

The football jig has been producing some very nice fish, several of the big fish pictured below came on Toadwrangler jigs. I use a 3/4 or 1oz jig and fish it in areas where we have caught double digit fish in the past. I usually use a slow steady drag retrieve, and be sure to allow my jig to fall straight down as I bring it over limbs or laydowns. Most of the time the big fish hit it as its falling back down.

We are coming up on one of my favorite months! July is a fantastic time to fish here. The hotter it is, the better the bite seems to be. Its also nice because the heat keeps the crowds down. These fish were caught over the past couple days.