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Texas Fishing Report 2006
Submitted by Anglers Like You
The Angler keep others informed by emailing
fishing reports to us. Include your name in the message part
of your report if you'd like to receive credit for the report.
December 15, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - After a great trip to Lake
Baccarac in Mexico, I'm back to stalking the lunkers at Lake
Fork. We're currently having a week of warm weather at Fork and
the bass are once again on the feed. As we head into late December,
the early stages of prespawn are starting in some areas of the
lake. Meanwhile, lunker bass continue to be caught from deep
water as well. With big bass smoking jigs, spinnerbaits, and
lipless crankbaits now through mid-March, this is my favorite
time of the year on Fork. Numbers run lower this time of year;
however, the average size of your catch is at its highest for
the year, usually in the 4 to 5 lb range, with a good shot at
bass 7 lbs or greater.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork's water level continues
to drop, currently reading 397.64', about 5'4" below full
pool. Even with the low water, almost all of the main ramps are
still useable without any issues. The water is clear in most
parts of the lake, especially in areas with submerged vegetation,
while the upper ends are somewhat stained. Water temps are on
the rise once again, currently reading 53 to 56 degrees in most
areas, perfect wintertime temps.
Location Pattern: From late-December through February,
I concentrate on prespawn and staging fish on points and along
edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation
(primarily hydrilla, milfoil or coontail) for cover will typically
have the most active fish. While about any grassy area will hold
a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning
fish in late February and through March. It stands to reason
that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring
will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass
beds near the mouths of these coves are holding a lot of fish
now, as are main and secondary points inside the coves, provided
there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass
back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek
channels.
Keep in mind, too, that the absolute water temperature
is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature
trend. For instance,
water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing
if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing
can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a
few days before. In general, look for bass on the flats and farther
back in creeks during warming trends; conversely, drop back to
points and main lake grassbeds after cold fronts. Finally, the
day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable
to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are
usually the most productive times to fish.
For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds,
humps, flats and
ledges in 18' to 45' will produce some big fish during the winter
months as well. Use your electronics to find the schools of bass
and baitfish and work them over with spoons and dropshots. I'm
primarily concentrating on the shallow bass, so my presentation
pattern will focus on that.
Presentation Pattern: My wintertime arsenal is
pretty simple for
fishing along grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost
are red lipless crankbaits in 12 or 34 oz. Stick with the 12
for grass that is near the surface and go with the 34 for grass
that is deeper. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a
quick retrieve is working best now, but after cold fronts, letting
the trap fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger
most of the bites. 14 to 12 oz spinnerbaits with double willow
blades in white, red, or chartreuse and white will produce some
really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work,
especially on windy and cloudy days. For a true giant, try swimming
the new Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the same areas you'd throw
a spinnerbait. Rig it on a 4/0 wide gap hook and swim it slowly
back to the boat with a few pauses. When the water looks like
a toilet just flushed, it's time to set the hook!! When the bite
slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I'll switch to a
suspending jerkbait or pitch a jig and a Texas rig. Gold jerkbaits
with orange bellies and black backs are my primary color. Work
these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. For
jigs, I go with 12 oz black and blue jigs Texas rig, I'll pitch
a Lake Fork Flipper in black neon or blue bruiser with a 14 to
3/8 oz bullet weight.
Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you
catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes,
employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key
staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish
themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more
big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you'll
have a milk run of honey holes now through March.
Good Fishing,
Tom
December 14, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted by David Vance - The fishing
this week has been good with the warm weather in the past few
days. Spinner bait,s are producing some good bass on windy points,
yesterday all of our bass came on a spinner bait by the end of
the day we had 17 with one that went 11lbs 9oz and two over seven
pounds. The spinner bait we used was a < oz Colorado willow
with nickel and gold blades and a chartreuse and white skirt.
We had most of our hits fishing the bait slow, most of the bass
would just stop the bait, when you get warm weather this time
of year slow rolling a big spinner bait on the edge of the grass
is a good pattern to catch big bass on lake fork. Red and orange
lipless crank baits are and will be my best baits day in and
day out now through February. Best water depth for me has been
5 to 8 feet on the edge of the grass on main lake and secondary
points. The best bite for me has been 10am until dark. Right
now I am fishing different areas each day. Birch creek, white
oak and little Caney are producing some good fish right now.
All the bass that we have been catching have been fat and healthy.
I love this time of year not many boats on the lake and on any
cast you have a chance to catch a bass of a life time. The lake
is 5 feet low so be careful running the lake.
I am now booking spring dates. Book early to get
the best available dates! Call 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085.
Check out my Web Site http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing!
David Vance
December 12, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman -
Quality
Bass Club-December 9-10, 2006: Rainy, cold weather greeted
the 14 fishermen and women from Quality as well as the 17 members
from SWRI and Atascosa Bass Clubs this weekend at Falcon. Lake
water temperatures were in the 56-58 degree range which had many
of the big fish suspended in about 12 ft in 20-25 ft of water.
The outside air temperature topped out at 47 degrees Saturday.
Mike Robbins had the big bass for Quality weighing 8.37 lbs and
his stringer was just about 1/2 lb under Robert Dunlap's heavy
stringer of the day weighing 17.03 Lbs. The big bass was caught
on a Watermelon Red Zoom Brush Hog.
Sunday: The ambient temperature went up to 59 degrees and conditions
were good with no moisture and light winds. The big bass from
yesterday weighing 8.37 Lbs held for the weekend with Quality
and Miike Robbins continued on the fish to win first place heavy
stringer with 23.99 Lbs. Robert Dunlap came in second with a
very close 23.69 Lbs. Cal Biendorf was third with 18.25 Lbs.
Atascosa Bass Club had a 20.37 Lbs heavy stringer weighed
by Shane Pfullman and the second heavy stringer was caught by
Craig White weighing 17.19
Lbs. Shane had the big bass weighing 6.36 lbs.
Sunday: Sunday was a good day for Joe Lancaster who was fishing
with Craig White. Although he was a guest, his heavy stringer
weighed right at 28 Lbs and his big bass weighed a whopping 12.53
Lbs. Shane Pfullman came in with the heavy stringer honors for
the club weighing 20.37 Lbs. Craig was second. The big bass was
caught in 5 ft of water on a California colored 4.20 Sweet Beaver
from Falcon Lake Tackle. Thanks to Craig White for the Joe Lancaster
picture.
SWRI Bass Buster's Bobby West had the big bass of all
clubs on Saturday weighing 8.52 Lbs and his heavy stringer weighed
32.00 Lbs. Floyd Dietzman had the second heavy stringer weighing
19.34 Lbs and Jerry Campos was forth with 17.64 Lbs, narrowly
missing third place weight of 18.06 Lbs turned in by Doug Black.
Watermelon Red Zoom Magnum Lizards caught the most fish but super
flukes and brush hogs were also catching fish. On Sunday Jerry
Campos caught a 10 1/2 Lb Big Bass and his Heavy stringer weighed
29 Lbs (Five Fish). She was caught in the Salinilias on an 8"
Watermelon Red Zoom Magnum Lizard. Thanks to Frankie West and
Jerry Camos for the picture of the 10 1/2 Lber.
The Zoom Magnum Lizards and Brush
Hogs have been two of the best baits for big bass this winter.
Plum Apple colored Brush Hogs and Magnum lizards have also been
working well. The GDD22 Norman Crankbaits in Bull Bream have
been working well as have the Firetiger 150 and Black/Red 131
Colored Cankbaits. Spinnerbaits have not been among the best
producing baits so far.
November 29, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - November 25-26, 2006: My neighbors
and frequent fisher folks, the Bendeles from Castroville
Tx, were down over the Thanksgiving Holiday and they found fishing
to be a bit on the slow side. About 10 fish a day was all they
could catch, but their guest Crystal Kempf (wife of Louie Kempf)
managed to catch a nice 5 lber. It went for a Carolina Rigged
Watermelon Red Baby Brushog. There will be days like that and
the prelude to spawning often presents some challenges.
Some other fishermen in from Laredo also reported
a slow bite. Charles Haralson has a guide trip on the lake today
November 29 th so we will have a report later today.
The reports we have received of good catches have
mostly involved big bass in 15ft or so of water in hardwoods
or on humps in the mid lake area on both the US and Mexico sides
of the lake. Watermelon Red has consistently produced fish in
either the brush Hog or Magnum Lizard baits. Some DD22 action
has been reported in Bull Bream and BSO9 (Red Chartreuse Craw
colored baits).
Until next time, have a great day on the water
and always practice catch and release
November 22, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - November 13, 2006: Thomas and
Sheretta Law caught twin 10 lbers on the 13th.
Thomas's fish weighed 10' 11" and Sheretta's
weighed 10' 13". These two Falcon Lunkers were caught on
back-to-back casts. The Laws caught a number of smaller fish
to 7 lbs in addition to the nearly twin 10 lbers.
The Laws fish Falcon frequently and they catch
a number of good fish. However, to catch two 10 lb plus fish
on back-to-back casts even for them is a bit unusual. They were
using the Sweet Beaver in Watermelon Red and fishing in 16 ft
of water
November 20, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Universal City Bass Club-November 18,
19, 2006: The 48 members and one guest from the UCBC Bass
Club contested the first leg of their tournament Saturday and
there were a lot of 4-10 lb fish caught, weighed and released.
The big bass Saturday weighed 10.02 Lbs and it was caught by
Weldon Pierce. His total weight was 20.89 Lbs, which was third
heavy stringer. David Cole had the Heavy Stringer for 25.51 Lbs
which incuded several 7 and 8 Lbers. Marc Daymude had two 7 Lb
and one 5 lb fish giving him second Heavy Stringer of 24.47 Lbs.
The second Big Bass was caught by Steve Worley weighing 9.28
Lbs
Top Heavy Stringer for the ladies was Ginger Reynolds
with a 8.91 Lb BB and 18 .00 Lbs Heavy Stringer.
Sunday: Another beautiful day fishing Falcon greeted
our participants. High temps were 76 degrees and winds were light
gusting to 17mph.David Cole turned in a good weight giving him
heavy stringer honors of 41.12 Lbs. Steve Worley weighed a very
respectable 40.89 lbs for 2nd heavy stringer and Emile LaRose
was third with 36.68 Lbs. Weldon Pierce held on with his 10.02
Lb bass for Big Bass. The Pierce' s took heavy couple honors
with 60.61 Lbs. Youth male winner was Jason Kalinoski and Katie
Mergele took the heavy youth female honors. David Cole and Debbie
Howard took heavy boat honors with 62.35 Lbs. Altogether, there
were 258 fish caught weighing 741 Lbs.
Bumpy Jurica had the big bass of the day Sunday
weighing 9.77 Lbs
Big Bass were caught on Zoom Brush Hogs and Magnum
Lizards in Watermelon Red Color. The Sweet Beaver lures in 4.20
Sprayed Grass were also working for Steve Worley and his two
lunker bass both were caught using this bait.
November
20, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Although
the general patterns and locations for catching bass remained
the
same at Lake Fork, I've found the fishing to be slower this week
for both
size and numbers of bass. A series of cold fronts seemed to have
the bass
in a negative mood for several days last week, although some
fish could
still be caught by thoroughly working key areas with finesse
presentations.
That pretty much tells me that the bass haven't moved far, just
slightly
deeper and tighter to cover. With a stable warming trend forecast
for the
end of this week, I look for the fishing to steadily improve
once again.
And big bass do continue to be caught, including a 12.4 lb,er
being weighed
in at Fork on Saturday.
While
the fishing typically slows in early December, lunker bass will
start
moving into prespawn patterns in some areas of the lake by later
December,
and my favorite fishing of the year occurs in January through
early March.
It,s a really simple pattern"spinnerbaits, lipless cranks,
jigs, and
suspending jerkbaits fished in staging areas near spawning flats.
Numbers
run lower this time of year, but the average size of your catch
is at its
highest for the year, usually in the 4 to 5 lb range, with a
good shot at a
bass 7 lbs or greater. Don,t get me wrong, March and April are
a great time
to catch a lunker sight fishing or with a soft plastic jerkbait.
For my
tastes though, slow rolling a big spinnerbait or flipping a jig
around heavy
timber for truly giant bass during the prespawn is the best time
to be on
Fork.
Lake Conditions: With no rain over the past week,
Lake Fork,s water level
is once again on the decline, currently reading 397.86,, just
over 5,2
below full pool. Even with the low water, almost all of the main
ramps are
still useable without any issues. A very strong west wind on
Wednesday
stained some portions of the main lake, while many of the grassy
creeks
remain very clear. Water temps steadily dropped from the mid-60s
last week
to the 59 to 61 degree range yesterday (Sunday) in the main lake.
With a
couple more cold nights in the forecast, look for the temps to
continue to
drop for a couple more days.
Location Pattern: Typical of fall fishing, bass
are holding anywhere from
the backs of creeks and along main lake shores in literally inches
of water
as well as setting up camp on deep water structure. 18, to 30,
was the
best depth range this past week for structure fishing. When graphing
these
fish, keep in mind that schools that are relating to the bottom
will be the
easiest bass to catch normally. The other main pattern will be
weed flats
on the main lake and in coves with channels or points with deep-water
access
nearby. These spots produced some fast action for smaller bass
and a few
big fish. Typically, areas that are holding fish now are holding
lots of
fish. So if you,re catching fish, stay put and try multiple lures
until you
,ve caught everything you can. Conversely, if you,re in a good-looking
spot
but not getting bit, keep moving to other locations until you
hit pay dirt.
Presentation Pattern: Instead, small spinnerbaits
in white and shallow or
medium running shad colored lipped and lipless crankbaits have
worked best
for the shallow bass. If the bass aren,t in a chasing mood, wacky
rigged
straight tail worms like a Twitch Worm in June bug or watermelon/red
flake
have produced some fast action. For bigger bass, pitch a Texas
rigged
watermelon/red flake Lake Fork Flippers to wood and grass along
creek
channels. Work the Flipper really slowly for best results. When
the deep
bite has been on, I,ve been spending most of my time out there.
Carolina
rigged Baby Ring Frys or Magic Shads in watermelon/red flake
have produced
some good numbers and some big ones once schools are located.
Other days,
drop shotting Lake Fork Twitch Worms in watermelon/chartreuse
pepper or
watermelon/red flake has produced big numbers of keeper-sized
bass. ounce
chrome or gold jigging spoons and oz white jigs have been the
best bait on
some days.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of
assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027
(evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where
your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
November 14, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman -
McAllen Bass Anglers November 11-12th,
2006: Fourteen McAllen Bass Angler members fished Falcon
this weekend and they caught 257# of Bass. Eddie Kucia was the
2 day heavy stringer winner with 35.99 Lbs of fish. His 2 day
stringer was anchored by the big bass of the year weighing 10.67
Lbs. Oscar Ramirez took the second place heavy stringer honors
with 35.33 Lbs and Joe Martinez took third heavy stringer with
27.8 lbs.
Sunday's fishing conditions were superior and fishermen caught
58 fish weighing 157 lbs compared to Saturday's catch of 30 fish
weighing 100 Lbs.
Thanks to Al Malone for the report.
Circuito Interacional Fronterizo de Pesca de
Lobina (Bass Border Trail) November 11-12. 2006: The International
Bass Border Trail kicked off its 4 tournament circuit at Falcon
this weekend, but day 1 of the tournament was cancelled due to
high winds. The launching held off the Mexican Point in Nuevo
Guerrero was compromised by the high North winds. The Sunday
leg of the tournament was held as scheduled as winds layed down
and eventually changed to the SE. Jorge Gonzalez and Sergio Villarreal
from the Laredos International Bass Fishing Team captured heavy
stringer honors with 27.58 Lbs and Jorge had the big bass weighing
a reported whopping 14.95 Lbs. The second big bass weighed 11.9
Lbs and was caught by Rene Gonzalez/Sergio Herrera who also claimed
second heavy stringer honors.
The
big 14.95 Lber came from the Marker 9 area on the Mexico side
and it hit a Zoom Brush Hog in Watermelon Red in about ten foot
of water. The second leg of the tounament circuit will be held
December 9th and 10th at Las Blancas and the third leg will be
held at Sugar lake on January 20th and 21st. The fourth and final
leg will be the Championship, February 17th and 18th.It will
be held at the best producing lake of the first three tournaments
and the top 20 tournament anglers from the initial three tournaments
will be elgible.
Fifty-nine teams attended the Falcon Tournament.
Thanks to Jorge Gonzalez & Sergio Herrera for the report
and pictures.
November 12, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman -
Austin Bass Club Tournament Report Falcon Lake
A
front blew in Friday night late, dropping temperatures and increasing
the winds to 37 mph. By launch, the winds had dropped down to
about 25 mph and a few hours later, winds were straight line
at about 10 -15 mph. Fishing was slow to average with water temps
in the 72 to 74 degree range. The big bass were not too receptive
but there were several fish caught by anglers over 8 lbs.
Chris Badkins had the big bass of the day weighing
8.67 Lbs. Shawn Ramsey and Keith Nichols's 31.76 Lbs narrowly
missed the heavy stringer mark of Chris Badkins and Tim Spencer
of 35.20 Lbs. Jim Sparks and Ronnie Scott were in third place
with 27.54 Lbs. There were 16 anglers in 8 boats contesting the
tournament. Plastic 5" Zoom lizards, 6" Zoom Brush
Hogs and Zoom Super Flukes caught the most fish. Some fish bit
the DLN Crankbaits in firetiger color. Watermelon red was the
best color for plastics. 5 teams weighed in limits of 10 fish.
Sunday: It was a Chamber of Commerce Sunday
with light winds, moderate temperatures and a good bite. First,
second and third place team heavy-stringer weights for 2 day,
10 fish were Chris Badkins and Tim Spencer 65.24 Lbs, Keith Nichols
and Shawn Ramsey 61.34 Lbs and Ray and Robert Cedar 59.42 Lbs.
Tim Spencer held on for top individual,2-day weight with 37.23
Lbs with his 20.06 Lbs Sunday Heavy Stringer.
Chris Badkins's 8.67 Lb Bass from Saturday held
on for big bass honors. Tim Spencer had Sunday's big bass weighing
7.55 Lbs. Watermelon red and green pumpkin magnum lizards were
working well on Sunday.
Until next time, have a good day on the water and
always practice catch and release
November
8, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Marvin
Hendricks and George Littleton were out fishing on the 1st and
found 40 fish to 8.2 lbs on Salt Craws in rootbeer pepper neon
to be the bait of choice.
"It probably wouldn't have mattered what you
were throwing because they were really biting".stated Marvin.
The fish were in 8 1/2 ft to 11 ft of water on the mexican side
and the fish were very aggressive.
There were no Bass Clubs here last weekend. However,
some 10 fishermen
are here from around Texas this week. A 7 lber was their big
bass so far. Pretty windy today November 8. They have found fishing
pretty slow, Red and black spinnerbait caught the big bass till
sun came out. A depth of 14 ft has been the best depth. Nothing
recent on Sugar or El Cuchillo.
November 7, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips -
On most days, good numbers and some big bass are currently
being caught at
Lake Fork, although the best pattern has changed considerably
from
day-to-day and often from hour-to-hour. With the bass being spread
out from
shallow water creeks to deep structure, changing tactics as the
conditions
dictate has been the key to success. Basically, if what you,re
doing isn,t
working well, try a different approach until you find what they
want.
Frequently, it,s as simple as changing lures in the area you,re
in and you,
ll start catching them. With water temps in the mid-60s and a
warming trend
forecasted for this week, look for the fall patterns to remain
at Fork
through November.
While the fishing typically slows in early December,
lunker bass will start
moving into prespawn patterns in some areas of the lake by later
December,
and my favorite fishing of the year occurs in January through
early March.
It,s a really simple pattern"spinnerbaits, lipless cranks,
jigs, and
suspending jerkbaits fished in staging areas near spawning flats.
Numbers
run lower this time of year, but the average size of your catch
is at its
highest for the year, usually in the 4 to 5 lb range, with a
good shot at a
bass 7 lbs or greater. Don,t get me wrong, March and April are
a great time
to catch a lunker sight fishing or with a soft plastic jerkbait.
For my
tastes though, slow rolling a big spinnerbait or flipping a jig
around heavy
timber for truly giant bass during the prespawn is the best time
to be on
Fork.
Lake Conditions: After a good soaking rain on Sunday
night, Lake Fork,s
water level rose about 4, currently reading 398.01,, just over
5, below
full pool. Even with the low water, almost all of the main ramps
are still
useable without any issues. After the fall turnover, much of
the main lake
remains stained brown, while many of the grassy creeks are clear.
Water
temps are currently reading 63 to 65 degrees in most areas of
the main lake,
while the backs of some creek were holding in the upper 50s after
a few cold
nights last week.
Location Pattern: Typical of fall fishing, bass
are holding anywhere from
the backs of creeks and along main lake shores in literally inches
of water
as well as setting up camp on deep water structure. For the past
week, I,
ve found schools of deep bass were holding deeper again, mostly
from in 20,
to 33, of water. When graphing these fish, keep in mind that
schools that
are relating to the bottom will be the easiest bass to catch
normally. The
other main pattern will be weed flats on the main lake and in
coves with
channels or points with deep-water access nearby. These spots
produced some
fast action for smaller bass and a few big fish. Typically, areas
that are
holding fish now are holding lots of fish. So if you,re catching
fish, stay
put and try multiple lures until you,ve caught everything you
can.
Conversely, if you,re in a good-looking spot but not getting
bit, keep
moving to other locations until you hit pay dirt.
Presentation Pattern: The topwater bite slowed
for me this past week.
Instead, small spinnerbaits in white and shallow or medium running
shad
colored lipped and lipless crankbaits have worked best for the
shallow bass.
If the bass aren,t in a chasing mood, wacky rigged straight tail
worms like
a Twitch Worm in June bug or watermelon/red flake have produced
some fast
action. For bigger bass, pitch oz white or watermelon jigs with
matching
Fork Craws to stumps along creek channels and along deep weed
lines. Work
the jig really slowly for best results. When the deep bite has
been on, I,
ve been spending most of my time out there. Carolina rigged Baby
Ring Frys
or Magic Shads in watermelon/red flake have produced some good
numbers and
some big ones once schools are located. Other days, drop shotting
Lake Fork
Twitch Worms in watermelon/chartreuse pepper or watermelon/red
flake has
produced big numbers of keeper-sized bass. ounce chrome or gold
jigging
spoons and oz white jigs have also caught a lot of bass on several
days
and these baits will often produce the largest bass of the day.
Here,s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of
assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027
(evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where
your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
October
31, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Atascosa Bass
Club-October 28-29, 2006; Craig White was leading the Atascosa
Bass Club day one event with 23.16 Lbs. His wife Patricia has
the big bass of 9.08 Lbs and is in 4th place for heavy stringer
honors with 19.89 Lbs. Shane Pfullman and Dub Billings are in
2nd and 3rd place respectively after day 1.
SUNDAY: The blow was on Sunday, at least
part of the day. Fishing was a bit off from Saturday, but Shane
Pfullman came out on top wth a heavy stringer of 41.25 Lbs for
10 fish. Craig White came in second with 40.45 Lbs and Patricia
White was third with 33.73 Lbs. Her 9.08 Lb big bass held for
Big Bass honors. Seventeen fisherman caught 128 fish weighing
343.85 Lbs. There were 15 fish over four pounds caught.
Thanks to Craig White for the report and picture.
October 24, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips -
Significant cold fronts rolled through NE Texas every few
days, making for
an up and down week of fishing on Lake Fork. On the average day
we,re
getting about 25 bass, consisting mostly of 1 to 3 pounders from
both
shallow and deep water, with a few 4 to 7 pound fish mixed in.
On
post-frontal days, numbers have run lower and the big fish have
been scarce.
On the other hand, the days just before and as the front is moving
through
have been really good for both numbers and size, with a shot
at a real giant
bass. With the lake still holding near 70 degrees, look for fall
fishing to
stay good for numbers until late November and I expect more truly
big bass
to be caught as the water cools.
Lake Conditions: Once again, Lake Fork,s water
level continues to drop,
currently reading 399.82,, about 5, 2 below full pool. Even with
the low
water, almost all of the main ramps are still useable without
any issues.
After the recent fall turnover, much of the main lake remains
stained brown,
while many of the creeks are clear. Water temps steadily dropped
this week,
currently reading in the mid- to upper-60s.
Location Pattern: Typical of fall fishing, bass
are holding anywhere from
the backs of creeks and along main lake shores in literally inches
of water
as well as setting up camp on deep water structure. While most
of the
schools of deep bass were holding in 22, to 28, of water last
week, most of
my structure fishing has taken place much shallower this week,
more in the
12, to 22, range. When graphing these fish, keep in mind that
schools that
are relating to the bottom will be the easiest bass to catch
normally. The
other main pattern will be weed flats on the main lake and in
coves with
channels or points with deep-water access nearby. These spots
produce some
fast action early and late or all day on cloudy days. Typically,
areas that
are holding fish now are holding lots of fish. So, if you,re
catching fish,
stay put and try multiple lures until you,ve caught everything
you can.
Conversely, if you,re in a good-looking spot but not getting
bit, keep
moving to other locations until you hit pay dirt.
Presentation Pattern: Topwaters have been very
productive some mornings and
evenings. Shad colored poppers and Zara Spooks or black buzzbaits
have
produced fast action around pad fields and over grass mats. Small
spinnerbaits in white and shallow or medium running shad colored
crankbaits
have also worked early and late or all day on cloudy or windy
days. If the
bass aren,t in a chasing mood, deadsticking Texas rigged straight
tail worms
like a Twitch Worm in green pumpkin or watermelon/red flake have
produced
some nice fish. Fish all of these baits on deep weedlines or
along creek
channels in the coves. During the middle of the day, I,ve been
catching
most of my fish out deeper. Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys in
watermelon/chartreuse flake or watermelon/chartreuse pepper have
produced
some good numbers and some big ones once schools are located.
Other days,
drop shotting Lake Fork Twitch Worms in watermelon/chartreuse
pepper or
watermelon/red flake has produced fast action for bass. to 1
ounce
chrome jigging spoons and oz white jigs have also caught a lot
of bass on
several days and these baits will often produce the largest bass
of the day.
Here,s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of
assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027
(evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where
your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
October
23, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - October 21-22,
2006-O.P.E.C. Legacy Tournament: Eighty-six participating
teams launched the first day of the 13th Annual charity tournament
to benefit the Falcon State Park. Cool weather and light winds
greeted the participants and all signs were positive for a good
tournament, at least for the first day. Jim Edwards (right photo)
and Jim Raulsten (left photo) were the day 1 heavy stringer leaders
with 24.12 Lbs for their best three fish. Their three big bass
all weighed about 8 Lbs. Mutt McNeil fishing with Bruce Fox had
the big bass of the day weighing 10.44 Lbs.Their 23.10 Lb heavy
stringer put them in third place for heavy stringer, out ounced
by Tim Blanchett and his partner with 23.70 Lbs. Mutt McNeil
received a gift certificate from Falcon Lake Tackle for 1st day
big bass and so did Jim Edwards and Jim Raulsten for 1st day
heavy stringer.
Sunday: Sunday conditions were wet and cool. Light
rain was falling over Falcon in the morning. Temperatures started
the day at 60 degrees, but as the morning progressed, temperatures
dropped to 56 degrees. Congratulations to Edwards and Raulsten
who held on for first place, 2-Day Heavy Stringer with 53.6 lbs.
That isalmost a 9 lbs per fish average for their 6 fish.
Perez and Perez had second heavy stringer weighing
45.55 Lbs and Vaden/Wagner had third heavy stringer of 39.8 Lbs.
They also had Sunday's Big Bass which was Big Bass of the tournament
weighing 12.24 Lbs. All together, 1511.92 Lbs of Bass were weighed.
Jim Edwards and Jim Raulsten received another Gift
Certificate from Falcon Lake Tackle for Sunday's Heavy Stringer
and 2-Day Heavy stringer and Vaden/Wagner received a Gift Certificate
for Sunday's and Tournament Big Bass.
October 11, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - After being out of town a
couple of weeks on a family vacation, it's good to be back fishing
on Lake Fork. Since my last report, the lake has turned over
and fall patterns are starting to come on. Fishing was really
good last week, having slowed down a little as of late. Now that
temps are cooling after our recent week of hot weather, we should
start catching more big bass in addition to the good numbers
we're catching right now. As the temps cools, look for deep bass
to form big schools and relate to the bottom while shallow bass
gang up in creek channel bends. Add in pleasant days and fall
colors to the fast bass action and October and November are great
times to fish Fork.
Lake Conditions: As I write this, we're having
a good rain today, but we'll need a lot more days like it to
get the water level back up. Lake Fork's water level currently
sits at 399.98,, over 5' below pool. Numerous boats, including
some guide boats, have hit stumps recently; however, most of
the boaters we see aren,' wearing life jackets or even a kill
switch. As always, you'll find my customers and me wearing both
and I would encourage you to do the same. In better news, even
with the low water, almost all of the main ramps are still useable
without any issues. After the recent fall turnover, much of the
main lake is stained brown, while many of the creeks are clear.
Water temps are holding in the upper 70s and should drop this
week.
Location Pattern: With the disappearance of the
thermocline, fish will be caught in 6 to over 40, deep over the
next couple of months, on just about every pattern imaginable.
Deep structure like humps, roads, flats and points in the main
lake and in the mouths of major creeks are starting to hold some
big schools and will hold most of the giant bass. Schools that
are relating to the bottom will be the easiest bass to catch
normally. The other main pattern will be weed flats on the main
lake and in coves with channels or points with deep-water access
nearby. These spots produce some fast action early and late or
all day on cloudy days. Typically, areas that are holding fish
now are holding lots of fish. So, if you're catching fish, stay
put and try multiple lures until you,ve caught everything you
can. Conversely, if you,re in a good-looking spot but not getting
bit, keep moving to other locations until you hit pay dirt.
Presentation Pattern: Topwaters have been very
productive some mornings and will be good all day on cloudy days.
Shad colored Chug Bugs and Zara Spooks have produced fast action
around pad fields and over grass mats. Small spinnerbaits in
white and shallow or medium running shad colored crankbaits have
also worked early in the morning or all day on cloudy or windy
days. During the day, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms in
watermelon on sunny days and June bug on cloudy days have caught
some bass, as have 3/8 oz jigs in watermelon or white with matching
Lake Fork Baby Creature trailers. Fish all of these baits on
deep weedlines or along creek channels in the coves. Simply position
your boat in the middle of the creek channel and throw your bait
to the grass edges and/or stumps near the edge of the creek.
Other days, I've been catching most of my fish out deeper. Carolina
rigged Baby Ring Frys in Chartreuse Pepper and Red Bug or Baby
Creatures in Killer Craw have produced some good numbers once
schools are located. Other days, drop shotting Lake Fork Twitch
Worms in Watermelon, shad or bar fish colored swimbaits, and
white or silver jigging spoons have been better. Basically, once
you graph a deep school, try a variety of baits and you,ll likely
catch a lot on a particular bait, and also a number of bonus
fish if you mix up your baits.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572
(days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
October 9, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Ingram Bass Club-October 7-8, 2006:
Twelve members from the Ingram Bass Club held their two-day
October tournament at Falcon this weekend. Plastic baits
including Sweet Beavers were working in 10 to 15 ft of water.
On Saturday, plastics caught the most fish. Water temperatures
were 82 to 84 degrees and water color is returning to clear.
Jordan Pogue had the heavy stringer weighing 27.21
lbs. Jay Arhelger had the second heavy stringer which weighed
20.99 lbs. His big bass and big bass for the day was 8.26 lbs.
The second heavy bass was caught by Andrew Augirre and weighed
7.20 LBS. The third big bass caught by Ron Barclay weighed 7.07
lbs.
SUNDAY:Tom Moose had the
big bass Sunday weighing 6.75 Lbs and his total weight for the
day was 13.59 Lbs. Jordan Pogue weighed 14.30 lbs for
the day's heavy stringer and a two-day heavy stringer total of
41.51 Lbs. Jay Arhelger had the second heavy stringer
weighing 33.30 Lbs. Sunday went for the Oldham 1 1/4 Oz Eye Max
jig. Sunday was a beautiful day on the water with winds below
5 mph.
Some of the Bass were taken from shallow water and were showing
signs of working the beds. However the majority of the fish are
still deep in 10 ft of water and deeper.
Until next time, have a great day on the water
and always practice catch and release.
September
30, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Laredo Internaional
Bass Club- September 24, 2006: Twenty-two members from the
LIBC held their September Tournament at Falcon on the 24 th of
September. Gerardo y Armondo Montiel had the heavy stringer weighing
17.29 lbs. It was a three-way tie for second heavy stringer.
Sergio Herrera, Rene Gonzalez and Daniel Caraveo all weighed
in 16.8 lbs. Ricardo Guerrero had the big bass weighing 7.91
lbs. The fish were caught in 5 to 10 ft of water on plastics
and shad colored DD22 Norman Crankbaits. Zoom Watermelon and
Watermelon Red Brush Hogs and Paca Craws were the best baits.
All of the fishermen weighed 4-fish limits.
September 16, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - Hello. I read your question
about how to catch those bass you are seeing. I am a florida
native and have been fishing central florida for over 30 years
and i can tell you that if you put a live golden shiner in front
of those fish you will indeed connect with them. If you need
more information on how to fish with this kind of bait let me
know and i will send to you a link to all the info you need.
