Lake Fork Reservoir

GOOD. Water Stained; 50 degrees; 1.76 feet below pool. Recent rains have brought the lake up 6 inches but still close to 2 feet low. The shallow bite has moved out to 5-8 feet on 2.5 squarebill crankbaits and rattletraps close to change of depth spots. Carolina rigs working with smaller baits in 12-15 feet on humps and points. Alabama rigs are good on long points closer to the end in 15-18 feet of water. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Winter has arrived and the fish are in their cold weather patterns. Black bass are moving to flooded tree tops in 30 plus feet of water. Cast clousers, ned rigs, and large worm patterns with sinking lines. Some bass are in the shallow brush late in the day on sunny banks, try streamers in 18 inches of water. Crappie are moving out to the open water in 30 plus feet of water casting small jig patterns with full sinking lines. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is in full winter mode this week. Find timber and shad in water deeper than 30 feet and the crappie will be thick. Tons of black crappie grouped up on the taller trees above the shad. Seems like the bigger white crappie have been solo fish a little deeper on timber. Follow main lake creek channels and ledges. Anything you put in front of them will work this time of year as they are feeding heavily. Hand tied jigs, minnows and soft plastics are all getting the job done. Catfishing is just as hot as it always seems to be. Huge numbers of eater sized catfish will stack up right now in 20-30 feet when you bait a hole. We choose areas that have baitfish and drop some sour grain or cattle cubes to bring in and hold fish. Then just use any preferred catfish bait to load the boat and in a hurry this time of year. We commonly see 25 fish per hour or more with two people fishing. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 51 degrees; 2.28 feet below pool. Cool fronts have slowed the shallow bite down just a bit but still a few in 4-6 feet on squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits. Carolina rigs and Viper XP jigs working around channels and big timber lines in 7-13 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Winter has arrived and the fish are in their cold weather patterns. Black bass are moving to deep humps and points in 20 feet of water on warm days biting Clousers, ned rigs, and large worm patterns with sinking lines. Some smaller bass are in the shallow brush late in the day on sunny banks, try streamers in 18 inches of water. Crappie are moving out to the open water in 30 plus feet, try small jig patterns with full sinking lines. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is in full winter mode this week. Find timber and shad in water deeper than 30 feet and the crappie will be thick. Tons of black crappie grouped up on the taller trees above the shad. Seems like the bigger white crappie have been solo fish a little deeper on timber. Follow main lake creek channels and ledges. Anything you put in front of them will work this time of year as they are feeding heavily. Hand tied jigs, minnows and soft plastics are all getting the job done. Catfishing is just as hot as it always seems to be. Huge numbers of eater sized catfish will stack up right now in 20-30 feet when you bait a hole. We choose areas that have baitfish and drop some sour grain or cattle cubes to bring in and hold fish. Then just use any preferred catfish bait to load the boat and in a hurry this time of year. We commonly see 25 fish per hour or more with two people fishing. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 57-60 degrees; 2.28 feet below pool. The bass bite has slowed after the cold fronts, but chatterbaits are still working in 3-5 feet of water. Carolina rigs are good in 5-7 feet with Baby ring fry’s. Red squarebill crankbaits are starting to pick up as well as suspending jerk baits in 4-8 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall weather has arrived so fish will start to prepare for cold weather. Black bass are moving deep for the winter. Cast clousers, ned rigs, and large worm patterns in flooded tree tops near creeks and deep water ledges. Smaller bass are in the shallow brush late in the day, try streamers in 18 inches of water. Crappie are moving out to the open water in 30 plus feet of water biting small jig patterns. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is just incredible right now if you’re fishing the right areas and depths. The shad have been moving to deeper water towards the mid lake areas in 30-62 feet and the crappie follow them. Look for crappie on the timber along creek channels and ledges. Best areas seem to be between the 2946 Bridge and the 154 Bridge. This pattern should continue until the fish begin moving back north and shallower to spawn in late February and early March. Any bait will work right now. We are doing great on small hand ties, some people are fishing minnows and even soft plastics work well. Just experiment with colors to find what they want. Some weeks black or green and chartreuse is working well and this past week it seemed like blue and gray and more natural minnow colors worked best. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 57-60 degrees; 2.19 feet below pool. Bass are good on squarebill crankbaits in 3-5 feet of water. Suspending jerkbaits are good in 5-7 feet of water on points or outside of deeper weed lines. Viper XP Jigs are good on the edge of channels near or on big wood in 5-8 feet of water. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall weather has arrived so fish will start to prepare for cold weather. Black bass are moving deep for the winter. Cast clousers, ned rigs, and large worm patterns in flooded tree tops near creeks and deep water ledges. Smaller bass are in the shallow brush late in the day, try streamers in 18 inches of water. Crappie are moving out to the open water in 30 plus feet of water biting small jig patterns. