The month of August is sizzling on Lake Fork, but summer fishing here can be great despite the hot summer temperatures. Whether you like fishing summer patterns by day or enjoy fishing for big bass during the cover of night, Lake Fork has a lot to offer anglers this month. Here are some tips and techniques that will help you no matter which one you choose.
The lake conditions are still as good as ever for summer with water levels about 8 inches below of full pool. The water clarity is fair in most areas on the main lake and the backs of the major creeks with visibility to 2-3 feet. The water temperatures remain warm and have been ranging from the mid 80’s to even the low 90’s lately.
The shallow water day patterns have been best early. Bass can be found around shallow flooded cover and newly emerging grass beds in 2-6 feet of water. The best bait right now has been shallow crank baits like a Berkley Square Bull and a Santone Lures swim jig in shad colors or white and chartreuse. Also, a simple Texas rigged 7” or 10” Berkley Power Worm. Blue fleck, watermelon, tequila sunrise, and red shad have been good colors to use depending on the water clarity and cloud cover. I have been fishing these on a 3/16- 5/16 oz weight with a 4/0 worm hook. Pitching these worms around any visible cover has been best. My most productive areas have been main lake points or creek channel edges where the fish pull up to in the mornings to feed. Docks have been productive as well.
Most of the daytime action this time of year has been out deep. Lake Fork is one of the best deep structure lakes in the country and I love to chase those schools of big bass during the summer! My deep patterns have remained the same as last month’s report. After the sun gets up in the morning, I am concentrating on deep structure all day. Humps, roadbeds, points, ridges, and pond dams in depths of 16-26 feet are all great areas to look for these deep bass. My Garmin Echo Map Ultra units are an instrumental part of my deep-water agenda, and they will tell me exactly where the fish are. Look for bait fish in these areas and the bass will not be far away. If you graph a spot and see bait but no fish, try it again later. You can leave and come back in 30 minutes or an hour to find that the fish have arrived to feed. It’s all about timing this time of year! Once I have located a school of fish with my electronics, I am targeting them several different ways depending on how the fish are arranged in the water column and relating to structure or cover. If the fish are on the bottom the number one producer has been a Santone jig. If you want to catch the biggest fish out of the school, you will definitely want to have a Santone Lures 5/8-3/4 oz football head jig tied on. I like to throw Mexican Heather, PB&J, or my signature series color JC’s Spicy Craw this time of year with a Berkley Pit Bossor Berkley Chigger Bug for a trailer. If throwing a jig intimidates you, now is the time to gain some confidence with it. Just throw it out there in the same areas you would fish anything else and drag it until you feel one thump it then set the hook hard and hold on! A Carolina rig has also been producing a lot of fish. I like to use a long leader (4-5ft.) and a big heavy 1 oz weight to drag the bottom. Trilene 20 lb test Fluorocarbon is a must with a 2/0 or 3/0 wide gap hook. Best baits on the c-rig have been Berkley Powerbait 7” or 10” Power Worms, Jerk, and the Backslide in watermelon red, chartreuse pepper, or blue fleck colors. For those suspended fish that are so hard to catch you’ll want to have a big flutter spoon handy. These baits have been catching a lot of big bass and will continue to do well thru the summer. The technique of working these big spoons over deep structure is intimidating to most that have never done it but once you get acquainted with it and catch a couple big bass on it, you’ll be wanting to do a lot more of it. Another thing that I love is giant swim baits! A lot of these deep suspended bass are chasing big bait like mature gizzard shad and bream. They want a hearty meal, which is why big spoons and big swim baits like the 3:16 Lure Co. glide baits, Rising Son, or a weighted Berkley Hollowbelly are so good. It’s a very fun bite because these big Lake Fork bass will crush these baits when they hit them!
Well, I hope this helps anyone that’s coming out this month to chase some big bass. If you would like to fish with me this year, I still have a few dates for this fall available. My 2022 schedule is already filling as well so contact me as soon as possible if you are beginning to plan your trip for next year. I also have gift certificates available for those of you that are interested in purchasing a friend or loved one a guided trip on Lake Fork. You can contact me to make your reservation at 903-736-9888 or send me an email at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com 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 Trophy Bass Guide page at https://www.facebook.com/lakeforktrophybassguide
I just received my new boat for the 2021 season, a Bass Cat Cougar FTD. It’s an amazing boat and I couldn’t be happier to be serving my customers on Lake Fork as one of the newest members of the Bass Cat Family! If you’re interested in checking out any of the Bass Cat models, be sure to reach out to R & R Marine in Pittsburg, Texas. Steven Stroman and his crew have amazing sales and service as well as a complete tackle shop. I would like to thank all my sponsors that support me. I am looking forward to representing them again this year on Major League Fishing Big 5 circuit as well as serving all my great guide clients on Lake Fork! Sponsors: Toyota, Carhartt, Bass Cat Boats, Mercury Marine, I Am Second, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Garmin, Santone Lures, Costa Sunglasses, Power Pole, 3:16 Lure Company, Elite Tungsten, Johnson Communications, and Bass Boat Technologies.
Romans 15:13- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