I have a few places where i catch my own golden shiners and keep
them in a tank to use when i want to go fishing. This is another
complete subject i know but once you start catching bass with
shiners you won't want to stop. If you buy them they run from
$16.00 to $20.00 a dozen, this is to much for me to pay so i
catch my own. Catching the bait is almost as much fun as catching
the bass! Jeff Morrow, Sarasota, Fla
September 15, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - McAllen Bass Anglers-September 9-10,
2006: Fourteen McAllen fishermen were contesting their September
tournament which included the best three fish. JD Penny was in
the lead with a 20 lb stringer. He was also leading the big bass
pot with an 8 lber. Jeff Valdez was in second place hs with 15.13
lbs and Al Malone weighed in 15 lbs for third hs.
Sunday: Sunday was another great day for the club,
beating their Saturday total weight of 157 lbs and 39 bass with
158 lbs and 42 fish, However, one additional fisherman competed
on Sunday. This brought the two day total to 315 lbs and 181
bass. JD Penny won the heavy stringer honors with a two-day total
weighing 35 lbs 15 oz for 6 fish. He also had the big bass weighing
8 lbs. Andy Silva was winner of the second heavy stringer with
29 lbs 7 oz. Al Malone was third with 28 lbs 11 0z.
Until next time, have a great day on the water,
make sure your aerators are working and always practice catch
and release.
September 15, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted by David Vance - With night
time temperatures already starting to cool down, the water temp
here at Lake Fork is from 82 degrees. Lower water temps means
that the Bass are starting to get more active. Over the past
week the Bass fishing has been good we are catching 25 to 30
a day we are now seeing signs that the Bass are beginning to
move into a Fall pattern.
The early morning Top Water bite is good for first
two hours of the morning, and by 10am the bass have been coming
up schooling. Best bait for me to catch these schooling bass
has been a rattle trap and when they are up you can catch them
on just about every cast. A lot of the bigger bass are suspended,
I have been using a 5 inch salt and pepper Grub on a jig head
to catch the bigger bass that are suspended under the schools
of shad. For the shallow bite this week we have been using a
wacky worm in 2 to 4 feet of water colors, watermelon and watermelon
red has worked best for me.
Good places to try right now are main lake and
secondary points, and there has been a lot of schooling bass
under the 515 East and 515 West bridges. The lake is about 4
feet low but is in great shape for some very good fishing over
the next couple of months. All of the public boats ramps are
in good shape and you will have no trouble putting in. By the
time we get into early October, the fall bass fishing will be
in full swing.
If you would like to book a guide trip and get
in on some of the grate fall bass fishing hear on lake fork,
you can reach me at 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 cell. or check
out my web site http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing
David Vance
September 13, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Tournament season is in full
swing at Lake Fork, so this week,s report will focus on catching
tournament bass (keepers under the 16 slot and lunkers over the
24 end of the slot). Sunday,s big bass tourney was won with a
10.10 lb,er. Look for an 11 or 12 pounder to win the McDonald,s
Big Bass Splash. Although these big ones are tough to catch,
lots of bass under the slot are being caught right now and your
odds of catching a chunky 15.5 incher are good both shallow around
grass and on mid-depth structure.
Count on the current pattern to hold up until the
lake turns over and Fork settles down in late September. After
the thermocline has gone away and things return to normal, the
deep bass form big schools and relate to the bottom while shallow
bass gang up in creek channel bends. Add in cooler air temps
to the fast bass action and October and November are great times
to fish Fork.
September
10, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - San Antonio
Bass Club-September 9-10, 2006: The San Antonio Bass Club
fished Falcon this weekend. Participants began arriving on Thursday
and by Saturday, most of the 29 fishermen and women had made
the trip. Weigh in is at the State Park Saturday at 4:00 pm and
at the Zapata County Ramp at 1:00 pm Sunday.
After Saturday's weigh-in, Don Pierce was in the
lead for heavy stringer with 5 fish weighing 21 lbs. Brian Beck
was in the lead for Big Bass weighing 10.5 lbs. There were a
number of anglers with 5-fish weights of 19 - 20 lbs including
Robert Pierce and Lehn Duerr.
Sunday: Len Duerr and his partner Matt Poarch brought
home the heavy stringer-boat 2 day honors wih a total of 77.55
lbs Len Duerr had 3 patch fish Sunday weighing 6.45, 5.60 and
5.65 lbs plus 2 Saturday giving him a 2 day winning heavy stringer
of 42.8 lbs. Don Pierce narrowly missed the mark weighing a second
heavy stringer of 40.9 lbs. Matt Poarch was third with 34.75
lbs. Kath Woodruff took ladies heavy stringer honors with a 2
day total of 24.05 for 10 fish. Susan Beck was second with 19.70
lbs.
The fish were caught in 5 -10 ft of water on DD22
Clown and Smokey Joe lures Saturday and Watermelon Red and Watermelon
Candy lures Sunday. Plastic Brush Hogs and Magnum Lizards worked
well on both days in Watermelon Red. Brian Beck's big bass was
caught on a 1 1/2 Oz White double willow leaf spinnerbait.
Until next time, have a good day on the water and
always practice catch and release.
September 5, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by David Vance - So far the Bass fishing here at Lake
Fork this week has been very good, cooler weather and calm conditions
has made fishing a blast in the last few days. On Sunday the
bite was on we had 19 by lunch and by the end of the day we had
43. The early morning top water bite has been good for the first
two hours, they have been eating a Pop R and a Rattle Trap. The
bass are schooling off and on all day. Good places to try right
now are main lake points. There has been a lot of schooling bass
from Wolfe creek to the dam, the biggest bass we put in the boat
in the last three days came off the SRA point this bass was 23
inches long and weighed 8lbs 3oz she hit a spoon in 25 feet of
water. Right now I have four rods rigged up a Pop R, Rattle Trap,
< Spoon, and a Carolina Rig. The best bait for me on the Carolina
Rig has been a watermelon red baby Brush Hog and a watermelon
seed centipede. The water temp right now is 84 degrees on the
main lake. Most of the people I have talked to were catching
fish some more than others but that is due to being at the right
place and the right time. All the public boat ramps are in good
shape and you will have no trouble putting your boat in. With
the weather cooling down the fishing is only going to get better.
If you would like to book a guide trip you can reach me at 903-629-7699
or 903-629-5085 also you can check out my web site. (click the
link above)
Good Fishing
David Vance
August 30, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted by David Vance - This fishing
continues to be good hear on Lake Fork. We are already starting
to see some changes in the weather and with some recent rain
storms that are popping up just about ever other day, conditions
are starting to cool down a bit. We are catching good numbers
of 2 & 3 pound bass, you can load the boat right now if your
in the right place when these bass come up schooling. The water
temp at the time of this report was about 83 degrees on the main
lake. Lake Fork is almost 4 feet low and that,s not bad compared
to most lakes in the state.. All the public boat ramps are in
good shape no problem launching your boat at all. In the last
few days both shallow and deep patterns are working. The shallow
bite has been good working the edge of the grass lines early,
best bait for me has been a wacky worm watermelon & June
bug have been best colors for me. By mid morning the bass are
starting to school and best bait to catch these schooling bass
for me, has been a chrome and blue rat-l-trap. When these bass
go down I am still using a salt and pepper grub on a jig head,
most of our bigger bass have come on the grub. When the schooling
slows down I have been going to the Carolina rig, best depth
has been 15 to 25 feet on main lake and secondary points. Best
bait for me on the Carolina rig has been a watermelon red finesse
worm and a watermelon seed centipede. Good places to try are
the mouths of the creeks, big and little mustang, wolf, white
oak, are producing good numbers of bass we are catching 25 to
30 a day. The fishing will continue to even get better as we
head into the fall season, look for there to be a lot of small
bass up close to the grass while most of the big Bass are still
in deeper water for now. As conditions cool down over the next
few weeks the bigger Bass will start to move up.
The Fall fishing here at Lake Fork can be some
of the best anywhere, so don't miss out on some of the best Bass
Fishing of the year. If you would like to Book a Guide Trip you
can reach at 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 check out my web site
http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing
David Vance
August 28, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Alice Bass Club-August 27, 2006: A
total of 16 club members contested their Sunday tournament on
Falcon and by weigh in temperatures had reached 100 degrees and
winds were gusting to 28 mph. Lake temperatures ranged from 84
to 89 degrees.
Most of the fishermen and women had five-fish limits,
but Victor Perez had a winning heavy stringer totaling 24.86
lbs anchored by two 7 lb fish and the big bass of the day weighing
7.80 lbs. The smaller fish weighed 7.24 lbs. Jamie was second
with 18.28 lbs and Israel Garcia had third heavy-stringer of
17.60 lbs.
The largest number of fish came from drop offs,
ledges and hardwoods in 10 ft of water. The watermelon purple,
red bug and mean green plastic baits were all working well.
All of the fishermen and women were happy with
the results and they loaded of and left at 2:00 pm.
Until next time, have a great day on the water
and always practice catch and release.
August
25, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Despite
hot weather and low water, both good numbers and big bass are
still being caught at Lake Fork. With the schooling bass and
the annual arrival of Lake Fork keeper-sized bass in the shallows
(under the 16 slot limit), those of you looking for fast action
or a limit for tournaments will have consistent success as we
head into September. If you,re like me and would trade one 8
pounder for 100 15 inchers, fishing for giant suspended bass
over deep water is where it,s at. Best of all, these suspended
bass receive very little (if any) pressure and they bite extremely
aggressively when they,re feeding. Of course, the trick is finding
the feeding schools and then keeping a lure in front of them.
Count on the current pattern to hold up until the
lake turns over and Fork settles down in later September. After
the thermocline has gone away and things return to normal, the
deep bass form big schools and relate to the bottom while shallow
bass gang up in creek channel bends. Add in cooler air temps
to the fast bass action and October and November are great times
to fish Fork.
Lake Conditions: A few showers delivered
a little rain & cooled things slightly. Lake Fork,s water
level continues to drop, currently sitting at 398.84,, about
4, 2 below full pool. Even with the low water, almost all of
the main ramps are still useable without any issues. After turning
brownish-green earlier in the summer, Fork,s water is now very
clear in the main lake. Water temps are running high, consistently
88 to 93 degrees before the rains. I,m still showing the thermocline
at about 28,.
Location Pattern: With the development of
the thermocline, it has effectively created a lake bottom for
the bass at about 28,. For the deep bass, many of them no longer
relate to the bottom and suspend above the bottom, at or above
the thermocline. These bass still actively feed; however, keeping
a bait in front of suspended fish is not the easiest proposition,
but not impossible. This is often where the largest bass reside
in August & September, so it,s well worth the effort to place
a bait in front of them.
For most anglers, it is easier to fish for bass
that are shallower and relating to cover or the bottom. Here
are the 3 main location patterns that fit this category. First,
main lake structure like humps and points that top out in less
than 28, are prime candidates. Use your graph and locate these
deep schools of bass. Second, weed flats on the main lake and
in coves with channels or points with deep-water access nearby
produce some fast action early and late. These places can also
hold really big bass during the day if you find deep matted grass
clumps. Finally, schooling bass are showing up all over the lake,
especially on the flat calm days. While schooling bass are liable
to pop up anywhere, bends of creek channels in major creeks are
my favorite place to consistently find big groups of fish. Best
of all, the bass will often school in the same place at about
the same time each day, so once you find a hot spot it will stay
good for days and often weeks.
Presentation Pattern: For suspended bass,
deep diving crankbaits like a Norman DD 22 in shad or bluegill
patterns fished over points and through treetops works well for
actively feeding fish that are suspended about 18, or shallower.
For deeper bass, counting down a spoon or swimbait and yo-yoing
it through suspended fish can be deadly. For really big bass
in late summer, my favorite technique is using a green pumpkin
10 Lake Fork Worm and yo-yoing it in deep timber. An ultra slow
retrieve and 25 lb line are the key to pulling these brutes out
of deep heavy cover. Finally, a Lake Fork Magic Shad in watermelon
with a chartreuse tail on a oz weighted hook is your top option
some days.
For fish that are on the bottom in 12,-28,, a Carolina
rig with a green pumpkin/red & green flake, watermelon/red
flake, or red bug colored Baby Ring Fry or a green pumpkin Twitch
Worm on a 4, leader is my staple bait. In brushier areas and
creek channel bends where the bass school, I,ll go with a bulky
ringed worm like an 8 or 10 Lake Fork Worm in green pumpkin or
red shad. In addition, medium-running crankbaits in shad patterns
worked along creek channels in the major creeks will help you
find concentrations of bass and will catch some big ones when
they come up schooling. For pure numbers of schooling bass though,
a or oz chrome lipless crankbait is hard to beat. Around the
grass beds, topwaters, spinnerbaits, lipless cranks and Magic
Shads worked over the top of the grass and along the edges will
catch good numbers early and late. For bigger bass, I especially
like to pitch matted grass and isolated grass clumps with big
jigs or heavy Texas rigs. Use a < or 1 oz jig in black/blue
or watermelon with a matching Fork Craw on the back or Texas
rig a watermelon red Craw Tube with a < oz or larger bullet
weight to punch through the tops of the hydrilla. Jiggle your
bait to get it to break through the mat, then yo-yo it in the
open water under the mat for 5 to 10 seconds in each spot. Braided
line and a heavy rod are essential to pull these big fish out.
Bites will feel like anything from a tiny bit of extra weight
to the thunk of running a concrete block through your lawnmower,
so stay alert and hang on!
Here,s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams.
If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572
(days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
<http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/> , where your satisfaction
is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
August 23, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by David Vance - The fishing this week has been good
for numbers, the bass are starting to school all over the lake
. The top water bite is steal off and on, the ones we have caught
on top have been on a shad colored Pop R. The best bait for me
to catch the schooling bass has been a oz chrome and blue Rat-L-trap,
when these bass come up you can almost catch them on every cast.
Most of the schooling activity I have seen has been in the mouths
of the creeks, and around the bridges 515 east and west also
the 154 bridge has been good. When these bass go down I am using
a Salt &Pepper Grub on a jig head to catch the bass that
are suspended. When the schooling action slows down I have been
changing to a Carolina Rig, I am using a 1oz weight and a three
foot leader 15lb line. Best baits for me on the Carolina Rig
has been a watermelon seed centipede and a watermelon red finesse
worm. We got a little bit of rain yesterday and it was nice,
I think this heat wave is just about over. Soon the weather will
be cooling off and the and the fishing will be heating up.
If you would like to book a guide trip you can
call me at 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing,
David Vance
August 17, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - McAllen Bass Anglers-August 12th-13th,
2006-Sixteen anglers from the McAllen Bass Anglers fought
the 30 mph plus wind and sunny, hot weather during their monthly
Falcon Lake tournament. The winds gusted to 35 mph, the temperatures
rose to over 100 degrees, but the fish never noticed. Three fish
over 8 lbs were caught and one over six pounds in the two day
event.
The McAllen Bass Anglers fishes a reduced three
fish limit during summer months and all together, the sixteen
anglers weighed 242 lbs for their 83 fish. Congratulations to
Joe Martinez who weighed the top heavy stringer of 27 lbs 10
Oz. Eddie Kucia weighed 21 lbs 10 Oz for second place and Jess
Valdez was third with 18 lbs 2 Oz. David Alaniz weighed the big
bass of 8 lbs 9 oz.
The majority of the bass were caught in 10 to 17
ft of water on plastic baits including Brush Hogs and lizards.
Crankbaits were productive for some fishermen. Thanks to Al Malone
for the tournament results and big bass photo.
Until next time have a great day on the water and
always practice catch and release.
August 7, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Atascosa Bass Club-August 5-6, 2006
The Atascosa Bass Club with 19 members present had a great
day fishing Falcon Saturday August 5, 2006. There were numerous
stringers (9 total) over 20 lbs, numerous fish over 9 lbs and
a lot of red faces thenks to the South Texas Sun..
The club splits their weighin between
the lower lake and upper lake and we were only able to attend
the upper lake weighin. However, club members shopping at Falcon
Lake Tackle reported a 27.34 lb stringer and a 8.1lb black were
weighed at the lower lake weigh in by Dub Bilings, which would
place him in first position for heavy stringer, Shane Pullman
and Ted Wayland were in close contention for second with 24 lbs
each. Shane had 24.04 lbs and Ted had 24.30 lbs. Shane's Big
Bass weighed 11.48 lbs and Larry's big bass weighed 10.48 lbs.
Roger Dove. John Pfullman and Terry Vrana were
next in line with 22.17, 21.60 and 20.45 lbs respectively. Their
big bass weighed 6.45, 8.48 and 10.11 lbs respectively.
Although big fish were caught on jigs, plastics
and crankbaits, the big bass were caught on Magnum Zoom Watermelon
Red Lizards and brush hogs.. Fish came from 10 to 15 ft of water
on both the US and Mexico sides of the lake.Mid-lake to lower
lake areas produced the biggest fish. Only one fisherman failed
to limit on Saturday and he had 4 fish weighed.
Sunday: The bite on Sunday was not nearlly
as agressive as it was on Saturday. The fish that were schooling
and chasing shad on Saturday were much less active on Sunday.
