Weekly Lake Fork Report From Guide Jim Reaneau

[jreaneau]

Well, the fishing has been good. The recent Skeeter Tournament vouched for this. There were 24 fish over the slot weighed in and the top fish was a 12.90 pound bass. There were 13 fish caught on the first day over and the balance on the last day. So if you think Fork is dead THINK AGAIN. The fishing pressure has changed the way we fish for these in many cases. Wacky worms, drop shot’s, and the long lining with big crank baits all have become popular.
So now for the fishing report. The lake is falling as the temps have been HOT and evaporation is taking water everyday. The fish are still hitting a top water in the very early mornings till the sun gets up. Pop’r type baits fished slowly around points and grass has been very good. Lake Fork Tackle Twitch worms, Zig Zags, Ring Fries, and Baby ring fries fished weightless Texas and wacky around the grass and in the timber. You will have to use a weed less hook when you fish in the timber with the wacky worm. The Texas and Carolina rig are working in the 10 to 25 foot of water. Dragging a big crank bait behind the boat on the deep humps can put a big fish on your line. The Swim Baits by Storm Lures are working on the suspended fish. The key is figuring out the right depth. First use you graph and find the humps and road beds and then look for the bait fish and look for fish around them. See what depth the fish are at and count you bait down to that depth. I have done this with lipless crank baits and had good success.
The last week the wind has been good and kept you cool. But when it has stopped look out.
Key areas have been points with grass or drop offs. Humps and roadbeds.
The crappie are starting to show up under the bridges pretty good. There are still many small fish but there a good number of keepers mixed in. 18 to 22 feet down has been the depth. Minnows and jigs are the best baits. The same would work in the timber. I would look for 25 foot of water and drop a minnow down around a patch of thick bushes or trees and start on the bottom and slowly reel up one reel at time remembering where you are until you catch a fish. Then all you have to do is drop to the bottom and reel up the number of times. Or if you use a spinning rod just run your line under the clip on the spool at the proper depth and you will drop to the depth and stop when you open your bail.
Jim Reaneau
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