September 30, 2015 - As with seasonal patterns, Fork transitioned into it's annual turnover during mid month. This is when the cooler upper layer of water sinks through the water column toward the bottom of the lake. This anomaly stirs up the bottom layer forcing the bass to scatter making bass fishing a little tougher. This also screws up the oxygen content throughout the water column forcing bass to seek refuge in I don't know where! We did fight our way through it and deliver some great days. A lot of bass were shallow during this change over time giving us the opportunity to throw flukes, senkos, swimjigs and chatterbaits. The big ticket was covering water using these patterns and it was hit and miss till you stumbled upon a large school of bass. The mid depth bite was still there but not as good as the prior months.

When all this happens, the super giants go into hiding leaving the best of the best scratching their heads. They can still be caught but it requires a ton more patience. Once the red flags pop up, I take clients over to Lake Monticello and Lake of the Pines and we continue blasting the big girls. It's all about being prepared and I think Monticello is the next Fork. Incredible fisheries with tons of quality bass.

August 31, 2015 - The lake has started it's seasonal changes this month and veered away from the 90+ degree water temps as fall is on the horizon. Normally, oxygen levels deteriorate during August forcing bass to suspend above the thermocline making them more difficult to catch. That was not exactly the case this month as fish still hung out on points, humps and ridges. The only difference was the depth they chose to populate. Most of our biggest bass came from 15-18ft of water and a sizable amount were caught suspended in much deeper water. Lake level is falling forcing fish to back out and take up their residence in the mid depths.

The overgrown shakey head delivered some great bass using the Zoom Magnum Trick worm (redbug) to lure them in. The drop shot still had a presence as well as the C-rig. The major change to catch the suspended fish came from the addition of the magnum fluke. Once the fish are located, you would hurl this bait as far as you could, once it hit the water, the countdown started. At the twenty foot level, you would start twitching the bait slowly, pause for eight seconds, then repeat the twitch. Extremely slow fishing b

ut highly profitable.

We also took some trips over to Lake Tawakoni and smashed the stripers. These fish are super powerful and will smoke the drag on your reel. This is one type of fishing that is a "must do" during August. Better bring your Advil, you'll need it.

July 31, 2015 - The bite hasn't changed one bit over the past thirty days. The bass are still deep and locked into their summer pattern. We are crushing them on deep structure as well as tapering points, pond dams and humps. The drop shot still holds the crown as being the best way to land a giant bass but the Carolina Rig has done it's share of damage to the bass over the past month. We are starting to see water temps move into the 90's which is a good thing. Bass tend to bunch up as water temps rise making them easier to find. This is backed up by a temp sensor that I have which tells me that the water temp at 25ft is about 88 degrees. This is also why we have been catching bass as deep as 42ft. Pockets of cooler water is where these bass are hiding. Technology is great!

We have also spent some time on other local lakes searching for some different patterns. Found great fish at Lake Athens, Lake of the Pines and Lake Monticello. It's gotten to the point that we can fish your strengths whatever that may be. Many anglers have bested their personal best throughout this year and that's what's it's all about. Incredible fun and lasting memories.

June 30, 2015 - The month of June was insane. We smoked the big fish every day on different patterns and was also able to mount numbers each day. The drop shot issued most of the damage as we found wads of huge bass on points and drains. I have normally been a Roboworm guy when using the drop shot but I was stunned to find out through an experiment one day on a guide trip that the Talon Carolina Worm out fished the Roboworm 5 to 1. This same anomaly happened two other times on trips which has caused me to switch permanently. The Talon Worm is coated with Bassappeal (scent attractant) which obviously makes a huge difference. I now use their 10 inch worms with the same coating on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs. Huge difference!

Water temps are warming and bass are done with the spawn and starting to gang up on the deep spots. I expect this to rock on through July. Pond dams have also played a huge roll in bagging these giant bass. This is a great month for numbers and it also delivers it's share of 10 pound hawgs.

August 4th - I have been doing this for a long time and can't ever remember wearing jeans and a sweatshirt for several days during the last days of July and the beginning of August. Insane weather this year has put the fish on Lake Fork into a tail spin. There have been extremely great days and some brutally horrible days. Usually at this time of year, the fish are on a predictable pattern out deep. The show up at the same time most every day to feed etc. Not the case this summer. I now spend all my days determining the timing windows when the bass move up on specific structure to fill their belly. This past week was the first time that the fish consistently shown themselves at a certain time of the day. I was able to take advantage of that with my clients and dug out some whoppers.