Sunday's heavy stringer was weighed by Craig White and it was
one of two 20 lb plus stringers weighed for the day at 22.12
lbs. Dub Billings weighed 19.39 lbs for a winning two day hs
of 46.73 lbs which I believe someone said is a new club record.
. Ted Wayland weighed a 20.06 lb stringer bringing his two day
heavy stringer weight to a second place 44.36 lbs. Craig White
brought in third place heavy stringer honors with 44.28 lbs.
Tinker Pfullman came in 4th with 38.81 lbs thanks to Sunday's
big bass he weighed of 8.71 lbs.
Pat White weighed a respectable 28.2 lbs for heavy
stringer ladies. Thanks to Craig White for the final numbers.
Until next time, have a great day on the lake and
always practice catch and release.
August 1, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by David Vance - The fishing this week has been good
on Deep Diving Crank baits and a Carolina Rig. The Norman DD
22 has worked best for me color chartreuses with a blue back.
Water depth 15 to 25 feet. Good places that are producing good
fish, are the old road beds, 515 east & 515 west, and main
lake points and humps. Today we had 33 bass, 8 of these bass
came on the crank bait and the rest on a Carolina Rig best baits
for me have been a Watermelon Seed fluke and a Watermelon Seed
Centipede. At this time, I am using a 1 oz weight with a three
foot leader line, size 15 pound test. The top water bite has
been off and on the past few days. The top water action that
we have had in the last week have come on a shad colored Pop
R and a Zara Spook. Most of these bass have been chasing shad
to the top, early in the morning. The bass are in a solid summer
pattern. So if you are coming to lake fork, the deep water pattern
will be the most consistent, for most of the day. If you would
like to book a Day or Night trip you can call me at 903-629-7699
or check out my web site www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
GOOD FISHING
David Vance
July 29, 2006 - Lake Fork
- Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - After being out of town for
almost the entire month of July, it,s good to be back chasing
the lunkers on Lake Fork. Unfortunately, I,m heading back out
of town for another tournament, so I won,t be able to flirt with
those big Lake Fork females very long. For those of you lucky
enough to be heading to Lake Fork in August, the lake is receiving
very little pressure and the big ones will still bite during
the day or at night. With the annual arrival of the thermocline
in about 28,, the patterns will be different for August, and
I describe below how to go about catching them.
With the summer heat, I,m really starting to look
forward to October and November fishing. After the thermocline
goes away and the lake turns over some time in September, fish
will be schooling and actively feeding all fall. It,s usually
the best time of the year to take kids fishing, as numbers run
high. It,s also the time of year when you can catch fish on about
any technique, depending on the conditions that day. For example,
we had one over 9 pounds on a topwater in 2, last October and
the next day had another bass that went almost 11 pounds in 38,!
Lake Conditions: Last week,s tropical system
delivered very little rain but did cool things slightly and brought
some refreshing winds. Lake Fork,s water level keeps dropping,
currently sitting at 399.38,, about 3, 7 below full pool. As
we are heading into our dry season, Fork will likely be very
low by the end of the summer. Although this makes for tougher
navigation, the bass will be consolidated and easier to catch
once you get to them. The water is clear in many places, although
some areas are a stained brown green due to algae blooms and
wave action. Water temps dropped to the mid-80s following the
cooler days. As anticipated, the thermocline appears to have
developed in about 28,.
Location Pattern: With the development of
the thermocline, it has effectively created a lake bottom for
the bass at about 28,. For the bass that were living shallower
than 28, during June, there,s no change to those patterns. For
the deepest bass, many of them no longer relate to the bottom
and suspend above the bottom, at or above the thermocline. These
bass still actively feed; however, keeping a bait in front of
suspended fish is not the easiest proposition, but not impossible.
This is often where the largest bass reside in August, so it,s
well worth the effort to place a bait in front of them.
For most anglers, it is easier to fish for bass
that are shallower and relating to cover or the bottom. Here
are the 3 main location patterns for August that fit this category.
First, main lake structure like humps and points that top out
in less than 28, are prime candidates. Use your graph and locate
these deep schools of bass. Second, main lake weed flats produce
some fast action early and late and can also hold really big
bass during the day if you find deep matted grass clumps. Finally,
schooling bass get going in August, especially on the flat calm
days. While schooling bass are liable to pop up anywhere, bends
of creek channels in major creeks are my favorite place to consistently
find big groups of fish.
Presentation Pattern: For suspended bass,
deep diving crankbaits like a Norman DD 22 in shad or bluegill
patterns fished over points and through treetops is your best
weapon for actively feeding fish. For less aggressive bass, counting
down a spoon or swimbait and yo-yoing it through suspended fish
can be deadly. For really big bass in late summer, my favorite
technique is using a green pumpkin 10 Lake Fork Worm and yo-yoing
it in deep timber. An ultra slow retrieve and 25 lb line are
the key to pulling these brutes out of deep heavy cover.
For fish that are on the bottom in 12,-28,, a Carolina
rig with a green pumpkin/red & green flake, watermelon/red
flake, or red bug colored Baby Fork Creature or a green pumpkin
Twitch Worm on a 4, leader is my staple bait. In brushier areas
and creek channel bends where the bass school, I,ll go with a
bulky ringed worm like an 8 or 10 Lake Fork Worm in green pumpkin
or red shad. In addition, medium-running crankbaits in shad patterns
worked along creek channels in the major creeks will help you
find concentrations of bass and will catch some big ones when
they come up schooling. For pure numbers of schooling bass though,
a or oz chrome lipless crankbait is hard to beat. Around the
main lake grass, topwaters, spinnerbaits, lipless cranks and
Magic Shads worked over the top of the grass and along the edges
will catch good numbers early and late. For bigger bass, I especially
like to pitch matted grass and isolated grass clumps with big
jigs or heavy Texas rigs. Use a < or 1 oz jig in black/blue
or watermelon with a matching Fork Craw on the back or Texas
rig a watermelon red Craw Tube with a < oz or larger bullet
weight to punch through the tops of the hydrilla. Jiggle your
bait to get it to break through the mat, then yo-yo it in the
open water under the mat for 5 to 10 seconds in each spot. Braided
line and a heavy rod are essential to pull these big fish out.
Bites will feel like anything from a tiny bit of extra weight
to the thunk of running a concrete block through your lawnmower,
so stay alert and hang on!
Good Fishing,
Tom
July 14, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Wildcat Bass Club July 8-9, 2006: The
tournament results for Saturday's Wildcat tornament found Chris
Raub in the lead with a big bass of 7.10 lbs and a 17.15 lb heavy
stringer. Eric Herzog was a very close second for both big bass
at 7.01 lbs and heavy stringer of 17.03 lbs. David Herzog was
in third with 13 lbs.
McAllen Bass Anglers July 8-9, 2006 Eighteen anglers fished
this two day event. Early showeres on Saturday did not dampen
the spirits of the fishermen. Rod Simpson and Oscar Ramirez led
the day 1 tournament with 29 .10 Lbs Al Malone and Pedro Torres
were second with 28.62 Lbs and Joe Matrinez and David Trevino
were third with 24.87 Lbs. John Struthers and Andy Silva were
in 4th place with 23.79 Lbs. Sunday was a different story. Struthers
and Silva caught a total of 22.43 lbs giving them first place
for two days of 46.22 Lbs. Martinez and Trevino caught 19.15
Lbs for 2nd HS of 44.02 Lbs and Rod Simpson and Oscar Ramirez
took third HS honors with 42.57 Lbs. Altogether 18 anglers caught
89 bass weighing 329 lbs.
June
29, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - The
summertime fishing at Lake Fork continues to be very good most
days for size and numbers. Depending on your preference, you
can catch over 30 keeper-sized fish most days on a drop shot,
or catch good numbers of slot fish and some real hogs on Carolina
rigs, Texas rigs and crankbaits, no matter how hot and sunny
the days are. My customers and I have added lots of pictures
of 5, 6, 7, and 8 lb bass in the past two weeks. Check them out
for yourself at www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com.
For numbers of quality fish and a shot at a true trophy, it,s
hard to beat structure fishing on Lake Fork in the summertime.
June 23-24, 2006 - Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Tournament Report-Helotes Bass Club:
Helotes Bass Club - June 24-25, 2006: Helotes Bass Club ventured
to Zapata for their June Tournament and it took over 19 lbs to
take the daily heavy stringer honors and almost 9 lbs to grab
big bass honors on Saturday. Lake water temperature Saturday
was about 88 degrees and water clarity was poor-to-fair in most
parts of the lake. With the water continuing to drop the fish
were mostly in 11 ft or deeper water and watermelon/green colored
baits either in tubes or craw worms were working well. The weighin
on Sunday will take place at about 1;00M PM Sunday at the State
Park.
Danny De La Hunt won the BB and HS honors for the
weekend with 10 fish weighing 38.50 Lbs and big bass of 8.23
Lbs. His partner Mike Roscoe had the second heavy stringer of
38.23 lbs. Richard and Ngarm Ball had the HS for Couples of 55.42
Lbs. Ngarm had the Ladies HS of 26.95 Lbs. Richard captured 3rd
place HS with 28.47 Lbs. The Balls were culling fish by 10:00
am Sunday and there were a lot of fish 5 lbs and over caught
and weighed by club members. There were a lot of fish caught
by club members.
Fishermen were finding a lot of fish below 3 Lbs
in the upper lake and while the action was good, the larger fish
were being found in the lower lake. Israel Garcia and his wife
found an 8 lb bass on the Mexico side of the upper lake while
prefishing for next weekend's tournament.
There was still a lot of seismograph activity taking place in
the Mexican water. This was a big disruption for fishing
June 19, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - June and July are a couple
of the best months of the year on Lake Fork, often during the
hottest part of the day. While numbers of 3 to 8 pound bass are
at their peak during June and July, many lunkers are being caught
right now, too. The top 4 places in a big bass tourney last weekend
went 12.9, 11.14, 10.36 and 10.24 pounds. In addition, a 14.59
lb,er was caught since my last report. And the recent cool down
and storms don,t seem to have slowed down the fishing. Friday,
we boated 2 bass over 7 lbs and another that weighed 6.81. Yesterday,
Saturday, the small fish were biting like crazy and we lost one
well over 8 lbs at the boat. Day or night fishing, it,s an awesome
time to be on Fork right now!
Lake Conditions: A few storms on Friday
and Saturday brought cooler temps and some wind, but did very
little to stop the dropping water levels. Lake Fork,s water level
is currently 400.09,, or 2,11 below full pool. Without some significant
rains in June, Fork will be very low by the end of the summer.
Although this makes for tougher navigation, the bass will be
consolidated and easier to catch once you get to them. The water
is clear in many areas, although some areas are a stained brown
green due to algae blooms and wave action. Water temps cooled
down to the low 80s following the storms, after reaching the
upper 80s earlier in the week. Submerged vegetation, including
hydrilla, milfoil and coontail, is growing rapidly in many new
areas and already starting to canopy in some areas, which will
make for some great jig flippin, later this summer. Finally,
I checked for a thermocline on Thursday with my temperature probe
and so far it hasn,t developed. Look for it to develop in about
28, around mid-July.
Location Pattern: As bass move farther away
from postspawn patterns and solidly into summertime ones, I,m
concentrating on main lake points and main lake humps, ridges,
ledges, and roads. Big bass can still be caught in the creeks
around grass and wood cover early and late; however, during most
of the day, I prefer to fish deep structure for schools of big
bass. Structure fishing is simply a matter of using your graph
to find deep cover like brushpiles or timber, then working over
the cover thoroughly. For faster action, find areas with schools
of bass and bait around the cover and get the net handy. Even
big schools of bass sometimes take coaxing to get a bite, so
being able to interpret your electronics accurately is the key.
Keep in mind that a lot of fish are suspended right now, further
making electronics interpretation essential to good catches.
Presentation Pattern: I,ve been concentrating
on the deep bite, so my presentation pattern reflects this. For
suspended bass, deep diving crankbaits like a Norman DD 22 in
shad or bluegill patterns fished over points, bounced over cover,
and through treetops have been very productive. I rig one rod
with 10 lb test to hit deep cover, to about 18,, while another
cranking rod is rigged with 20 lb test for heavier cover that
tops out closer to 10,. After I,ve cranked the area thoroughly,
I,ll switch to a swimbait, jig and/or a spoon. Either count down
these lures to the depth of the fish and swim them through the
schools or aggressively rip them off the bottom to catch the
suspenders. If your graph is showing bass on or near the bottom,
Texas and Carolina rigs, as well as drop shot rigs are catching
lots of big fish in 12, to 28,. For the Texas rig, I,ll go with
a bulky ringed worm like a 10 Lake Fork Worm for aggressive bass,
while a 6 Twitch Worm will work better for inactive bass. Watermelon
red, green pumpkin and blue fleck have been our top colors. The
Texas rig has worked best in heavy cover, fished very slowly
and twitched in place. For more open areas, the Carolina rig
with a green pumpkin/red & green flake, killer craw, or watermelon
candy colored Baby Fork Creature on a 4, leader has been our
staple bait. Work these baits along the bottom at a steady pace
until you come across a piece of cover, then slow way down and
leave it there as long as possible. Often, a big bass will do
you a favor and pull it out for you! Finally, for big numbers
of keeper sized bass, go with a drop shot rig. I,m using a Twitch
Worm in any shade of green, rigged on a 1/0 hook about 2, above
a oz sinker. For active bass, a constantly quivering wacky rigged
Twitch Worm works best. Conversely, if the bass are sluggish,
a weedless Texas rigged drop shot held almost motionless around
cover is too much for even the most finicky bass to withstand.
On 10 lb test and a medium action spinning rod, a 4 lb bass in
30, deep timber is quite an exciting challenge.
Good Fishing,
Tom
June 13, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - McAllen Bass Anglers-June 10-11, 2006:
Twenty anglers from the McAllen area fished Falcon and they continued
the legacy of big bass and heavy stringers established over the
last few weeks. They based out of the Falcon Heights and launched
at the State Park. All together, they weighed 93 bass at 283.55
Lbs and John Struthers had the big bass weighing 9.4 Lbs. Brantly
Bilman and Eddie Kucia had the heavy stringer for two days of
42.36 Lbs. J.D. Penny and his partner Jess Valdez were second
with a very close 41.11 Lbs. John Struthers and partner had 3rd
with 40.32 Lbs. Pretty good fishing when it takes 40 Lbs to make
third place.
Locals were not left out of the good bite either as they scored
numbers over 25 per day and sizes averaging 3-5 pounds and big
bass to just North of 9 Lbs. Plastic Super Flukes, Sweet Beavers
and lizards were all working and colors of Baby Bass, watermelon
red and red shad were going out the door.
Our neighbor was down fishing and found some bass congregated
around the Marker 9 area. His Brush Hogs and lizards, once having
located the fish, just kept producing in he same area. Many times,
big numbers of fish are located in the same tree or group of
trees.
Several customers were giving all-night catfishing a go this
week and scoring limits for their efforts. Shrimp tossed under
the tree limbs in 4 ft of water or so were catching a lot of
good fish.
Until next time have a good day on the water and practice catch
and release.
June 3, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - The largest
and best attended tournament of the year at Falcon is Bass Champs
and this year two separate events were held one each on Saturday
June 3 and Sunday June 4th for the regular and Southern region
Championship respectively. A fully-rigged Skeeter Bass Boat was
awarded as the top prize at each event. Photo is all the
Saturday and Sunday HS winners and Saturday BB winner.
June 3, 2006 Bass Champs Tournament-Falcon:
The 151 boat field was sent off starting at 6:15 am and by
a little after 7:00 am everybody was on their way out fishing.
Temperatures were just under 70 degrees and winds were mild,
gusting to 5 mph out of the SSE.Prediction: The weight required
to best the others will more than likely have to be be north
of 30 Lbs. Weigh in will start at 3:00 pm and end about an hour
later. Well, we were right. The top stringer was 34.52 Lbs and
Terry Oldham and his partnerJaime Burtron were the Anglers who
put it all together. This win put them over the top and they
claimed Anglers of the Year honors in addition to their Falcon
Tournament first place finish and the fully-rigged Skeeter. This
year's tournament set a record with an average weight over 3.9
Lbs. Altogether 61 teams had stingers weighing over 20 Lbs and
10 stringers went over 30 Lbs. Mike Kernan and David Weber were
second with 33.68 Lbs . Tim Blanchette and Ted Sprencel were
third with just North of 32 Lbs. Kevin Reissig weighed a 11.32
Lber for Big Bass of the tournament narrowly out-ouncing the
2nd place BB weighing 11.30 Lbs weighed by Oldham and Burtron.
Nicolas Rocha and his partner, Abelaedo Lozoya weighed in 1st
and they set the bar very high with 31.82 Lbs. They were in the
lead, dropped to 2nd and finally fell to 4th where they finished.
The plastic bite was strong all day with about
every type of creature bait working in the hardwoods typically
situated on main-lake points. Water depths were anywhere from
2 to 15 ft. It was common for anglers to have culled fish from
early morning on. As many as 100 fish were caught by a single
boat and fifty fish was not at all uncommon for many boats. Anglers
were unanimous in their description of events transpiring leading
to many lost fish. You had to set the hook and get them coming
to the boat before they had the opportunity to turn and head
down. Once they turned, forget it.They would get hooked up in
the trees. There were probably more good fish lost than caught
and even with that, big fish and heavy stringers reigned supreme
both days.
