Dock Talk - Lake Fork Crappie Catchin'

"Had Kent and Chas out yesterday on Fork. Started off in an area with very few fish. Made a jump and landed on some but they did not want to bite. That was how the day went. Lots of fish but they were not aggressive. We had many come off and thats a sign of them just not inhaling the bait. Only thing we could do was keep dropping and one would bite here and there. In the end they ended up with a cooler full and got off the lake before it got too hot.

"Our best depth was 20-25’ water with most fish suspended 12-16’ deep. My shallow bite has gone cold. Need some cooler weather to push more fish up.
Hancock’s Guide Service

"Had an old schoolmate Rowdy out with me on Fork yesterday. We took it easy and had a fun day.

I knew catching his 25 was going to be easy so we checked out a few different areas. Couple paid off and a couple didn’t but we had some nice fish before it was over.

The past few days have not been without some struggles with the moon. More fish refuse to bite then do bite. How do you combat that? Well you cover water and just drop on more fish. I can tell if the fish will bite after his first reaction. If he chases it and doesn’t bite or turns away I just move on. Most that do bite will do it immediately. Make that first presentation count and cover water and you can put together a good box of fish.

Mack Curry 903-474-5339

"Had Bob out again this morning on Lake Fork and today he brought his duck hunting buddy Mike with him. Mike had never caught a 2 lbs crappie and we were on a mission to get him one.

The first few hours were terrible. Same pattern and area as yesterday but just a different tree line and tree after tree we either didn’t see fish or saw a few fish that wouldn’t bite. Don’t know that we had more than 2 fish the first 2 hours.

Finally started to pick up a fish here and there but they had to work for them a lot. Decided to abandon the 18-25ft trees and made a big move. It paid off with some giants up shallow and Mike didn’t end up with a 2 lbs crappie but he caught 2 over 2 lbs and 2 just under as well. Not bad for his first trip with me.

Those big fish were up as shallow as 10ft in some trees. Some as close as 4-6 ft to the surface. A few were mixed in with channel cats as well on the same shallow tree. So different than yesterday’s pattern. They still caught everything on minnows today and ended up with 42 fish on the table when the dust settled.

Jacky Wiggins Guide Service

Photos courtesy of Guides

Author: Tom Behrens

Tom Behrens has over 50 years experience in fishing and hunting across the United States. Much of this time was spent in Oklahoma and Texas where he became very familiar with the outdoor opportunities in these states. You may contact him by email at: [email protected]

Tell us what you think!

Lake Fork Email Updates

Visit our Lake Fork Sponsors!

Click here to promote your
lake focused business!

Lake Fork on Social Media

Lake Fork Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

Lake Fork Weather Forecast

Tuesday

Increasing Clouds

Hi: 76

Tuesday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 64

Wednesday

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 78

Wednesday Night

Mostly Cloudy

Lo: 66

Thursday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 79

Thursday Night

Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 69

Friday

Thunderstorms Likely

Hi: 78

Friday Night

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 69

Extended Weather Forecast

Lake Fork Water Level (last 30 days)

Water Level on 4/23: 403.32 (+0.32)

Water Level Details

Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Apr. 17)

GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Fork has been good with fish in just about every stage of the spawn. Lots of fish are shallow in 1-4 feet with Texas rigs, yum dingers, chatterbaits, flukes, and swim jigs. Offshore bass are good on humps and points in 5-7 feet of water with Carolina rigs with light weights, mid-running crankbaits, and shaky heads. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Changing weather means changing bite. First phase bass spawners are now in a post spawn pattern and aggressive. Frog pattern topwaters are excellent in the grass and brush. Casting into the pockets and letting the frog sit for a few seconds is a good idea. Crappies are shallow, small fish patterns like wooly buggers are a good bet. Bream are beginning to make themselves known in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Crappie are great with some pre-spawn fish, some fish actively spawning and some post spawn. Fish can be found in a few feet of water to 30 feet of water. All crappie on Lake Fork do not go shallow to spawn and we catch fish in 18-20 feet that are spawning on timber. You can also find some fish on brush, lay downs, bridges and docks. It is a very versatile time to catch crappie with multiple patterns. Minnows will work great right now but any crappie baits will catch fish. Try small hand tied jigs and soft plastics. Catfishing is excellent right now on Lake Fork around timber in 12-20 feet. Still seeing loads of fish around roosting trees. Lots of birds in the shallow areas close to the bank in the early mornings chasing shad spawns. The catfish are also up there feeding on shad as well. Use any prepared catfish baits or cut shad on baited holes in the timber. Use a cork with anything a catfish will bite up shallow. Minnows and cut shad will work great on this shallow fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

More Fishing Reports

Courtesy of lakeforktexas.com

Lakehub Lakes