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork continues to be awesome this week as we head into December. If you can handle the cold temperatures the next few months may be the best and most consistent bite we have all year. You can catch fish right now in almost every depth of the lake all the way out to over 60 feet deep. The crappie are following huge groups of shad that are seeking warmth in the deeper water and stacking up. Focus on timber in 38-62 feet right now and any bait you put in front of a crappie will most likely get bitten. Seems like the bigger fish are closer to the tree tops and the trees that come up to only 18-24 feet are holding the best fish. Numbers of smaller crappie just below those fish in the 24-35 feet range. These fish are just the first wave of many more crappie that will head out to the deeper waters between the 515 west bridge and the 154 bridge. You can still catch crappie north of these bridges as well along creek channels that offer a little deeper area for shad to drop into as they attempt to escape cold surface temps. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 50 degrees; 2.26 feet below pool. Bass fishing has slowed after the recent cold fronts and you need to be very slow in your approach. Squarebill crankbaits and rattletraps are fair in 3-5 feet of water along the edge of grass. Texas rigs and Carolina rigs are best along the edge of grass as well in 3-7 feet of water. Suspending jerkbaits is starting to work as the water temperatures decline. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall weather has arrived so fish will start to prepare for cold weather. Black bass are moving deep for the winter. Cast clousers, ned rigs, and large worm patterns in flooded tree tops near creeks and deep water ledges. Crappie are moving out to the open water in 30 plus feet of water biting small jig patterns. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork continues to be as good as ever. Look for fish in big numbers moving as they head toward the deep water winter pattern. Look for timber along main lake creek channels in 28-40 feet right now for numbers of fish and some big fish mixed in. Minnows will work well but they are biting small hand tied jigs and larger plastic baits as well now that the surface water temps have dropped. We are still seeing some fish on brush and lay downs from time to time. Bridged have been up and down the last few weeks but they can be worth checking out for numbers of black crappie. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 62-65 degrees; 2.13 feet below pool. Bass are good with the best bite on squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits in 3-5 feet of water. Texas rigs and Viper XP jigs are good on the edge of the weeds and stems in 3-5 feet of water. Carolina rig picking a few up off shore in 8-15 feet on points and humps. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall has arrived and the fish will start their prep for cold weather. Black bass are feeding in 1-5 feet of water on baitfish imitations. Larger fish should start moving deeper, so a sinking line might work better. Crappie are moving to open water in 20 plus feet of water. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is awesome as the fish are feeding heavy as they prepare for colder months. The crappie are becoming much more aggressive as water temperatures are dropping into the lower 60s. We are still fishing standing timber and brush piles in 18-40 feet of water. There are still fish on some laydowns but those fish may not bite every day. Bridges are holding fish as well but you will have to weed through short fish to find those keepers. Minnows are still working well but my boat has switched over to all hand tied jigs and I’m sure they will bite most soft plastics as well. Catfishing continues to be incredible on baited holes. If you drop some cattle cubes or sour grain near areas that are holding shad the channel catfish will stack up. Target timber along creek channels in 20-25 feet right now with cheese punch bait. It is common to see 25-50 fish an hour right now. Most fish will be in the 13-16 inch range with a few fish getting up to 4-5 pounds with the occasional 10 pound fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 62-65 degrees; 2.02 feet below pool. Cool fronts are changing the bass pattern almost daily. There is still a shallow bite on squarebill crankbaits in 3-6 feet of water. Texas rigs and Viper XP jigs are good in 3-7 feet on wood and edge of weeds or flooded willows. Suspending jerkbaits are starting to pick up a few on the points and edge of channels in 5-8 feet of water. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall has arrived and the fish will start their prep for cold weather. Black bass are feeding in 1-5 feet of water on baitfish imitations. Larger fish should start moving deeper, so a sinking line might work better. Bream are shallow, try bead heads and small hoppers on warm days. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is awesome as the fish are feeding heavy as they prepare for colder months. The crappie are becoming much more aggressive as water temperatures are dropping into the lower 60s. We are still fishing standing timber and brush piles in 18-40 feet of water. There are still fish on some laydowns but those fish may not bite every day. Bridges are holding fish as well but you will have to weed through short fish to find those keepers. Minnows are still working well but my boat has switched over to all hand tied jigs and I’m sure they will bite most soft plastics as well. Catfishing continues to be incredible on baited holes. If you drop some cattle cubes or sour grain near areas that are holding shad the channel catfish will stack up. Target timber along creek channels in 20-25 feet right now with cheese punch bait. It is common to see 25-50 fish an hour right now. Most fish will be in the 13-16 inch range with a few fish getting up to 4-5 pounds with the occasional 10 pound fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 62-65 degrees; 2.05 feet below pool. Bass are fair with in 2-8 feet of water with Texas or Carolina Rigged crawfish type baits and creature type baits. Suspending jerkbaits are starting to work in 6-10 feet of water around main lake points and secondary points, or in the flats near creek channels. Squarebill crankbaits are good in 2-5 feet of water around docks and flooded grass or weeds. