Jason Hoffman's Lake Fork Fishing Report - March 25, 2013




The fishing here on Lake Fork was very good last week as we had three consecutive days with a bass over 9 pounds (9-08 Wednesday, 9-05 Thursday, 9-00 Friday) in my boat. We also caught multiple fish over 7 pounds, and lost a giant bass that we saw that was easily in the 11-12 pound range. I also had the opportunity to guide on a smaller public lake on Tuesday, and my client caught an 11.00 pounder with me that day. What a week! I took the weekend off to watch my daughter play in a softball tournament, and I'm glad I did. The wind and the weather were horrible this weekend!! The water temps early in the week were in the low 60s in the afternoons, but with the cooler temps later in the week, the water temps stayed in the 57-58 degree range all day. Water temps today are 52-54 degrees. The water level as of this writing is 398.61 or 4.39 ft below normal pool. Water is very stained in the upper ends, and gets a little clearer as you move south. There were quite a few fish on beds in the upper ends, and stills tons of staging fish both north and south. It looks like our spawn will be a little more spread out this year (as is normal), compared with last year when it seemed like the majority of the fish spawned close to the same time. Up north, my best baits have been a white chatterbait with LFT Live Magic Shad as a trailer, a Texas rig, and a drop shot. I'm pretty much concentrating my efforts in 1-4 feet of water. Fish the soft plastics slowly and very tight to the timber for best results. You can catch fish on the chatterbait on wind blown banks and points. Just put the trolling motor down, and cover water. The LFT Live Magic Shad is important to achieving maximum success when fishing a chatterbait. I've tried just about every trailer known to man, it there is nothing that comes close to producing both the quality and quantity of bites that the Live Magic Shad produces. I typically start with the 4.5" version this time of year, but some days, they seem to bite the 3.5" version better. In the fall, I throw the 3.5" in Live Magic Shad almost exclusively. Down south, I am fishing a little deeper, and concentrating my efforts on main lake and secondary points. Right now, it's tough to beat a Piglet Shaky head by Santone Lures. A good bait to screw onto the jig head is a LFT 10" Lake Fork Worm with the tail torn off. Good colors are Watermelon, Watermelon Red, Watermelon Gold, Watermelon Blue, and Green Pumpkin. A small soft plastic crawfish will also produce bites when attached to the Piglet. I'm also pitching stumps with a drop shot. This is a super effective technique when the fish are finicky and holding very tight to cover. The bite will probably be a little slower the next couple of days after this cold front passes, but by the end of the week, I look for things to pick back up where they left off. I know I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow. By the way, I just had a cancellation for April 1-3, so if you're looking to come get in on some great spring action, please give me a call or drop me an email. Best of luck, Jason Hoffman http://lakefork.us




Tell us what you think!

Lake Fork Vacation Rentals

Lake Fork Email Updates


 

Visit our Lake Fork Sponsors!

Lake Fork on Social Media

 
       

Lake Fork Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Fork Weather Forecast

Saturday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 62

Saturday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 39

Sunday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 66

Sunday Night

Clear

Lo: 39

Monday

Sunny

Hi: 59

Monday Night

Clear

Lo: 38

Tuesday

Sunny

Hi: 65

Tuesday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 39


Lake Fork Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 12/2: 400.84 (-2.16)



Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Nov. 29)

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.

More Fishing Reports