It was another hot week here at beautiful Lake Fork. The water temperatures have hit the upper 80’s and the water clarity is stained over most of the lake. The Bass fishing is fare at best. It seemed that the Bass have related more to the shallow cover again this week. We found them in small isolated brush around Duckweed and Hydrilla. There were two distinctive patterns this week. The first pattern was the Texas rigged watermelon/candy/red Buddy’s Custom Baits Stick O. We simply drug the Stick O through the Duckweed with slight pauses in the open holes in the weeds. The second pattern was to fish the Zoom chartreuse/pumpkin Trick worm, wacky style, in the Hydrilla. We put a nail in the head of the wacky worm to get it down into the Hydrilla.
With the water temperatures, getting into the 90’s and if you are like me and run your boat every day, keeping your boat properly serviced is very important. If you need boat repair or service, I would like to tell you about the five star service department at Nicholas Marine in Longview, Texas. Joe the Service Manager takes great pride in getting your boat out of the shop on time and repaired correctly the first time. I might add that they go to great lengths to keep your boat clean while it is in the shop. Great job Joe!!

Now for the rest of the report! The Crappie fishing was fare this week. Minnows were your best bet to catch good Crappies. I cheated and took a Bubba’s Bait chartreuse 1/8 ounce Crappie jig and tipped it with a minnow. We found them in 22 to 24 foot of water over isolated brush piles and fish attractors. Not too many Crappies are being taking around the bridges though it is cooler fishing there.

The White Bass fishing slowed down this week. They ate still up in the creeks on flats neat the old creek channels chasing large balls of shad. We would wait for the White Bass to feed on the shad and use Strike Kings gizzard shad KVD 1.5 crankbait to catch them. If the water is really stained in the creek you are fishing, go to the sexy shad color.
No Catfish report this week.

On our equipment list this week is our Ranger Z520c from Nichols Marine in Longview, TX, powered by a Mercury 250 Pro XS, Duckett rods, Abu Garcia reels, Stren line, Buddy’s Custom Baits from here at Lake Fork, Bubba’s Crappie jigs, Zoom soft plastics and Strike King hard baits.

Here at J & Guide Service we are taking reservations for guided Bass trips to help you get ready for the Big Bass Splash and the Berkley Bass tournament. Give us a call at (903) 413-6919 or E-mail us at bassmr@geusnet.com. Have a safe fishing week and stay hydrated.