LFA Member Hits At The Sealy Big Bass Splash




Lake Fork Anglers Bass Club member Rick Wright strikes gold at the Sealy Tournament on Sept 16th fishing out of Lake Fork Marina. 

Bob Sealy has been putting on this tournament at various lakes around the country for over 30 years. It is billed as the biggest payout for the non-professional angler.

First prize usually is a top-notch bass boat combo with a pickup truck to pull it plus cash to pay the taxes. This year it was offering a Phoenix with a Dodge truck.

Entrants can bring in bass not in the slot (16”-24”) and be seated in up to ten places each hour for 7 hours a day for three days. That is a whole lot of money being paid back to those lucky to catch a winning fish. And catch they did. The “about” 2400 entries brought in a whole bunch of fish. Which were then carried to the Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association live release boat for recovery and release.

While there was 20+ bass brought to the scales over the slot of 24”, there were also a bunch of fish brought in inside the slot. And each of them garnered a $250 fine plus being DQ’d for the rest of that day. Some anglers catching a big bass just think because this bass is “so” big it must be over the slot or they don’t read the rules or even know about the slot. Other bring in fish just over 16” hoping it will shorten up to fall under the 16” max.

Rick managed to catch two keepers that won him the money. A second place for an 8.09 LB 24” fish and another for a 6th place payout. Plenty enough to cover the entry fees and boat gas for he and his partner.




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Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Apr. 24)

GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Bass have slowed, but post spawners are setting up on points in 5-7 feet of water with Carolina rigged creature baits. Topwaters and frogs are good early morning around grass. Shaky heads are good around boat houses. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Changing weather means changing bite. First phase spawners are now in a post spawn pattern and aggressive. Frog pattern top waters 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, catching them on edge of banks, 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.Crappie are good in 2-13 feet on timber and around grass lines. Some fish are moving back out into the 12-18 feet areas and a little deeper. Black crappie are on a few bridges, but fish are not loaded up yet. Black crappie are also grouping under docks on sunny afternoons. Cast 1/16th ounce hand tied jigs continue to be good in white and gray, white and chartreuse and light blue and gray colors. Minnows will still work very well and especially on shallow fish around grass. Soft plastics will also work well as the fish have been very aggressive. We should see the aggressive bite until the warmer months get here and the fish get a little finicky. Catfishing continues to be good around timber where birds are roosting in 10-18 feet. Also getting reports of some shallow catfish around grass lines and sea walls. Those fish are most likely chasing shad spawns. Catfish are cruising around shallow wood in 6-12 feet, with lots of fry showing up. Use your favorite prepared catfish bait to load the boat once you locate the fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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