Feb. 22 - The trap bite has carried us through for the past month in one main area of Lake Fork. Word has gotten out and the pressure in this area of lately has been incredible. Even though the quality on a daily basis has been very good, the numbers have fallen off drastically. Fortunately, the water temps are warming and other patterns are starting to come in vogue and other areas of the lake are starting to open up. The pre-spawn fish are moving up and wood will become the best target for the next three months. Bass love to spawn next to stumps and jigs, shaky heads and drop shots will the presentations of choice. Use dark colored plastics on cloudy days and more translucent colors on sunny days.

As far as locations, it's time to start checking the backs of creeks. I have found that the water color in these areas is far better than the mouths of the same creeks. The large females are setting up on secondary points while the bucks are scouting bedding area toward the backs of the creeks. This next couple of months is going to be a blast.

Jan. 27th - Prespawn action is heating up. I have had some excellent trips over the past eight days where we have managed to catch plenty of four to nine pounders in shallow grass on rattle traps. The bigger females are starting to stage in areas that lead to the spawning flats. Subtle points and ditches in the grass are also key areas at this time and the afternoon bite is getting better each day. I have managed to win two tournaments this month on Fork and we targeted the small under fish in 30 - 35ft on sloping points. Those under fish have really been a pain to find this month and all the tournament anglers have been suffering.

The creek bend bite has been terrible to this point but I think that will change over the next several weeks. Big prespawn females will be traveling to their favorite birthing locations and they will stage just outside of these areas in deeper water for a few weeks before moving up when nature calls. At this time, the jig will be the best attack to land a trophy as they are feeding up for the spawn.

Look at your map and find areas where a creek might swing close to a secondary point. Work that area with a fine tooth comb and it should pay off.

Jan. 5th - Currently, the deep bite is sporadic with most black bass being caught mixed in with schools of sand bass. They all after shad and it's first come, first serve. Crankbaits, jigging spoons and the A-rig have all been working well for these fish. You may have to weed your way through a lot of sandies to come up with a good large mouth but it is a ton of fun.

The best bite for black bass has been on the grass later in the afternoon. As the sun warms the water, the fish move up to feed and this is the time to throw a trap, jerkbait, spinnerbait or even a swimbait. These fish are ambushing prey from points of grass as well as the many ditches. Most all fish we will catch range between four and seven pounds. Water temps are hovering around 46 degrees and this has an affect on the number of bites. Ten bites in this class of fish is a good afternoon. As the water warms, the bites will increase exponentially as the females feed up for the spawn.

Weather is always the big issue at this time of year. Always dress warm and a good pair of insulated boots are priceless. For those who brave the conditions, this is also the best time of year to land a true giant. Several toads over thirteen pounds were caught in January and February of 2013. You can't join that club unless you are on the water.

Nov. 15 - Water temps are starting to inch down and the big bass are beginning to move deep and congregate. We have been catching them, of lately, on the 17 - 22 ft break lines which are attached to deep secondary points in the large creek arms. The key to finding these fish rests solely on the shoulders, or wings, of the birds. Gulls, loons and cormorants will show you where the the bass are feeding as they drive the shad to the surface. My best presentation for these fish has been a weightless fluke. The fish are suspended over these break lines and in the mouths of the creeks feeding up for the encroaching winter. Find a ball of shad with hooks surrounding them and it's game on. The drop shot also continues to work well and I have also landed some fish on the 10XD. Find the shad, you'll find the fish.

The shallow grass bite has not truly materialized to date. Kind of strange. They should be jumping all over the chatterbait and spinnerbaits but it's just no happening, for me at least. Most of the shallow fish have been coming off no nothing banks that have mixed scattered grass or no grass at all. Hmmm! Maybe these fish are smarter than we think. As the water temps slip to the mid fifties, I will continue to check the grass on the warm sunny days. Traps should start to factor in to the equation and I expect this to be a solid pattern through January. Time will tell.

I plan to spent a lot of time in December -January on Lakes Monticello and Welsh. These are power plant lakes with warm waters year round. The spawn will take place on these ponds much earlier than traditional lakes and the shallow bite will be awesome. If anyone would be interested in fishing these lakes or Fork for that matter, call me at 409 782-4269 or e-mail me at skeet21c@aol.com.

Oct. 31 - Fall fishing on Lake Fork is just about ready to explode. Water temps are dropping to the the mid to low 60's over the past week. A little bit of everything is working right now, shallow, deep and structure. Everyone's favorite, the spinnerbait, is starting to show some numbers along with the swimbait and chatterbait. Location is everything. Straight line runs of grass haven't been producing as well as bare shorelines with scattered grass. Fish will always be in the backs of small pockets and drains, especially when it is cloudy. Look for them on the corners when the sun is out. As the water temps drop into the 50's, lean on the rattletrap. those straight runs of grass should start working

The larger fish are starting to gang up deep. Main lake points are the best target at the moment and as water cools, look at the first secondary point in the major coves. I am a drop shot fanatic so we have been using the larger profile worms to garner the bigger bites. Any 7" or 8" straight tail worm will work, dark colors for overcast and translucent colors for bright sunny days. Find the points that have some architecture to it. By that I mean a small indention on the points as well as a point on a point. There are plenty of those on this lake. Look for the fish to be shallower early and off the sides of the points later in the day. The 10XD should work well as well as the c-rig for these fish. The Lake Fork Tackle Hyper Stick is a great bait this time of year and don't be afraid to use a 3 to 5" swimbait on the c-rig also.

I have attached some photo's of recent trips where all these anglers were able to achieve their personal best. All of these fish were caught on the drop shop in various depths of water.