Weekly Lake Fork Fishing Report

Well, here we are 23 days from Christmas. Mercy this year has gone by. I know fishing is not on the minds of most of us right now. But here on Lake Fork fishing is always the thought of the day. The cold fronts will be coming in every other day. This can be some miserable fishing but it can be a memorable time. The recent cold fronts has brought the lake up to normal level. There are some creeks that are muddy but there is still plenty of water that is clear. The wind has not been our friend with it blowing 30 out of the north switching to 30 out of the south. This will be the weather pattern for several weeks. The water temp has dipped into the upper 50’s and low 60’s. The bait fish are moving to the middle to the back of the creeks. This is a time to get out the jig and big spinner bait. This pattern will get you out of the wind some what. Find a creek and start down the middle flipping a jig and hit every piece of wood you can find on the edges of the creek. The key here is when you get hit look at that piece of wood and figure if it is a big, medium, or small tree. You may then only key on this size of stumps. The spinner bait will be for the more active fisherman. I like a three quarter ounce spinner bait for this type of fishing. I like fire tiger in color and one big willow leaf blade in silver and a small Colorado blade in gold. I will slow roll the bait down the middle of the creeks. Speed is the key here. You will have to try different retrieves. This will work on points. Fan cast across the point and work from shallow out to deep till you come into contact with fish. Never and I mean never put up your Carolina rig. The winter is a good time to work the humps, roadbeds, and main lake points when possible. The drop shot is another good winter tactic. The jigging spoon is another bait to keep tied on. Everyone talks about the spoon only catching bar fish. I have caught some big fish on the spoon. The half and three quarter ounce are my favorite sizes. Remember line size can be of very importance as the spoon will fall different on lighter line than on twenty pound test. Retrieves can very day to day. Some days the hop is the key the next day it is hold it still about six inches from the bottom. The spoon and tail spinners are also a good bait for the fisherman who has his small angler with him as this will usually get some bites to keep them happy. If the bar fish are all your catching switch to a Carolina rig as the bar fish will hit the bait but you wont catch many. The bass may try and take the bait from the bar fish.
The crappie are getting bigger but he wind has been tough on us getting to the spots. Small jigs and minnows are key baits. 25 to 35 foot of water is the best depths to work you baits around. Some fish are right on the bottom at those depths. Use your electronics to find the bait fish and drop your bait down to that depth the bait fish are at and don’t put a lot of action in your bait.
Don’t forget to get your spring trip booked early to ensure you can get the day you want. A guided fishing trip is a great gift for the sportsman or the beginner for Christmas. I can send you a gift certificate to wrap for that special someone.
Call me and we can get it set up.
Jim Reaneau
1-888-918-5088