I am thrilled for October to be here on Lake Fork! It is one of my favorite months of the year to fish. You can catch a lot of quality fish and often have the lake to yourself on most days as hunting seasons have started and many anglers opt for the woods over their favorite fishing spot. It is also a great time to get the kids and family out on the water for some great fishing fun. For all of you tournament anglers, one of the best tournaments of the year is this month as well. The 8th Annual Berkley Big Bass Tournament is October 19 & 20, 2013 hosted by Lake Fork Marina. This event is an hourly big bass tournament with great opportunities to win lots of cash and several boats will be given away. This event keeps getting better and better each year so you will not want to miss it. Whether you are coming out for the tournament, some fun with the family, or in serious pursuit of a trophy bass, here are some tips and information that will help you catch lots of Lake Fork bass! The lake is in good shape right now despite the lack of rain and low water conditions. Water levels are currently put the lake at over 6 feet low. The grass is in great shape and coming back in a lot of areas, which is a blessing. Most of the fall turnover process has already taken place and the stability of the water has returned. Water temperatures have been holding steady on most days in the mid 70's but can fall or rise with the inconsistent weather and cool nights or warmer days. The shallow bite has been very good around shallow submerged grass. Most of the hydrilla is growing abundantly on the northern creek arms of the lake. The better part of it is growing out to about 6 feet at the deepest point. The baitfish are gravitating to it as the water temperatures cool and the bass are following closely. I'm targeting secondary points and pockets with several presentations to catch lots of fish and some big ones too. The top water is my first tactic and has been best on cloudy days. I am fishing a buzz bait or a Berkley Chigger Toad in white or black color over these matted grass beds and lily pads. Fishing it over the holes in the grass or along the edges is best but some of these fish are coming completely through the thickest part of the mat to eat these baits. Make sure you opt for a very stout rod and reel to take these fish on in heavy cover too. I am using the new Abu Garcia Revo Rocket which has a 9.0:1 gear ratio so it moves a lot of line quickly and a 7'3" heavy Abu Garcia Villian rod to get enough leverage on these bass so I can drag them outta there. This has been a real fun bite so far and will be great all the way thru the month. If the bass are reluctant to hit top water baits because of the conditions you can catch them down in the grass or along the edges using a weightless wacky worm. I am using the Berkley Bottom Hopper in the 6.25 size and rigging it on a 2/0 wacky hook then sticking a small nail in the head of the worm. Best colors are shady watermelon candy, green pumpkin, and black emerald. Lighter line has been key to getting more bites so I opt for 12 lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. A plain old Texas rigged worm is about as deadly of a choice as you can get this time of year for shallow bass. The Berkley Powerworm will get em every time! The bass on Lake Fork love that Powerbait scent. Both 7 inch and 10 inch sizes are very effective this time of the year. I rig mine on a 1/4-5/16 oz weight and 4/0 hook. Best colors are blue fleck, black & blue, cherry seed, plum, and watermelon candy. I also use the 8" Berkley Havoc Juice Worm and it catches a lot of fish. If the skies are high and its sunny a lot of the bass start holding tight to timber. Especially if there is no grass in the area they live. I use a couple of other different flipping baits then like the Berkley Havoc Pit Boss and Craw Fatty. These are excellent flipping baits! On the windy days don't forget about the Berkley Hollowbelly swimbaits or the Berkley Havoc Sick Fish. I like to use a 4-6 inch size and rig it on a slightly weighted 6/0 hook. Any shad color will work. Slow rolling these through shallow water when the shad are getting pushed up on the bank by the wind is very productive. You will also want to try some of the new Sebile baits that I am excited about this year. They are the new "Action First" series of crank baits. These are some very good baits and you will want to have some if you are fishing the Berkley tournament this month. The Lipless Seeker and Vibe Machine are both excellent lipless baits for targeting bass in the grass. Ripping these thru the grass and along the edges has been very productive for bass feeding on the migrating shad. The new Sebile Bull Crank Shallow is also a very good square billed crank bait for banging off timber in shallow water to catch those stump hugging bass. Best colors that I have found for Lake Fork so far in this new series of baits are green back ghost, spotted mess, yellow shad, and red craw. The deep bite has been inconsistent but when you find them you find them stacked up. Besides some isolated groups of fish a lot of them are very suspended and scattered around out deep. You have to hunt for those good schools that are stacked up. My best "hunting" weapon is my Lowrance HDS Touch 12! They can't hide from me with this awesome graph, that's for sure. Use your electronics to look for big schools of bait out deep. With the lake finishing turning over you will begin to see schools of bass starting to congregate on deep structure. Roadbeds, points, humps, and pond dams are great places to look. These fish will be setting up in 18-24 feet but do not be surprised if you find some even deeper. Its not uncommon this time of year to find some bass out as deep as 30 feet. A Carolina rig has been my best producer for these deep schools of bass. I like to rig up a long 4-5 foot leader with a 1 oz Elite Tungsten weight and a 3/0 hook. My baits of choice for the c-rig have been the 6" Berkley Bottom Hopper in watermelon candy or green pumpkin. I have also been doing well on the new Berkley Backslide. This is a unique little fry type bait and great for implementing on a Carolina rig. Football head jigs have been good also in green pumpkin with a Berkley Havoc Deuce or Pit Chunk as a trailer. I am also fishing a spoon thru the suspended fish. Sebile has a great new bait called the Onduspoon. Ripping it thru the deep schools of suspended bass is very good for a big bite. You can also target some of these fish very effectively with a Berkley Swim Shad. Casting it out in the deep water and reeling this weighted swim bait in very slow can get some very vicious bites from monster bass! If you are headed to Lake Fork this month in pursuit of a trophy bass and are looking to book a guide, I would enjoy the opportunity to take you or your group fishing and show you a great time on the lake. I still have a couple fall dates still available and am taking spring 2014 reservations now. Be sure to schedule with me soon if you would like to fish in 2014. I fill up fast! You can contact me to book your trip at 903-736-9888 or send me an email at [email protected] You can also visit my website for more information about Lake Fork and my guide service at www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com You can find me on Facebook and follow my official Lake Fork Guide page at https://www.facebook.com/lakeforkfishingguides I would also like to thank all of my 2013 sponsors for their support in my guiding and professional tournament fishing as well: Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, I Am Second, Lowrance, Power Pole, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Interstate Batteries, Talon Lures, Navionics, Simms, Costa Del Mar and Elite Tungsten. "Welcome" to all you Berkley Big Bass tournament anglers! Be safe out on the water and wear your life vests & kill switches!! Come by and see me at the Berkley Trailer at Lake Fork Marina during the tournament weekend. There will be lots of new products there to see like the new Abu Garcia Revo 3rd generation reels as well as all the new exciting Berkley and Sebile baits. This is a great event and gets better and better every year. You will not want to miss out! Also, while you are at the lake, be sure to stop by Diamond Sports Marine located on highway 154 just north of the bridge. They are receiving the new 2014 Ranger Boats daily and you do not want to miss the opportunity to check out the "New" Ranger Z521c. This boat has some amazing features and is definitely an eye catcher. Give Fred or Ben a call at 903-383-7829 to set up your personal demo ride in a Ranger Boat. Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Tight Lines and God Bless, James Caldemeyer