June 4th 2006 Bass Champs Southern Championship
at Falcon: I was regrettably unable to attend the Sunday
weighin because of illness. You wouldn't think the results from
Saturday could be beat, but they were. They were beat both for
big bass and heavy stringer. Saturday's second place team, Mike
Kernan and David Webber, had 5 fish Sunday weighing 37.98 lbs
for HS and the 1st prize of the fully-rigged Skeeter boat. That
is a little over 7 1/2 lbs average per fish . The Big Bass weighed
in by Jimmy Johnson and Shane Gibson topped the scales at 12.06
Lbs. George Kunkle (ABA Tournament Director) and partner John
Goin had second heavy stringer of 36.84 lbs with a 11.40 anchor
fish. The Trent Huckaby/Bubba Haralson team took third with 35.12
lbs and a 10.88 big bass as anchor. It took 30.60 lbs for yesterday's
winners Oldham/Burtron to place 8th. We counted 9 fish over 8
lbs Sunday and 12 over 8 lbs on Saturday.
May 29, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman -
Falcon Lake Tackle Welcomed Universal City Bass Club to Falcon
for their
May 27-28, 2006 Tournament:
The
79 degree temperatures at daybreak with cloud cover gradually
broke and elevated to over 100 degrees peaking at 101 degrees
by weigh in. The fish and the 47 fishermen and women, youth men
and ladies all suffered the combined affects of the heat and
28 mph winds as did the club computer, which was fried by the
water from a spilled weigh bag. Tim Plocek out-ounced Walter
Vestal's 7.40 Lb Big Bass with a 7.43 Lb near clone Saturday.
The Heavy Stringer honors Saturday looked like they would go
to Mike Madaris with 17.34 Lbs until Larry Martin brought 5 patch
fish to the scales for 24.20 Lbs. His 5 fish weighed 4.36, 4.69,
4.97, 5.36 and 5.80 Lbs. Larry's wife Pat Martin had the Ladies
heavy stringer weighing 15.43 Lbs.
The plastic-bait bite remained strong today, The
best pattern was main lake points with 12 ft of water on hardwoods.
Lizards, tubes. Sweet Beavers and Brush Hogs all caught fish.
Watermelon Red, Watermelon Chartreuse, Dirt and Coon Nasty were
some of the best colors. There was some action on Bull Bream
crankbaits, red and black jigs, chrome blue back Rat-L-Traps
and white spinnerbaits, but overall, plastics were the best.
Typically the outside hardwood was the best location, but a few
probing casts from further out might reveal a subsurface hardwood
that is holding fish and not readily visible
Some of the fishermen were in and on fish from
daybreak until weighin, culling 60 or more fish in the process.
Other fishermen found their live wells to be missing the size
of fish required to even make the five-fish limit. It just seems
to depend on the location and the size of fish populating the
particular area. It was not uncommon for multiple big fish to
be found on the same hardwood.
That has been pretty consistent for the past couple
weeks so slowing down and working an area thoroughly may well
pay off in numbers of big fish.
SUNDAY: That is exactly what Larry
Martin did to bring in 10 fish for the two-day event breaking
all club records for two-day, heavy stringer. He had 9 patch
fish and the one holdout was 3.99 lbs. His total weight was 48.05
lbs for the 10 fish. His wife sowed up the top Ladies Division
honors with 35.43 Lbs and needless to say they had the top Couples
weight of 83.48 Lbs. Since they opted out of the Team Division
this left a clear shot for 2nd Heavy Stringer winner Mike Madaris
(33.69 Lbs) and Mike Logue to take Heavy Team Honors with 59.39
lbs. Congratulations to other winners including Harvey Holmes
with BB of 7.60 Lbs, Katie Merkle Youth-Ladies Division with
11.65 Lbs and Youth-Male Division winner T Bradford with 14.81
Lbs. Katie is pictured at right with the Holmes' new Daschound
puppy.
Altogether, 47 anglers combined to catch and weigh
324 legal fish weighing 806 Lbs and it was the third largest
weight of any tournament in Universal City's Club history
Don't forget Bass Champs next weekend. Saturday
is the Falcon Tournament followed by the Championship on Sunday.
Registration is Friday night or Saturday morning at Beacon Lodge.
Until next time, have a great day on the water
and always practice catch and release.
May 28, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Big bass continue to be caught
at Lake Fork, including several 10 to 11+ lb bass coming into
Lake Fork Marina in recent days. While my customers and I didn,t
catch any tens last week, most days we are catching good numbers
of bass along with some big fish mixed in. The bass are scattered
right now, with some still shallow in the very backs of creeks,
while others are setting up in deep summertime locations in the
main lake. Versatility has remained the key. In general, we,ve
done better in the shallows on windy and cloudy days, while the
deep bite has been best on sunny and calmer days, especially
in the afternoons. As the heat builds and more bass move deep,
June is shaping up to be its usual structure fishing big bass
whack-a-thon. If you want to learn how to use your graph to read
deep structure and then catch big bass with Carolina rigs, worms,
swimbaits and crankbaits, now,s the time to head to Lake Fork.
Lake Conditions: The past week has been
dry and hot, dropping Lake Fork,s water level to 400.48,, or
2,6 below full pool. Without some significant rains in June,
Fork will probably be very low by the end of the summer. Although
this makes for tougher navigation, the bass will be consolidated
and easier to catch once you get to them. The water is currently
clear in most areas, except for wind blown locations. Water temps
continue to rise, with readings in the upper 70s to mid 80s.
Submerged vegetation, including hydrilla, milfoil and coontail,
is growing rapidly in many areas and spreading in coverage and
height. In addition, the lily pads are really starting to pop
up and increase in density on the south end of Fork.
Location Pattern: My location and presentation
patterns haven,t changed much from my last report. I,m concentrating
on coves and creeks that had the largest populations of spawning
fish and starting there on the flats, creek channels, and points
just outside the beds. I,m working out progressively deeper inside
productive coves and fishing all of the cover and structure options
from the backs of the creek out to the main lake summertime holes.
Keep in mind that a lot of fish are suspended right now, so fish
bottom bouncing lures while also checking for suspended fish
with baits like jerkbaits and crankbaits. Once you try a few
productive spawning creeks, you should have caught some fish
and determined what types of cover, structure, and depths are
holding the most fish. At that point, look for similar water
around the lake and run the pattern. The fish are pretty scattered
right now, so you,ll normally do better by fishing lots of good
areas instead of camping on an area where you,ve caught a couple
good fish. Again, with the fish being in a transition mode, you,ll
need to repeat this process most days to stay in contact with
the most active fish.
Presentation Pattern: As for your lure,
let the cover, conditions, and the depth of the bass you are
fishing dictate your choice. With the fish being so spread out,
virtually everything in your tackle box will catch fish at some
point during early June, so stay flexible. Following are the
baits that have been working best for us this week. Topwaters
have been sporadic lately, so I,ve been doing better early with
shallow running cranks over the grass. Depending on the depth
of the grass, select one in a shad or bluegill pattern that will
occasionally hit the top of the grass. In addition, around shallow
vegetation and pads, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms and
Magic Shads in green pumpkin and watermelon candy are working
well early and during the day. Texas rigged baits like Lake Fork
Flippers in black neon or watermelon/red are also producing big
bass when flipped to wood cover near grass or pads. Deep diving
crankbaits like a Norman DD 22 in shad or bluegill patterns fished
for suspended bass on deep points or dug into the tops of 10,
to 16, points and ridges are producing some big fish and good
numbers. Go with 10 lb test and hang on after you come through
submerged brush. Finally, Texas rigged and Carolina rigged Lake
Fork Baby Creatures and Baby Ring Frys in watermelon red &
green flake and green pumpkin are catching bass in 12, to 33,.
Good Fishing,
Tom
May 21, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - There
were a number of anglers in town this weekend prefishing for
Bass Champs, which fishes Falcon on June 3rd and 4th for their
regular and championship tournaments respectively. Reports of
big bass caught deep by some of these fishermen on DD22 crankbaits
were frequent enough to make us believe there are a lot of big
bass still holding in deep water. Large numbers of schooling
bass were seen and caught in most areas providing a lot of action
if not a very big size. In addition to those prefishing, two
tournaments were held this weekend
May 20 th & 21st, 2006: The
American Bass Anglers first day tournament is history and
Tournament Director George Kunkle had the Heavy Stringer of 28.19
lbs. His partner David Sheffield had the second heavy stringer
of 23.85 lbs with a 10.09 Lb Big Bass. The Carolina rigged Sweet
Beaver combination in Watermelon Red did the job for the duo
with 10 fish weighing 42.04 Lbs producing an average size catch
of 4.20 Lb. George Aguilara had the third heavy stringer of 14.25
Lbs with a 5.73 lb anchor fish. Most of the anglers were culling
fish early and the majority of the anglers weighed 5-fish limits.
The ABA tournament drew only 4 non-boaters who were matched up
with boaters in a draw at 5:00 am. This is a great way for non
boaters to be able to fish a circuit but the message may not
have gotten out to enough of the fishermen regarding this event.
SUNDAY ABA:Richard Gossiaux
took heavy stringer honors on the second tournament outweighing
the other 12 anglers with his 15.17 Lbs anchored by a 4,92 Lb
Big Bass. He was fishing with George Kunkle, but George's fish
did not live up to the size of his Saturday fish weighing in
just below 10 Lbs.
Jerry
Carpenter had the Sunday Big Bass weighing 8.74 Lbs and second
heavy stringer of 14.48 Lbs. Bill Langenberg had the third HS
weighing 12.32 Lbs
San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) had 32 Anglers that
contested their 2-day tournament. The heavy stringer honors Saturday
went to Don Hendricks with 21.52 Lbs. Aubrey Freeman Jr. was
close behind in 2nd with 19.42 Lbs and Johnny Barnes was third
with 18.39 Lbs. The Big Bass honors went to Craig Pryor with
a 7.76 Lb Bass. Pam Barnes was leading the ladies with 12.51
lbs. Hunter Gonzalez was the youth leader for Saturday.
There were a lot of fish caught mostly in 12 ft of water or less,
but fish were even shallower earlier in the day. Plastic baits
were number one followed by crankbaits and a few spinnerbaits.
Watermelon red was the best color for plastics followed by shad
and/or white crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The water temperature
was between 80 and 85 degrees and water clarity was stained.
Winds were gusting to 25 mph and the high temperature was 98
degrees. The morning started out at a pleasant 70 degrees, but
warmed considerably and it would have been very hot without the
wind.The anglers will re-tie tonight for some more action tomorrow.
The numbers of big fish lost was high even though a number of
good fish from 5 to 10.09 Lbs were caught by anglers in both
tournaments.
SUNDAY: Aubrey Freeman Jr had the first place 2-day HS
with 42.10 Lbs.
Keeping it all in the family Aubrey
Freeman Senior came in second for HS with 36.82 Lbs. Aubrey Jr's
big bass of 7.73 Lbs Sunday narrowly missed Craig Pryor's big
bass weight from yesterday of 7.76 Lbs. Sonny Osborne Jr. had
35.86 Lb for 3rd HS. Susan Osborne took the Ladies Division Honors
with 23.73 Lbs. Hunter Gonzalez was the youth leader for the
two-day event.
Congratulations to the weigh-masters of both tournaments for
a speedy weigh in and a concentrated effort to keep the fish
in and returned to the lake as quickly as possible following
their being weighed. This helped assure the survival of as many
fish as possible and, at a time of the year when fish are easily
stressed, their conscientious efforts are appreciated.
Until next time have a great day fishing and always
practice catch and release.
May 22, 2006 - Answer to Florida Bass
question - You might try some garlic sent found at
most tackle shops. It covers a lot of smells and bass seem
to like it.
Bill Rose
Lincoln NE
May
9, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Big
bass up to 13.76 lbs continue to be caught at Lake Fork. With
some bass in a post spawn pattern and others starting to settle
into summer patterns, covering lots of water and trying a variety
of patterns has been critical to catching fish. From topwaters
in shallow grass to Carolina rigs in 30,, just about everything
in your tackle box could work right now. The trick is quickly
figuring out which of those baits will work best, and where.
Similar to the prespawn patterns we fished just a couple months
ago, bass are on the move, so where you catch them today may
not hold many fish tomorrow. Find the most productive pattern
each day, then fish similar areas around the lake. The quicker
you figure out the pattern and the more productive water you
fish, the better you,ll do.
Lake Conditions: After numerous showers
and storms, Lake Fork,s water level is up slightly, currently
reading 400.75,, or 2,3 below full pool. The water clarity is
very clear in grassy areas, whereas some areas without submerged
vegetation are slightly stained due to recent rains. Water temps
continue to rise, with readings in the low to upper 70s, depending
on the area. Submerged vegetation, including hydrilla, milfoil
and coontail, is growing rapidly in many areas and spreading
in coverage and height. In addition, the lily pads are really
starting to pop up and increase in density on the south end of
Fork.
Location Pattern: I,m concentrating on coves
and creeks that had the largest populations of spawning fish
and starting there on the flats, creek channels, and points just
outside the beds. I,m working out progressively deeper inside
productive coves and fishing all of the cover and structure options
from the backs of the creek out to the main lake summertime holes.
Keep in mind that a lot of fish are suspended right now, so fish
bottom bouncing lures while also checking for suspended fish
with baits like jerkbaits and crankbaits. Once you try a few
productive spawning creeks, you should have caught some fish
and determined what types of cover, structure, and depths are
holding the most fish. At that point, look for similar water
around the lake and run the pattern. The fish are pretty scattered
right now, so you,ll normally do better by fishing lots of good
areas instead of camping on an area where you,ve caught a couple
good fish. Again, with the fish being in a transition mode, you,ll
need to repeat this process most days to stay in contact with
the most active fish.
Presentation Pattern: As for your lure,
let the cover and the depth of the bass you are fishing dictate
your choice. With the fish being so spread out, virtually everything
in your tackle box will catch fish at some point during May,
so stay flexible. Following are the baits that have been working
best for us this week. Early and late and on cloudy days, topwater
baits like poppers and walking baits like a Zara Spook in shad
colors will produce big fish and good numbers many days. Around
shallow vegetation and pads, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms
and Magic Shads in green pumpkin and watermelon candy are working
well. Texas rigged baits like Lake Fork Flippers in black neon
or watermelon/red are also producing big bass when flipped to
wood cover near grass or pads. Deep diving crankbaits like a
Norman DD 22 in shad or bluegill patterns fished for suspended
bass on points are producing some big fish and good numbers.
Go with 10 lb test and hang on after you come through submerged
treetops. Finally, Texas rigged and Carolina rigged Lake Fork
Baby Creatures and Baby Ring Frys in watermelon and green pumpkin
are catching bass in 12, to 30,.
Good Fishing,
Tom
May
8, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - May 7, 2006-Atascosa
Bass Club, Alice Bass Club and South Texas 5 were fishing Falcon
this weekend. Even though they were fishing the same weekend
as the BASS Federation & the Pest Control Tournaments on
other lakes, the South Texas 5 Tournament on Falcon drew some
good fishermen and the reports from prefishing, while
varied, were excellent from 25 to 30 Lbs for five fish and fishermen
were culling fish as early morning broke.
ATASCOSA Bass Club split their weighin between
the upper and lower lake so we missed the lower lake activity.
On the upper lake, Tinker Pfullman had 22.70 Lbs for HS and a
9.90 Lb big bass. His son Shane was in second place with 17.45
Lbs giving them a total of 40.15 Lbs for their boat's 10 fish.
Patricia White had the lead for ladies with a 6.6 Lb anchor Bass.
To say that "the fishing was awesome"
would be to understate the obvious. Three fish over 9 lbs were
weighed by Atascosa fishermen at the lower end of the lake. Trey
Northcutt had a 10.83 BB and Dennis Bald and Ted Wayland each
had a bass that weighed over 9 Lbs. The top 4 stringers Saturday
all topped 20 Lbs and the top stringer unofficially caught by
Ted Wayland tipped the scales at 23.89 Lbs. The final numbers
including all upper and lower lake activity will be posted Monday.
ALICE Bass Club was prefishing Saturday for their
one-day Sunday event. Israel had an 8.25 Lb big bass and a 22
Lb HS. Brandon was 2nd with 19 Lb and Pat Ball was third.
SOUTH TEXAS 5 prefishing went well Saturday with
as many as 150 fish reported caught per boat. Schooling bass
went big for small Crankbaits and unweighted jerk baits. Although
most of the schoolies were in the three-pound class, fish up
to 7 1/2 Lbs were occasionally mixed in. Patricia White had a
7.65 lb bass take her shad colored DB1 and that was enough for
Ladies Big Bass. Together Craig and Patricia had 29.50 Lbs for
1st Place Heavy Stringer. Kurtz and Wise were second with 28.37
Lbs including an 8.32 Lb anchor bass. Jim Edwards and Derick
Kuyrkendal had Tournament Big Bass weighing 9.54 Lbs and third
Heavy Stringer of 25.30 Lbs. Rodney Marbach and Jim Conran were
4th with 25.18 Lbs and Fred Vannoy and Ralph Celedon took the
5 th place money with 23.87 Lbs.
