Lake Fork is fishing good right now. The water temperature is 59-62 degrees from the dam to the head of the lake. I expect it will drop a little this coming week because of the cold front, but I believe the bite should hold up. I believe some prespawn staging fish will hold back, and stay where they are, while fish that are already on beds will stay. There will also be a wave come up with the full moon, despite the cold front. It’s shaping up to be a good spring. I think we will have several waves of fish coming up over the next month, instead of almost all at once like last year.

There are a couple dependable patterns going right now. The location is definitely the key. Some areas of the lake are fishing great while other places where we usually catch them this time of year aren’t holding catchable fish. There are a lot of fish on beds on the upper half of the lake on both arms. I am doing some sight fishing for the spawning fish with a wide variety of Texas rigged plastics. I like craws, tubes, and lizards. I will experiment with colors on tough to catch fish. If they’re catchable, there is usually a certain color or profile the fish will respond to. Sometimes it takes a natural color, but often it’s a bright flashy color that gets the fish to respond. When I see a bigger female, I usually use a jig. Something about a jig just has big fish appeal, and bigger fish seem to respond to a jig well. I also have a much better hook-up and landing ratio with a jig for bed fish. Sight fishing isn’t for everybody, so I don’t do it all the time. However, if you want a good chance for a trophy fish it is a good way to do it right now.

Another pattern is fishing for prespawn fish. These fish are still actively feeding and are fatter than ever. I’m targeting these fish on points, secondary points, and break-lines in 5-20 feet of water near spawning areas. I know, that’s a pretty wide range. The depth is secondary to the structure. These fish are relating to the drop-offs more than a certain depth. I’m using Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and shaky heads for these fish. I have experimented with several colors and many are working. I think the main thing is fishing extremely slow.

I hope this helps you catch them on your next trip to Lake Fork.

I am still available for some April dates and have a few for May as well. (903) 638-1170

These pictures are from the past few days here.

This is the 10lb 14ounce hawg Charlie caught with me. This was his personal best, and his dad was with us to enjoy it. She came on a carolina rig in 19’ of water.