Normally, August sees the oxygen level below 20ft starting to deplete and the fish suspend in the upper water column. You have to scan lots of water with your electronics and look for the huge arches hanging in the mid depths. I target these bass with weightless flukes, crankbaits and flutter spoons and tail kickers. To date, this hasn't happened as of yet. We have, although, managed to catch some suspended fish but the main pattern has been the drop shot on a variety of structure. Light line has been the key and we have had no problems landing green monsters upwards to ten pounds on 12lb test. It's strange that we are forced to fight this battle in this fashion when the carolina rig generally dominates this time of year. You should always be able to find feeding fish on main lake points in 20-30ft but this has been sort of a struggle. Lucky for me, I have  locations that have been replenishing on a daily basis. A lot of these spots have been producing ten to twenty fish per day up to ten pounds. Rather cool I must say. Again, the drop shot has been king. We have used a variety of soft plastics depending on the conditions. Dark colors on cloudy days and plum colors on the sunny days. Red seems to be the all around color any time of the year. Zoom trick worms, Roboworms and any type of finesse worm has landed the lion share of the bass.

There are some areas of the lake with hydrilla and this has been a huge let down as of this writing. I believe it is due to the fact that the oxygen levels in open water are OK which keeps the bulk of the bass offshore. I see this changing over the nest month. I have, although, caught some smaller fish on the grass on texas rig worms as well at the drop shot. It seems that moving baits have been out of the question. It won't be long when the swimbait will take top honors as the season starts to change. In the meantime, continue to check main lake humps, road beds, pond dams and points. If there is bait present, fish the spot anyway, even though you may not mark any hooks on the Lowrance electronics. If you can't locate any fish in the deeper parts of the lake, focus your attention to the 10-18ft range, especially around wood. This may be the ticket.

May 5 - April was an incredible month capped by a 12.26 behemoth caught by Zach Turner on April 25th using a M-Pack Lures Pack Mule swimbait. The water conditions were perfect and Zach worked the fish to perfection. This fish was close to the Share a Lunker program and we all thought he had it once the big girl was in the net. Reflecting on that stellar day, we managed an eight plus into the boat and lost two nine pounders at the net. What a day to remember.

Early April was nothing to sneeze at. We had several excellent days on the Alabama Rig, shaky heads and chatterbaits. The bite was on for most of the month with the exception of a few cold fronts followed by high pressure. On those days, the numbers fell off substantially but the quality was still outstanding. On the average day, the harder the wind blew, the better the bite was. You just have to trust me on this one as most anglers opt to hide from the wind in protected coves. You just have to deal with taking the waves over the bow and make sure you don't drift into a stump while you are handling a big fish.

May has started off with a bang as my partner and I fished two tournaments this past weekend.The first day we had thirty-three fish and the second day, well over fifty. Plenty of fish are shallow and on the beds. They will react to a weightless fluke or senko worked shallow. Also, a large majority of pre and post spawn fish relate to wood for a short time and can be caught on shaky heads, jigs and drop shots. It's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The remainder of May should be spectacular. Post spawn fish will start to move out to the deep humps and ridges and gang up in large groups. This is when my Lowrance electronics will help to locate these large groupsand set the stage for the best drop shot bite of the year. Also, the 10XD will come into play if your arms can stand it.

All of this action will carry over into early June so you better call up and get booked for the fishing excursion of a lifetime. The next six weeks is my favorite time of the year and I plan to land some double digit giants. Come join the fun.

Mar. 25 - Lake Fork has finally turned the corner and is ready to explode. The harsh winter has had all of us scratching our heads about fish position being as we have had a cold front every other day for three weeks. High pressure is brutal to deal with. Yesterday's trip proved to be the turning point as we had 14 fish during a half day trip, most all were over four pounds. Four of those were over six pounds. Quite entertaining. Fish are starting to show up on beds across the lake in protected pockets and the next full moon should usher in a major movement to the shallows. Flukes, senko's, texas rigs and shaky heads have all produced big fish. Use dark colors on cloudy days and watermelon red on sunny days. I am finally starting to see back up patterns develop when cold fronts drive us out of the shallow pockets.
     Main lake and secondary points are holding the larger prespawn fish and the Carolina rig is holding it's own capturing these monsters. Lizards, flukes and hyper sticks in green pumpkin or chartreuse pumpkin will get the job done and be sure to work them slowly. Main lake water temps are still in the mid fifties while the backs of the creeks are showing low to mid sixties. I foresee the spawn trailing well into late May this year but the biggest females will gang up on this next full moon. It won't be long and the shad will be spawning leading us to throw squarebills, big swimbaits and Alabama rigs to harvest the huge sows. I believe the next several weeks will be amazing so give me a call to book a trip. I still have a few days available in April and my favorite time of the year, May, still has plenty of spots available. Come join me and take a shot at the fish of a lifetime.