There were 25 entries and 8 stringers over 20 Lbs.
Most of the participants had either 20 plus or stringers averaging
over 15 Lbs. Just about everyone had limits and were culling
fish by mid morning. The northern that blew in yesterday cooled
the fishing conditions and we had a cloudy and cool day for the
majority of the tournament. It finally reached a high of 93 degrees,
but winds were mild most of the day at 10 to 15 mph. The bite
was not as good for big bass but the heavy 9.54 Lb fish was certainly
no slouch.
The next South Texas 5 will be at Choke Canyon
on June 18 th.
Until next time, have a great day on the water
and always practice catch and release.
April 25, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photo is of Tom with 8+) From
prespawn to postspawn and from shallow to deep, big bass are
being caught all over Lake Fork right now. Trophy bass
up to 14+ lbs have been coming into the marinas in good numbers
this past week, as another wave of big bass moved up to spawn.
Overall, the spawn is starting to near an end and the bass are
beginning their transition towards postspawn and early summer
patterns. Aggressive fry guarding males and big females
that are feeding heavily to regain body weight make May and June
fishing the favorite period for many Lake Fork regulars.
The best patterns and locations change daily and often hourly,
so stay versatile and keep experimenting until you find them.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork's water level is up slightly,
currently reading 400.65', or 2'4" below full pool.
The water clarity is very clear in grassy areas, whereas some
areas without submerged vegetation are slightly stained due to
recent winds. Water temps continue to rise, with readings
in the low to upper 70s, depending on the area. Submerged
vegetation, including hydrilla, milfoil and coontail, is growing
rapidly in many areas and spreading in coverage and height.
In addition, the lily pads are really starting to pop up and
increase in density on the south end of Fork.
Location Pattern: I'm finding good fish anywhere from
1' to 18' currently and from the backs of creeks to the main
lake points and humps nearby spawning areas. Key on areas
that had or still have large populations of spawning bass.
After spawning, bass typically hold in grass and timber along
the creek channels leading out of spawning flats as well as on
secondary points that are nearby. As the season progresses,
some bass continue to move towards the main lake along creek
channels and points while on their way to main lake summertime
spots. Meanwhile, some bass continue to spend their entire
lives in the backs of creeks, especially areas with abundant
cover. Start in the backs of creeks and systematically
work your way out to deep water and sooner or later you'll come
in contact with the bass.
Presentation Pattern: I'll use just about everything in
my tackle box this time of year, but here are the baits that
have been producing best for my customers and me in the past
week. For sight fish, Texas rigged Lake Fork Tackle Top
Dog Lizards in watermelon or green pumpkin have been catching
these fish quickly. Lizards are also producing
a lot of good bass by slowly working shallow wood cover.
Early in the day and on cloudy days, topwaters like Zara Spooks
and Pop-R's in shad patterns are producing big numbers of bass
if the conditions are right. If the bass won't quite come
to the surface, weightless rigged Magic Shads in watermelon candy
or bull bream colors and hard plastic jerkbaits in silver or
gold are working well. While the spinnerbait bite has been
slow; shallow, medium, and deep running crankbaits in shad colors
have been producing good numbers and big bass on windy days.
Chose a crank that runs just deep enough to tick the bottom or
the cover you're fishing and use a stop and go retrieve.
Anytime the crankbait stops vibrating, do a sweep hookset and
tell your partner to grab the net.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I
can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days)
or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
April 22-23, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - It was cloudy a good part of the
day Friday and the fishermen that arrived early for prefishing
were paid off with a good day on the water. A 9 lb plus bass
was caught during prefish and just enough wet stuff fell in the
morning to keep anglers comfortable. Some of the fishermen and
woman in the 13 angler-group fishing Saturday had some good fish
to just under 5 lbs, but the big fish never found their way to
the baits.
With a windy day to contend with Saturday and high
afternoon temperatures that peaked in the mid 90-degree range,
most of the anglers were happy that the weigh-in was at 3:30
pm. Many of the anglers caught well over their 5 fish limits
and were culling by the afternoon. Only a few fishermen had sub-limit
days. The highs were around 95 degrees, the wind gusts were 29
mph and the lows this morning were about 72 degrees. The water
temperature has climbed to about 77 degrees or higher in most
of the lake as a result of the back-to-back 100-degree plus days
last week. The lake has continued to drop falling to the upper
281 ft level by Saturday. Ther is about 12-15 ft of shore line
below the new concrete pured at the ramp. The upper parking area
has been resurfaced and the potholes are gone thanks to County
Commissioner Joe Rathmel.
There were fewer numbers of fish being caught than
reported by anglers last weekend, but 20 or more bass were still
possible in the right areas. As usual, the small fish outnumbered
the big ones, but a good number of 4-5 lb fish were still being
caught. In fact, The Dexter Harris big bass of 4.10 lbs narrowly
out weighed the 4.9 lb second big bass. Club President Joe Colley
had the heavy stringer of 16.54 lbs. Luther Lentz and David Wilson
tied for 2nd HS with identical 14.4 lb stringers. Malcom kincaid
had sole possession of 4th with 13.32 lbs. Plastics were still
found to be the number 1 producing bait and watermelon red lizards
seemed to be the best lure today. There were some baby bass color
baits that worked and top waters caught a few good fish as well.
We sold some of the Heddon Baby Torpedoes in Tennessee Shad to
one angler.
I spoke with some folks from the Valley how were
unaccustom to the lake layout and became disoriented around Marker
8 - 9. This is one of the few areas that the boundary markers
are not very visible between their locations. It looks like you
are going into Mexico to find Marker 8. However, pay close attention,
stay towards the middle and with a sharp eye you can usually
find the Markers to navigate the lake.
The game wardens were out working and trying to
keep the Mexico Commercial fishermen off the US water. Several
fishermen mentioned seeing them pulling nets. Keep up the pressure
and good job guys. Don't forget to call them the GPS location
of any activity you may witness.
Sunday's Report:
Johnny Homman had the big bass for Sunday and the weekend weighing
5.16 lbs. Joe Colley repeated with the HS of 12.26 lbs. That
was about 29 lbs for the 2 day effort, which was a very respectable
total. Johnny Homman was second Sunday with 10.9 lbs and he captured
BB money. David Wilson claimed third with 9.26 lbs. Malcom Kincaid
was 4th with a stringer of 9.26 lbs. The top five stringers weighed
over 20 lbs for the combined 2 days effort, but this tournament's
format was 2 separate one day events.
Windy conditions and an off bite greeted the anglers
Sunday and results were even slower than yesterday. Fewer 5-fish
stringers and slow cull conditions were typical and the wind
did not help either. Even with an 88-degree high, anglers were
incomfortable because of the 28 mph wind gusts.
Don"t forget to mark your calanders for the
South Texas 5 Tournament May 7. Registration will be here at
Falcon Lake Tackle on Saturday May 6 starting at 5;00 pm. The
lake will be off limits from midnight Sunday April 30 until Saturday,
May 6 at 5:30 am for prefishing until 5:00 pm at which time you
will need to be off the lake.
Have a good day on the lake, release those spawners
and sorry if you can't be here fishing.
April 15, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photos are of Dean and Rob, both
with 7 pound bass on Lake Fork Magic Shads.) The spawn continues
to roll on at Lake Fork, with a stable weather pattern of warm
and sunny days. While the spawn is wrapping up in many protected
shallow areas, many new beds are showing up in deeper and more
main lake areas. Although sight fishing is the best bet for these
lunkers if conditions are right, backing off and slowly working
deeper cover is the way to go on windy and overcast days. Based
on past years, look for the spawn to continue until mid-May.
In areas where the spawn is winding down, female
bass will soon be shaking off their post spawn hangovers and
will start feeding heavily. In addition, fry guarding males will
be chasing away marauding bluegill with a vengeance. Look for
the fast action topwater, crankbait and Carolina rig bite to
start in late April and last through June. Shallow or deep, the
post spawn and early summer patterns offer the best fishing of
the year for numbers of 3 to 7 pound bass and a good shot at
a true lunker.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork,s water level
is once again slowly dropping, currently reading 400.57,, or
2,5 below full pool. The water clarity is very clear in grassy
areas, whereas the areas without submerged vegetation are slightly
stained due to recent winds. Water temps are on the rise, with
readings in the upper 60s in the main lake and into the mid 70s
in the creeks.
Location Pattern: For spawning bass, fish
8, and shallower flats in creeks and out in the main lake are
holding bass. Many males have been moving up daily in new places,
so keep moving until you find an area holding females and pairs
of bass. Areas with a hard bottom and ample grass or wood cover
will usually hold the most bass. For a shot at true lunker, concentrate
on any drop-offs, creek channels, or points around spawning bays.
Females will stack up on these deep water sanctuaries until conditions
are right to spawn. After spawning, those same lunkers retreat
quickly to those same areas.
Presentation Pattern: For fish on the bed,
white or watermelon Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizards, Flippers
and Craw Tubes are my mainstays. White baits allow you to clearly
see your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green
are often needed to catch the more finicky bass. My new favorite
is the Lake Fork Baby Craw in white or watermelon. When conditions
don,t allow you to see the beds, in water that is too deep to
locate spawners, and around staging areas, soft plastic jerkbaits
like the Lake Fork Magic Shad and Twitch Worm rigged weightless
in watermelon red, watermelon candy and sour melon are often
catching the most and biggest bass. Fish these slowly with a
couple twitches and a slow fall to the bottom on slack line.
For true lunkers, repeated pitches to heavy cover on and around
spawning flats with Texas rigged Top Dog lizards and creature
baits like Lake Fork Creatures in green pumpkin, watermelon candy
or black neon are a great option. Finally, on windy and overcast
days, moving baits like white spinnerbaits can produce big bass,
as well.
Good Fishing,
Tom
April 14, 2006 - Falcon - Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - It looks like a quiet Easter in
Zapata and we want to wish all of you a happy holiday whether
you are spending it at the dinner table, at a cookout or on the
water. We have had a number of fishermen reporting over the last
few days of 50 fish and up catches to 7 lbs. The water is still
in the 75 degree range and around 17 ft low at the 284 ft level.
The Watermaster advises that unless we get some rain Falcon will
see a rapid and possibley severe drop over the next few weeks
to a month. Mexico is drawing down a lot of water and none of
it is being replaced with water from Amistad or their lakes south
of there. The US is replacing most of the Falcon releases with
water they own in Amistad. The net difference is what is causing
the drop in Falcon. The water from Sugar and El Cuchillo has
helped reduce the Falcon demand, but since it enters below Falcon
Dam, it does nothing to help our level directly.
Conditions are still good-to-excellent and plastics
are still king (and queen). Sergio Herrera from Laredo caught
and released this 8.6 Lb bass. She went for a Zoom Brush Hog
in Watermelon Green. Dr Andy Baker and Derek Cone had a good
time fishing Easter and they caught a number of fish from 1 to
6 lbs.
Regretfully when fishing is this good, some poor
sportsmen that masquerade as fishermen (like the group in the
orange boat pulled by the 4 door White Chev Truck that launched
at Beacon on the 14th) take advantage of the situation and come
in, unload their limits and return to the water to slaughter
more fish. They would do well to remember that they are not invisible
and they might be observed taking their limits out of the boat
and putting them in a ice chest and going out for more fish.
They might also possibly be turned in to the game wardens. It
is bad enough to kill the black bass at spawning time, but to
exploit the resource by illegally catching and killing multiple
limits is ludicrous and conspiculously obscene. We can only hope
that the game wardens are able to catch them at their ill deeds
and reward them appropriately.
Meanwhile fishermen report the Tomato colored Zooms
that were hot have cooled off and Junebug has replaced the tomato
as a hot color. Watermelon red lizards, brush hogs and baby brush
hogs are still working also. Fish are being found in large numbers
in 8 to 10 ft of water, on main lake points and in the trees.
Schoolies are good on Rat-L-Traps and small crankbaits in chrome
blue back and shad colors.
The Game Wardens are continuing their efforts to
police and patrol the US side to control illegal netting and
catch violators of the law as we discussed above, Good job guys.
Catfishermen who stopped in for there supply of stinkbait report
smaller catfish being caught this week on the whole, but still
adequate in size to keep legally and eat. Limits are still attainable.
Several boats from 4 Seasons went to the Marker 8 area and found
limits of catfish in 18 to 23 ft of water. Their fish were 1
1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. They have found that all spots are not created
equal. According to one fishermen who limited today on J Piggs
Stinkbait, if the fish do not bite in 10 minutes or so, you better
move to another spot. Fishermen below the Dam report good action
on blacks to 7 lbs on jigs and Zoom Super Chunk trailers and
they have bruises on their abdomens to attest to the strong bite.
Until next time, happy Easter and please catch and release the
spawners so they can finish their work.
April 2, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photographs left to right Matt
Koppel and Mike Cotton.) - After a couple freezing cold nights
early last week resulted in some tough days, the recent warming
trend has lots of big bass moving back on beds at Lake Fork.
The majority of the bass are yet to spawn, so prespawn patterns
are producing really big bass in many areas of the lake, as well.
Fish weightless or Texas rigged soft plastics in 12, or less
around spawning areas now through mid-May and your odds of catching
a Lake Fork hog are pretty good!
My location and presentation patterns will pretty
much remain the same until the spawn winds down in mid-May. Although
the general patterns stay the same, the specific best location
and top bait & color often changes daily. This time of year,
small adjustments in presentation or location often result in
tremendous changes of fortune.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork,s water level
is currently holding steady at 400.71,, or 2,12 below full pool,
our highest water level since August 05. Many bass are relating
to the newly flooded cover and the inside weedline, so don,t
rule out the shallows. The water clarity is clear to stained
in most areas, although some areas are still pretty muddy due
to runoff and the wind. Water temps are once again on the rise,
with readings in the low 60s main lake and into the low 70s in
some shallow areas.
Location Pattern: For spawning bass, fish
8, and shallower flats in the backs of protected bays and creeks.
Spots with large areas of shallow flats that are blocked off
from the cooler main lake water have been holding the most fish.
Waves of new fish have been moving up daily in many places and
spawning fish are starting to show up in new areas of the lake
every day, not necessarily all in the North end of the lake.
Areas with a hard bottom and ample grass or wood cover will usually
hold the most bass. For a shot at true lunker, concentrate on
any drop-offs, creek channels, or points around spawning bays.
Females will stack up on these deep water sanctuaries until conditions
are right to spawn. After spawning, those same lunkers retreat
quickly to those same areas.
Presentation Pattern: For fish on the bed,
white or watermelon Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizards, Flippers
and Craw Tubes are my mainstays. White baits allow you to clearly
see your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green
are often needed to catch the more finicky bass. My new favorite
is the Lake Fork Baby Craw in white or watermelon. Rig this little
bait with a stout 2/0 or 3/0 hook like the Gamakatsu EWG Superline
hook on 25 lb fluorocarbon or 65 lb braid and you,ll be ready
for even the shyest bedding lunkers. When conditions don,t allow
you to see the beds, in water that is too deep to locate spawners,
and around staging areas, soft plastic jerkbaits like the Lake
Fork Magic Shad and Twitch Worm rigged weightless in shades of
watermelon are often catching the most and biggest bass. Fish
these slowly with a couple twitches and a slow fall to the bottom
on slack line. For true lunkers, repeated pitches to heavy cover
on and around spawning flats with Texas rigged Top Dog lizards
and creature baits like Flippers in watermelon or black neon
are a great option. Finally, on windy and overcast days, moving
baits like white spinnerbaits can produce big bass, as well.
Good Fishing,
Tom
April 1, 2006 Falcon -
Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - As we close the month of March,
the spawn is still in progress and the lake is dropping albeit
more slowly then we had feared. Water from Mexico flowing into
the Rio below Falcon has helped reduce the requirement for a
more substantial drawdowns of Falcon water so far. The Falcon
Lake level is just above 285 ft at 285.04 ft and water temperature
is in the seventy-degree range (70-74 degrees). Several locals
as well as groups of visiting fishermen have enjoyed the mild
weather and good fishing on Falcon. It has continued windy with
gusts reaching 25 to 35 mph most days. Fish, once located, still
give the fishermen a good fight as they continue to group up
and bite fairly aggressively. Fifty or more fish a day is certainly
attainable even though smaller quantities are caught by some
fishermen who do not find the concentrations of fish. The number
of fish chasing shad off points and drop offs continues to increase
as the spawned-out fish increase in number and aggressiveness.