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fall has arrived and fish will start to prepare for cold weather. Black bass will chase bait fish in shallow water, so have a shad imitation ready to throw. Larger fish should start moving deeper, so a sinking line might work better. Bream are shallow, try bead heads and small hoppers on warm days. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is awesome as the fish are feeding heavy as they prepare for colder months. The crappie are becoming much more aggressive as water temperatures are dropping into the lower 60s. We are still fishing standing timber and brush piles in 18-40 feet of water. There are still fish on some laydowns but those fish may not bite every day. Bridges are holding fish as well but you will have to weed thru short fish to find those keepers. Minnows are still working well but my boat has switched over to all hand tied jigs and I’m sure they will bite most soft plastics as well. Catfishing continues to be incredible on baited holes. If you drop some cattle cubes or sour grain near areas that are holding shad the channel catfish will stack up. Target timber along creek channels in 20-25 feet right now with cheese punch bait. It is common to see 25-50 fish an hour right now. Most fish will be in the 13-16 inch range with a few fish getting up to 4-5 pounds with the occasional 10 pound fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Limits of catfish are good on baited holes in 30 feet of water with Tony P’s. Report by Stan Kuhn, Stan Kuhn's Catfish Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 68 degrees; 1.93 feet below pool. Fork has come up close to a foot with recent front and rains. The Texas rig bite is working good in 2-5 feet in front of weeds or grass with crawfish type baits. Square bills are fair in 2-5 feet of water in bream or crawfish patterns. Viper XP Jigs are good on big wood from 3-7 feet on ditches and drains and old road beds. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. As the fish and the lake transition from hot to cool fishing conditions will continue to be erratic. Watch for bait fish being chased in shallow water by bass and have a shad imitation ready to throw. Bream are shallow, try bead heads and small hoppers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be incredible as we head into the cooler months. Crappie are stacking up on timber as fish move to the areas they will spend the winter feeding gearing up to spawn. Great success on timber in 14-38 feet along creek channels right now and crappie should be on even deeper timber over the next month. Still seeing fish on brush piles in 14-20 feet and laydowns in 18-22 feet as well. The bite has switched between minnows and hand tied jigs. When the bite on hand tied jigs turned on this week it was on fire using green body and gray tail, blue body and gray tail and green body and chartreuse tail. Channel catfish bite has been incredible on baited holes near timber and good shad populations. Drop some cattle cubes or sour grain a few days before you fish and use any catfish bait of choice to load the boat with good eating size catfish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Catfish are excellent in 28 feet on baited holes using Tony P's catfish bait. Report by Stan Kuhn, Stan Kuhn's Catfish Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife

GOOD. Water Stained; 68 degrees; 2.64 feet below pool. Bass fishing has improved for catches of smaller fish but overall the bite continues to be slow. Fish are best on shaky heads or Texas rigs in front of the weeds in 2-4 feet of water. Carolina rigs are fair in 5-7 feet of water on drop-offs. Squarebill crankbaits are fair in 3-5 feet on points, secondary points, some ditches. The best bite is on windy points best. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. As the fish and the lake transition from hot to cool fishing conditions will continue to be erratic. Watch for bait fish being chased in shallow water by bass and have a shad imitation ready to throw. Bream are shallow, try bead heads and small hoppers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be incredible as we head into the cooler months. Crappie are stacking up on timber as fish move to the areas they will spend the winter feeding gearing up to spawn. Great success on timber in 14-38 feet along creek channels right now and crappie should be on even deeper timber over the next month. Still seeing fish on brush piles in 14-20 feet and laydowns in 18-22 feet as well. The bite has switched between minnows and hand tied jigs. When the bite on hand tied jigs turned on this week it was on fire using green body and gray tail, blue body and gray tail and green body and chartreuse tail. Channel catfish bite has been incredible on baited holes near timber and good shad populations. Drop some cattle cubes or sour grain a few days before you fish and use any catfish bait of choice to load the boat with good eating size catfish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Channel catfish are excellent with catches up to five pounds on Tony P's catfish bait in 28 feet along the submerged creek line, and midlake tree stumps. Report by Stan Kuhn, Stan Kuhn's Catfish Guide Service.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife