April 2010 Lake Fork Report
 
Well I have been blessed by having guide trips nearly everyday while not on the road fishing tournaments, and while on these trips the fishing has varied from awesome days with several fish in the 7-10 pound range to not so awesome with just 5-6 bites all day, most of the slow days have been during those “artic” fronts or the day following so an abnormally tuff day is to be expected. I believe the remaining of spring will be relatively nice here at Lake Fork with the only variable being the wind, which can easily be dealt with because of the abundance of ramps that are poisoned all over the lake for launching where you plan on fishing and/or trailering to new areas. I have been finding water temps in the low to mid 50’s and with the occasional area reaching the low 60s. As I write this report the dam gates are all fully opened and the lake is a few inches above pool after a night or torrential rain. I have been focusing most of my efforts shallow covering water, fishing secondary points or on cover on or near spawning flats with the following techniques..
Basstrix swim baits in blue back herring, Tennessee shad or perch. The Mr. Blitz from hook in 3/16 or ¼ is the best I have found and thrown on the Power Tackle PG143-7'0" because of its slightly lighter tip which lets the fish completely engulf the bait before you set the hook.
Chatter-baits, Chartreuse and white paired and white Yamamoto swim senko or a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad as a trailer. Try this around and cover such as stumps, cat tail reeds, water hyacin or hydrilla. These are all places where females will stage and rub there bellies to loosen up there eggs before pulling up and spawning. The Power Tackle PG104-7'6" is a great match for tossing the whitebait because of its slight tip and heavy back bone for when you catch that lunker.
Its finally that time of year when you can actually put your rods down and switch that trolling motor on a higher speed while covering water with your eyes on the bottom looking for that spawning bed with a big ole female and/or buck bass sitting in the middle. When I find a occupied bed I choose to drop my Power-Poles and pull out the Stiffy push pole to do my final positioning of the bow to where I get the least amount of glare and am as far away as I can be yet still see the fish. You can how ever drop a bout marker near the bed and back off and blind cast to the bed if the fish is a bit spooky from pressure of the fact it just moved up, although I love seeing that fish nose down and flare its gills as it engulfs the bait, I don’t think there is any other sight I enjoy more. After positioning my boat and watching the fishes body language and demeanor trying to locate the sweet spot I will often times throw on of the following baits to entice the bite..
Basstrix swim bait in Perch rigged on 15-20lb Seaguar InxisX on a Power Tackle PG104-7'6"
Picasso Shakedown shaky head on a Power Tackle SPN43-7'0" with one of the following baits…
Lake Fork Tackle Magic shad in alewife or bubblegum
Lake Fork Tackle Zig Zag in chartreuse pepper, crawfish or watermelon red
Lake Fork Tackle Craws in blue bruiser, crawfish or watermelon red
　
Wacky rigged Lake Fork Tackle Twitch Worms in watermelon red, green pumpkin or magic shad rigged on a 1/0 Owner Weedless Wacky Hook and a small lead nail in the head to aid for a slightly faster fall. I throw my wacky worms on a Quantum Tour Edition with a Power Tackle SPN43-7'0"
Lake Fork Tackle Craw Tube in white, crawfish or blur bruiser rigged with an Owner Phantom Weighted Tube Head in 1/8 or 3/16oz depending on depth and rigged on a Power Tackle PG104-7'6" and 20lb Seaguar InvisX.
A white, green pumpkin or black and blue jig will also produce bites on beds, a rattle will sometimes make a giant difference so make sure to give it a try as well.
To narrow down the search for your Lake Fork Lunker try fishing areas such as Birch, White Oak, Mustang, Little Mustang, Little Caney and Glade, all these creeks have major spawning flats in them and have a large number of fish as well as a lot of Big fish. I hope this report helps your next trip to Lake Fork and if I can be of any assistance please feel free to call or email me anytime and I will try my best to assist you in any way. Until next time Tight Lines and God Bless.
Cody Malone
Lake Fork Premier Guide Service
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254-722-9031

Thank you,
Cody Malone
254-722-9031(cell)
www.codymalone.com
www.lakeforkpremierguideservice.com