Plastic lures in both Zoom Brush Hogs and Baby Brush Hog varieties
are providing good action in Watermelon Red and Watermelon Green
Orange colors. Chartreuse and white skirted spinnerbaits with
dual willow blades have been producing some fish as have crankbaits
and an occasional topwater lure. Plastics are the leader by a
bunch.
Catfishing has remained strong on stinkbait and/or worms and
shrimp. Fish in the 12 ft and up depth range have been biting
good up to around 10 lbs.
Some of you may have encountered
the Reissig clan in their Nitro rig while fishing here on Falcon.
The Reissigs have a place at Ballards and they fish the lake
a lot. They are an excellent barometer for fishing activity and
aggressiveness. Last week one of the Reissig ladies (Betty Bohnert
left) caught a 9.11 lb bass and snapped a picture just before
releasing her back into Falcon to finish her spawn.
Be sure to catch (Guide Charlie Haralson's Brother)
Tom Haralson and Richard Mims new EXTREME OUTDOORS TV on Laredo
Tx Channel 8 April 9 at 10:30 am which will be sponsored in part
by Falcon Lake Tackle.
Guides Report: Debra Hengst guided a party from
Arkansas and West Tx on the 31st and they had 40 to 50 fish per
person up to 7 lbs fishing the lower lake areas. A good many
of their fish were caught on spinnerbaits. Charles Haralson is
guiding a party from the coastal Bend area on the 1st of April
and we will have a report by the end of the day.
Report from Guide Trip 4-1-2006: Charlie Haralson
guided a party from the Coastal Bend on Saturday and while the
overall numbers were down, the quality of the fish was up. Their
best 5 fish went over 30 lbs and the big bass was 7 1/2 lbs.
They found some schooling fish shallow and caught them on buzzbzits
and small crankbaits
Until next time, enjoy the good fishing and release
the ladies so they can finish their business.
March 20, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photographs left to right - Last
week at Lake Fork was exceptionally warm and sunny, with many
bass starting to pull up all over the lake to spawn. With most
kids out of school for spring break, it made for a very enjoyable
and successful week of fishing, including several father/son
& mother/son trips. In every case, the sons outfished their
parents and me, just as we hoped. Over the weekend, a major weather
system moved in with cold rain, delivering well over 5 of much
needed precipitation in most areas. Much cooler temps are forecast
for this coming week, so look for the bass to be bunched up in
staging areas in close proximity to spawning flats. The cold
muddy water and post-frontal bass can make for slow fishing until
you find them; however, if you can locate a concentration of
staging fish, you,ll have found the mother-load of lunkers.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork,s water level
is on the rise and will continue to come up for the next couple
of days. As of 7 AM on Monday, Fork is up almost a foot to 399.94,,
or 3,0 below full pool. The water clarity was clear to stained
in most areas last week, now the wind and runoff has the backs
of creeks pretty muddy. Water temps have dropped significantly,
with readings of upper 50s to low 60s, depending on the area
of the lake.
Location Pattern: For spawning bass, fish
8, and shallower flats in the backs of protected bays and creeks.
Spots with large areas of shallow flats that are blocked off
from the cooler main lake water have been holding the most fish.
Waves of new fish have been moving up daily in many places and
spawning fish are starting to show up in new areas of the lake
every day, not necessarily all in the North end of the lake.
Areas with a hard bottom and ample grass or wood cover will usually
hold the most bass. For a shot at true lunker, concentrate on
any drop-offs, creek channels, or points around spawning bays.
Females will stack up on these deep water sanctuaries until conditions
are right to spawn. After spawning, those same lunkers retreat
quickly to those same areas.
Presentation Pattern: For late prespawn
and spawning fish, I have four main patterns. For fish on the
bed, white or watermelon Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizards, Flippers
and Craw Tubes are my mainstays. White baits allow you to clearly
see your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green
are often needed to catch the more finicky bass. My new favorite
is the Lake Fork Baby Craw in white or watermelon. Rig this little
bait with a stout 2/0 or 3/0 hook like the Gamakatsu EWG Superline
hook on 25 lb fluorocarbon or 65 lb braid and you,ll be ready
for even the shyest bedding lunkers. When conditions don,t allow
you to see the beds, in water that is too deep to locate spawners,
and around staging areas, soft plastic jerkbaits like the Lake
Fork Magic Shad and Twitch Worm rigged weightless in shades of
watermelon are often catching the most and biggest bass. Fish
these slowly with a couple twitches and a slow fall to the bottom
on slack line. For true lunkers, repeated pitches to heavy cover
on and around spawning flats with Texas rigged Top Dog lizards
and creature baits like Flippers in watermelon or black neon
are a great option. Finally, on windy and overcast days, moving
baits like white spinnerbaits and oz lipless crankbaits in shades
of orange are producing some big bass. Just about any lure in
your tackle box can catch fish well during some point in March,
so keep an open mind and adjust your presentation to the current
conditions for best results.
Good Fishing,
Tom
March 20, 2006 - Answer to Florida Bass
question - I've fished for Florida strain bass in
Texas lakes most of my life, and have found that when the big
girls are on the nests, down sizing to a small 4in lizard with
an 1/8 oz. weight is hard to beat. Watermelon seed or watermelon
with red flake is dynamite on east Texas lakes, especially Fork
(cotton candy if the water is unusually clear). Pitch the lizard
in there and just leave it. This takes an extreme amount of patience,
but the subtle movements created by the water look most natural
and will eventually drive them nuts. And remember, if you can
see them they'll likely see you first. So if the fish are leaving
the nest when you make your presentation, mark the spot, leave,
and come back. Sneak up with a push pole and stay off the trolling
motor. Stay far enough away not to spook the fish (tie up if
necessary but don't use the trolling motor); then, make your
presentation. If the water is stained to murky, and your casting
for spawning bass instead of site fishing, a 6in lizard with
gold flake in it can be good. Zoom's mossy pumpkin color will
get you tore up on Fork. If you're not having any luck getting
the bedding bass to bite, leave 'em alone. Move out to 8ft deep
in the mouths of spawning coves or secondary points up the creeks.
Tie on a Gene Larew Hawg Craw (the big one) in black w/ blue
claws, fish the trees, and hold on to your rod. Shorter trees
with some broken-off limbs (laydowns) or horizontal limbs just
beneath the surface in 8ft of water are best. This pattern put
a 13.86 in the boat for my partner one early spring. One last
comment- please do not use shiners or other live bait for bass,
especially for trophy bass in the spring, as fish mortality is
higher with live bait rigs. Best of luck.
March 20, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photographs left to right - March
18, 2006 Saturday: The wind has kicked up since the last
report reaching a high of 38 mph yesterday and a not-to-different
blow today of 32 mph out of the SSE. The good fishing is continuing
for those who find the fish and tying up to some trees or anchoring
on a point is a good safe way to fish in the wind.
Mike Kinchen is in the lead and
his big bass was 4.61 lbs. Our neighbor, James Bendele has been
enjoying the good fishing at Falcon and he gave me a picture
showing the type of bass that are very catchable right now by
most fishermen. While a good photographer can make a 5.5 lb fish
look bigger, the truth is one of these 5 lb Falcon bass is very
attainable right now. Sometimes, you will do even better. Even
a 5 lber is a thrill to catch and landing it may make you swear
it is a 10 lber
Catfishing is also good and J. Piggs stinkbait,
shrimp and worms are all working in deep 25 to 30 ft water for
fish to 8 lbs. Smaller fish are being caught shallower.
March 16, 2006 Thursday: Quality Bass Club
will be here fishing this weekend..We had a 13.02 lb bass caught
last week. She came from same water as a 7 and 8 lber 25 yards
from Launch Ramp in Tiger Island area, within a few feet of each
other. Lots of fish are being found grouped up and also some
in schools are being caught on small shad and white or pearl
crankbaits. There were some guys in the store yesterday and they
said they had 120 fish in one day (just legal ones counted).
Mostly on plastics and few spinnerbaits.
Unfortunately they are starting to drop water level
and many fish have not spawned yet. I hope the fish are smart
enough to think deep. The drop is not yet severe and hopefully
more or even most of the fish will get finished spawning before
we see the major drop. We are at 285.80 ft today or 15.40 ft
low. Low temperature this morning was about 69 degrees and up
to high of 87 degrees yesterday. Straightline winds are about
7 MPH out of SE this morning and we had gusts to 23 MPH yesterday.
The water levels are high at El Cuchillo and Sugar
and this may be helping to delay a rapid drop at Falcon as this
water hits the Rio below Falcon.
Until next time, have a good day on the water and
always practice catch and release.
BE sure to catch (Charlie's Brother) Tom Haralson
and Richard Mims new EXTREME OUTDOORS TV on Laredo Tx Channel
8 starting April 2 at 10:30 am which will be sponsered in part
by Falcon Lake Tackle.
March 14, 2006 - Answer to Florida Bass
question - If you are primarily sight fishing in clear
water you need to be able to make repeated 100% accurate casts.
When I sight fish i like to be able to cast to where the bass
can't see the lure comming until it comes in front of the fishes
face getting a reaction strike. you will have to experiment to
know what to use whether it be crankbait, worm, jig. From my
experience, i can usually find a jig that will work in any condition.
you just have to modify weight and trailer size for balance and
drop speed.
March 12, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photographs left to right - Fred
with 9.5, Ron with 5 and 8, Tom with 8) A long string of
warm and sunny days has started the spawn in earnest in many
areas of Lake Fork. As a result, our numbers and size has been
outstanding on many days this week. The nastiest days, with winds
up to 40 mph, have been the best fishing days for us, while the
sunny and calm days have made for slow fishing unless you,re
sight fishing. Meanwhile, the vast majority of bass have not
spawned yet, although the warming trend has moved many fish along
in their prespawn progression into shallower staging areas.
My Location and Presentation Patterns will focus
on the spawning and late prespawn bass. For chasing around those
big and often less pressured prespawn bass, refer to my previous
report. We,ve caught bass on topwaters and deep diving crankbaits
last week and about everything in between, so keep an open mind
and don,t be afraid to experiment with different lures and patterns
if you,re not getting bit.
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork,s water level
has stayed about the same this past week, currently sitting at
399.11,, or 3,11 below full pool. The water clarity is clear
to stained in most areas, although the wind has muddied some
spots. The main lake water temps are holding in the upper 50s
to the lower 60s, while the backs of protected creeks were reading
as warm as 71 yesterday. While these surface temps are high,
remember that the water temperature at bedding depth (generally
2, to 8' on Fork) determines when the bass spawn. Many areas
likely won,t sustain the approximately 62 degree temps needed
for spawning for quite a while, so look for the spawn to continue
into May, as usual.
Location Pattern: For spawning bass, fish
8, and shallower flats in the backs of protected bays and creeks.
Spots with large areas of shallow flats that are blocked off
from the cooler main lake water have been holding the most fish.
Waves of new fish have been moving up daily in many places and
spawning fish are starting to show up in new areas of the lake
every day, not necessarily all in the North end of the lake.
Areas with a hard bottom and ample grass or wood cover will usually
hold the most bass. For a shot a true lunker, concentrate on
any drop-offs, creek channels, or points around spawning bays.
Females will stack up on these deep water sanctuaries until conditions
are right to spawn. After spawning, those same lunkers retreat
quickly to those same areas.
Presentation Pattern: For late prespawn
and spawning fish, I have four main patterns. For fish on the
bed, white or watermelon Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizards, Flippers
and Craw Tubes are my mainstays. White baits allow you to clearly
see your bait on the bed, while more natural shades of green
are often needed to catch the more finicky bass. My new favorite
is the Lake Fork Baby Craw in white or watermelon. In fact, Eric
Nethery just let the secret out last week when he won the Bassmaster
Southern Open on Sam Rayburn using the Fork Baby Craw in Killer
Craw color, catching almost 68 lbs of bedding bass in 3 days.
Rig this little bait with a stout 2/0 or 3/0 hook like the Gamakatsu
EWG Superline hook on 25 lb fluorocarbon or 65 lb braid and you,ll
be ready for even the shyest bedding lunkers. When conditions
don,t allow you to see the beds, in water that is too deep to
locate spawners, and around staging areas, soft plastic jerkbaits
like the Lake Fork Magic Shad and Twitch Worm rigged weightless
in shades of watermelon are often catching the most and biggest
bass. Fish these slowly with a couple twitches and a slow fall
to the bottom on slack line. For true lunkers, repeated pitches
to heavy cover on and around spawning flats with Texas rigged
Top Dog lizards and creature baits like Flippers in watermelon
or black neon are a great option. Finally, on windy and overcast
days, moving baits like white spinnerbaits and oz lipless crankbaits
in shades of orange are producing some big bass, including a
9.5 lb,er this week.
Good Fishing,
Tom
March 10, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - try to use a big shiner
on lite line and a bobber if you are in thick vegitation use
fire line 15-25 lbs test also try plastics with a lot of salt
jiging for them if they are agressive and not much vegitation
try a rattlie trap
March 8, 2006 - Answer
to Florida Bass question - what about water clarity?
If it is very clear maybe they are getting to good of a look
at your bait. if this is the case i would probably use a mostly
clear bait and fish a little faster possibly getting more reaction
strikes.
March 7, 2006 Falcon -
Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Falcon Lake Tournament Report: Rebel
Bass Club March 4-5, 2006 25-26, 2006: It was cloudy a good
part of the day and there was just enough wet stuff in the morning
to get some of the 17 anglers in the 11 Rebel boats to put on
their wet suits. With a windy morning behind them, most of the
anglers caught well over their 5 fish limits and were culling
by the afternoon. The highs were around 88 degrees, the wind
gusts were 30 mph out of the ENE (rather than the 10-15 mph SE
winds predicted) and the lows this morning were about 66 degrees.
The water temperature has climbed to about 75 degrees or higher
in most of the lake as a result of the back-to-back 90-degree
plus days last week.
There were fewer numbers of fish being caught than
reported by anglers last weekend, but 20 or more bass were still
possible in the right areas, or on the right tree. As usual,
the small fish outnumbered the big ones, but a good number of
4-6 lb fish were still being caught. James Bendele had the big
bass of the day Saturday weighing 7.35 lbs, but Troy Zipperer
had a 6.80 LB anchor for his 20.89 LB heavy stringer on Saturday.
Rebel Bass Club weigh master Ira Lynn and his wife Tina had 19.67
and 13.16 LB stringers respectively for 32.73 lbs total weight
of their 10 fish limit. Wayne Tauer and James Bendele had 18
and 15 LB plus stringers in addition to those LB stringers caught
by the leaders. Scott Hutzler was tied for second HS with Ira
Lynn with 19.67 lbs.
Plastics were still King as far as the big fish
and the most fish goes although some spinnerbait fish were caught.
Watermelon red was still the best color for plastics. Some locals
scored limits on small crankbaits in green/silver and/or Tennessee
shad colors. Many of the fish caught were not showing any signs
of spawning activity including bloody tails or big bellies. Others
were obviously bedding fish and some appeared to be spawned-out
fish. Plenty of pattern choices at Falcon right now and fish
are plentiful as well.
SUNDAY: Not much changed on Sunday for anglers
or the fish. The weather was warm and windy, the fishing was
good and the game wardens were out in force checking for the
illegal nets on the US side. A helicopter was pressed into action
so larger amounts of the lake could be covered. We had fewer
nets reported although sightings were confirmed in the Veleno
at 8:45 am Sunday morning. We will post a copy of the telephone
number info sheet we are distributing to fishermen at the end
of this report. You may want to copy it and carry it with you
when fishing Falcon.
Ira Lynn and his wife Tina continued their dominance
taking top boat weight, Heavy Stringer Open and Ladies Division.
They weighed a total of 59.88 lbs for 20 fish and Ira's 10 fish
weighed 37.44 lbs Tina had 25.44 lbs. The top five weights were
all over 29 lbs for 10 fish including Troy Zipperer's second
Hs of 33.86 lbs and Eric Tauer's 31.60 LB 3rd Hs.
Eric's father, Wayne had 30.92 lbs and Butch weighed
29.90 lbs for fifth place Hs. There were a lot of fish caught
and released and several anglers reported over 50 fish boated
on Sunday. James Bendele's 7.35 lber caught Saturday remained
the club's big bass of the weekend. A combination of spinnerbaits,m
Zoom Brush Hogs and Sweet Beavers caught most of the fish. One
of the successful spinnerbait fishermen said he caught fish on
all different blade configurations including Willow, Colorado
and Willow/Colorado. Chartreuse and white skirts were working
and so were solid white.
Until next time, have a good day on the water wherever you fish,
release those spawners and we are truly sorry if you can't be
here to enjoy the great fishing at Falcon.
February 27, 2006 Falcon
- Submitted
by Larry Bridgeman - Falcon Lake Tournament Report:
Ingram, San Antonio Anglers, Capital City, River City and SWRI
Bass Clubs fished Falcon this weekend February 25-26, 2006: We
were able to get a pretty good picture of the fishing after attending
four of the bass club tournament weigh-in's Satuday and Subday
and obtaining reports from the other three.
There were large numbers of fish being caught with
50 or more still possible in the right areas. The small fish
outnumbered the big ones, but a good number of 4-6 lb fish were
still being caught after culling their smaller buddies. Bigger
fish seemed to be caught in the lower and mid-lake areas and
the brush hog was responsible for a lot of the big fish caught
Saturday. The river creeks started producing in the far back
reaches in the creek channels and the bigger fish were showing
up there. One 11.28 lb fish and a 9 lber were caught.
Scott Ross used the Camo Baby Brush Hog in 7 ft
of water to catch the big bass of the weekend for River City
BC weighing 8.06 lbs (pic right), but the WM Red Brush Hog
and/or the Sweet Beaver seemed to be the best producers on Saturday.
We keep plenty of both in stock at Falcon Lake Tackle. Fishing
was reported excellent in some areas, good in most areas and
bad in a few areas. Five foot was the average depth (1 ft to
18 ft) in which the fish were found and the majority of the anglers
weighed five or more fish. A few spinnerbait fish were caught
early Saturday, but most were culled and replaced with larger
fish that went for the plastic baits.
The spinnerbait produced a lot of
fish on Sunday and the SWRI heavy 2-day stringer of 40.88
lbs was caught by Jerry Campos. His Sunday stringer of 22.74
lbs was caught entirely on chart/white spinnerbaits with gold/nickel
willow blades. His boat also produced the second heavy stringer
of 33.12 lbs. for the weekend. All these fish came from Mexico
on the lower end of the lake. Jerry also had the big bass of
the weekend among his 15 co-anglers. It weighed 6.92 lbs. Floyd
Dietzmann had the SWRI third Heavy Stringer of 29.92 lbs.
More fish appear to be coming in shallow and it
appears that the spawn is progressing and may be in full swing
by next week. There were a few fish caught that had already spawned.
A lot of big bellies and blood-red tails were showing on the
fish weighed.
A lot of nets were still being found and we reported
some of them to our Local Game Warden Fernando Cervantes at his
285-2275 mobile. Unfortunately a Gatesville TX boat in the Lam
group hung up on a net in the Big Tigers and cut its lower unit
seal, ending the day and weekend early. One local fisherman suffering
from a stroke got hung in a net and was pulled overboard. He
nearly drown and someone is going to get killed if this is not
resolved. Nets were reported around Marker 9, in Oscars Cove,
the Veleno and numerous Tigers locations. There were several
nets with dead fish noted and this is particularly disturbing.
The Game Wardens from around the State have been working on the
netting problem at Falcon (Operation Pescador) and in the last
three-days, efforts by Game Wardens reportedly produced 26,000
ft of nets, 7 arrests and 4 boats were confiscated. They are
definitely having an impact on the problem. The problem is this
is a full time job and we have just barely scratched the surface.
Good job guys and keep it up!
Scott Ross with River City
had the big bass for the Austin clubs this weekend of 8.06 LB,
which anchored his 20.66 LB heavy stringer. Scott and his brother
Damon had the heavy stringer-boat of 36.83 lbs for the two Austin
bass clubs Saturday and a two day second Hs of 62 lbs. They were
out ounced for 1st place by Garrett Nelson and Kevin Thress who
use Kevin's anchor bass of 7.84 lbs to bring their 2 day total
weight to 65 lbs.
A total of 49 fishermen contested
the River City Tournament. Liz out fished many of them landing
a 6.28 lb big bass and 16.99 lbs Sunday for the top lady weight
this weekend.
Jackie Lee Waldrop and his brother
Michael showed Capital Bass Club's 19 anglers the way
to first place heavy stringer. They had a combined heavy stringer
of 35.25 lbs with a 5.18 LB big bass Saturday (see Pic right).
George Dinges had the Saturday Capital big bass of 6.61 lbs.
Ingram Bass Club had 8 fishermen and four boats. Bobby Balser
had the big bass of 5.87 lbs and Tommy Moose had the heavy stringer
just South of 11 lbs. We did not receive a report from the other
two clubs.
San Antonio Bass Angler's reported a 11.28
LB weekend big bass and a second place big bass of 9 lbs with
a 28 LB heavy stringer. We will post a picture as soon as it
is received. We missed their weigh-in and Ingram's as well. Just
too many places to be and not enough crutches.
Until next time, have a good day on the water and
always practice catch and release.
February 26, 2006 - Question
from Florida on catching bass - Can you help my brothers
and I catch bass? Heres the problem, we see a lot of bass here
in central Florida, but they just wont bite our bait! They just
sniff it and swim away, and our hands dont have anything like
oil or anything that will repel the bass! Can you please help
us by giving us some tips and telling us what tackle to use on
bass? Thank You so much. Send
us and answer and we will post it.
February
7, 2006 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - The wind
has been the pits for the last few days, but it appears to be
finally letting up a little. Looks like some more good fishing
may be coming our way as an increasing number of fish seem to
be moving in to nest. The high yesterday reached 76 degrees and
the low last night was 47 degrees, but it reached 61 degrees
by 10:30 am this morning. Temperatures are forecast to be about
the same until the weekend when the weathermen are calling for
a chance of showers. So far, any "chance of showers"
translates into "unlikely" with only .02 inches in
the last two months. Water levels in the lake keep dropping slowly
and we are hovering just above 286 ft levels at 286.05 ft. (15.15
ft low)
The temperature is in the 65 to 70 degree range.
Plastics are still producing the most strikes with spinnerbaits
and crankbaits coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The same patterns
are in place as were reported earlier and the fish are still
either spawning (2 to 7 ft) or prespawn (8 to 20 ft) with a few
fish having already dropped their eggs. These fish may typically
be found out on points or rocks chasing shad. Crankbaits or Carolina-
rigged plastics are good lure choices for these post spawn fish.
I received a letter and picture from some of our
Oklahoma visitors (Jerry Willis) and they had some great fishing
recently at Falcon. We were happy to hear they released their
big fish and wanted to share their success with our readers.
Jerry is shown holding an 8.13 lber that he released after taking
a picture.
This is the time of year that catch and release is so important.
Every fish can spawn 50,000 to 100,000 eggs and we need all the
fish to be productive so future years can be even better than
currect ons.
February 6, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted
by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photo is of me with
a 12.3 lb'er I caught on Saturday with a jig and craw.) A week
of warm sunny days has the big ones biting at Lake Fork.
We had a number of big bass this past week, including a 12.3
lb lunker on Saturday. The big bass came on a day of fun
fishing with my brother-what a rush! You can check her
out and a bunch of other good fish we've caught lately on the
pictures section of my website.
We've been catching a lot more bass near shallow spawning areas,
although the cold front and cool-down this week will likely push
many fish back to the points and creek channels. Although
the fish likely won't be as active after the cold front, the
bass will be consolidated in key areas. Methodically work
these staging areas and your chances of catching multiple big
bass will be very good at Lake Fork in February. Meanwhile,
a number of big bass over 7 pounds were caught in 25' to 40'
last week on deep structure. Shallow or deep, it's hard
to pick a bad time to catch a lunker on Lake Fork for now until
mid-summer.
Lake Conditions: After another good rain last week, Lake
Fork's water level rose 3" to 398.97', or 4'0" below
full pool. The water clarity is clear to stained in most
areas, although the high winds and runoff have muddied some areas.
Water temps are running from 50-56 degrees in most locations,
perfect temperatures for prespawn bassin'.
Location Pattern: As I've done for the last 45 days, I'm
concentrating on prespawn and staging fish on points and along
edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged
vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil or coontail) or wood
cover will typically have the most active fish; however, don't
overlook coverless points and channel bends as we approach the
spawn. Key on stumps, docks, and laydowns within the grassbeds
or on any irregular places along the edge of the grass.
Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding
a lot of fish now, as are main and secondary points inside the
coves, provided there is deep water nearby. During warming
trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges
of grass flats and creek channels.
For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds, humps, flats
and ledges in 18' to 45' will produce some big fish well into
the spring. Since many big bass on Fork don't spawn until
early May, these late bloomers won't be moving shallow for quite
a while. Use your electronics to find the schools of bass
and baitfish and work them over with spoons and dropshots.
I personally prefer fishing shallow in the spring, so my presentation
pattern will focus on that.
Presentation Pattern: My prespawn arsenal is pretty simple
for fishing along grasslines and creek channels. First
and foremost are red or orange lipless crankbaits in 12 or 34
oz. Stick with the 12 for grass that is near the surface
and go with the 34 for grass that is deeper. 14 oz traps
work well on the shallowest grass. Buzzing these over the
top of the grass on a quick retrieve is working best now, but
after cold fronts, letting the trap fall and ripping these out
of the grass will trigger most of the bites. 14 to 12 oz
spinnerbaits with double willow blades in white, red, or chartreuse
and white will produce some really large bass in the same areas
that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy
days. When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and
calm, I'll switch to a suspending jerkbait or a jig. Gold
jerkbaits with orange bellies and black backs are my primary
color. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along
the edges. The jig bite is good on some days, especially
for big bass. 12 oz black and blue jigs with Lake Fork
Tackle Fork Craws in the Blue Bruiser color have been working
best for me. For a few bonus fish, work a wacky rigged
Twitch Worm or Magic Shad in the areas where you caught fish
with the other baits. Shades of watermelon are a sure bet
for the plastics.
Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one,
work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing
several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging
areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves
with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass
move shallow.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I
can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days)
or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
January 19, 2006 - Toledo Bend - Submitted
by Fish
Finders Fish Service - the water is still low and it
is hard to find any ramps you can put in at but their are still
a few-the sabine river auotherity can direct you in the right
way , alot of tournaments for the lake have been moved because
of low water conditions.
the crappie fishing is still excellent around the chicken coops
and will continue to be until the water warms enough for them
to move back in the creeks to spawn , they are out on the creek/river
channel ledges and can be caught around 18 feet and your limit
can be caught quite easy with minnows and or jigs , caution should
be used with the low water and or hire a guide for a day so he
or she can show ya how to run to the
January 18, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted by David Vance - The fishing
this week Continues to be good with all this warm weather, it
has been windy this past week but I will take this kind of weather
in January anytime. In the last three days my main baits have
been lipless crank baits spinner baits and a Wacko worm. The
best water depth for me has been five to eight feet of water.
On Monday we had seventeen with two over seven and one that weighed
9lbs 11oz.Twelve of these bass came on lipless crank baits, and
five on the 6 12 inch Wacko worm in June bug the big fish hit
the Wacko worm in in 5 feet of water. Out of all the big weightless
worms that are on the market the Wacko worm is the best one I
have found, you can catch 5 or six bass on one worm and it is
full of salt and they don't cost a ridiculous amount of money
for a pack. My bigger bass are still coming from main lake and
secondary points, good creeks to try are big mustang, Williams,
Penson.
These creeks always produce big bass this time
of year. The best bite for me has still been 10am until dark.
Right now the water temp is in the mid fifties. with this cold
front The wind is the big factor today it was 25+ all day and
cold, by the end of the week the weather is suppose to warm back
up. The lake is 4 feet low so be careful running the lake.
I am now booking spring dates. Book early to get
the best available dates! Call 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 cell
or check out my website at www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Until next time.
Good Fishing!
David Vance
January 17, 2006 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Photo
is of Tom Redington with a spinnerbait bass caught 1/16/6) After
a wonderful Christmas and New Years with my family and a fabulous
bass fishing trip to Mexico, I'm back to fishing at Lake Fork
and I'm happy to report the big ones are biting. Yesterday,
1/16, was my first day back on the lake and with a front moving
in, conditions were perfect. In 5 hours in the afternoon,
I was able to land 16 fish that all were 3 pounds or better.
16 bass aren't a lot of fish for the summertime, but during the
winter and fishing alone, I consider 16 fish a fantastic half
day. Even better, 3 of the fish were over 7 lbs, including
one monster that weighed in at 10 lbs 6 oz. All were caught
on lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits, using the patterns I
outline below. While most days the conditions aren't so
perfect and you can expect closer to 12 to 15 bass for a full
day, lots of fish over 5 pounds are being caught and your chances
for a giant bass are best now through April.
For those of you considering taking a trip to Mexico bass fishing,
I'd definitely recommend it. I've been going to El Salto
and Comedero for 5 years and have always had awesome fishing.
This year, a buddy and I went to Comedero for 7 days and we crushed
them on spinnerbaits. We didn't have any giants, but we
did have over 700 bass, with hundreds of fish in the 3 to 8.5
lb range. Topwaters and Texas rigged Lake Fork Creatures
in Watermelon Red or Watermelon Chartreuse caught lots of big
fish, too. Mucho grandes!
Lake Conditions: Lake Fork's water level continues to
drop, sitting at 398.75', or 4'3" below full pool; however,
almost all ramps are still open. The water clarity is clear
in most areas, although the backs of some creeks are muddy due
to a couple small rains. Water temps are holding in the
low to mid-50s, perfect temperatures for winter bassin'. The
height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw
down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of
fish.
Location Pattern: From late-December through February,
I concentrate on prespawn and staging fish on points and along
edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged
vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil or coontail) for cover
will typically have the most active fish. Key on stumps,
docks, and laydowns within the grassbeds or on any irregular
places along the edge of the grass. While about any grassy
area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have
lots of spawning fish in late February and through March.
It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning
fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the
winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves
are holding a lot of fish now, as are main and secondary points
inside the coves, provided there is deep water nearby.
During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check
the edges of grass flats and creek channels.
Keep in mind, too, that the absolute water temperature is not
nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend.
For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result
in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago.
In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50
while they were 44 a few days before. In general, look
for bass on the flats and farther back in creeks during warming
trends; conversely, drop back to points and main lake grassbeds
after cold fronts. Finally, the day of and the day after
cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal
days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive
times to fish. Yesterday was a great example of this.
For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds, humps, flats
and ledges in 18' to 45' will produce some big fish during the
winter months as well. Use your electronics to find the
schools of bass and baitfish and work them over with spoons and
dropshots. I personally prefer fishing shallow in the spring,
so my presentation pattern will focus on that.
Presentation Pattern: My wintertime arsenal is pretty
simple for fishing along grasslines and creek channels.
First and foremost are red lipless crankbaits in 12 or 34 oz.
Stick with the 12 for grass that is near the surface and go with
the 34 for grass that is deeper. Buzzing these over the
top of the grass on a quick retrieve is working best now, but
after cold fronts, letting the trap fall and ripping these out
of the grass will trigger most of the bites. 14 to 12 oz
spinnerbaits with double willow blades in white, red, or chartreuse
and white will produce some really large bass in the same areas
that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy
days. When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and
calm, I'll switch to a suspending jerkbait or a jig. Gold
jerkbaits with orange bellies and black backs are my primary
color. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along
the edges. For jigs, I go with the lightest weight I can
use for the conditions, from 1/8th or 14 oz on calm days to 12
oz on windy ones. Black and blue or watermelon jigs with
matching Lake Fork Pig Claws or Fork Craws will do the job.
Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one,
work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing
several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging
areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves
with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass
move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you'll have
a milk run of honey holes now through February.
Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I
can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days)
or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good Fishing,
Tom
January 11, 2006 - Toledo
Bend - Submitted by Fish
Finders Fish Service - the water is still low on the
bend and their are not alot of places to launch but the fish
do not care as they are biting really well.
the crappie are still piled up at the coops and
will continue te be until march or so and you can catch your
limit most days with about a 1&1/2 lb. average, the limit
on the bend in the winter is 50 -the fish are being caught anywhere
from 18-28 feet deep.
the whites and bar fish can be caught around the
craPPIE ON SPOONS AND RINKY DINKS
the black bass are good most days on spinner baits
and rattle traps along with rogues and a deep little n on grass
points and the edge of ditches
as always the catfishing is great anywhere on the
lake.
the stripers are in depper water right now and
can be caught on a rite bite grub and a jigging spoon
January 4, 2006 - Lake
Fork - Submitted by David Vance - The fishing
this week Continues to be good with the warm weather this past
week. The last two days the spinner bait bite has been good on
windy points, yesterday all of our bass came on a spinner bait
by the end of the day we had 15 with two over seven pounds. The
spinner bait we used was a 34 oz Colorado willow with nickel
and gold blades and a chartreuse and white skirt. We had most
of our hits fishing the bait slow, most of the bass would just
stop the bait, when you get warm weather this time of year slow
rolling a big spinner bait on the edge of the grass is a good
pattern to catch big bass on lake fork. Red and orange lipless
crank baits are and will be my best baits day in and day out
now through February. Best water depth for me has been 5 to 8
feet on the edge of the grass on main lake and secondary points.
The best bite for me has still been 10am until dark. Right now
I am fishing different areas each day. Birch creek, white oak
and big mustang are producing some good fish right now. All the
bass that we have been catching have been fat and healthy. I
love this time of year not many boats on the lake and on any
cast you have a chance to catch a bass of a life time. The lake
is 4 feet low so be careful running the lake.
I am now booking spring dates. Book early to get
the best available dates! Call 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 cell
or check out my website at www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Until next time.
Good Fishing!
David Vance's Lake Fork Guide Service and Lodging
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