Octoberfest on Fork is here! What a great month to be at Lake Fork fishing. The weather is cooling off, and you can catch a lot of quality fish. With hunting seasons beginning you’ll often have the lake to yourself as many anglers opt for the stands and blinds over their favorite fishing hole. It’s 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. It’s the 21st Annual Berkley Big Bass Tournament is October 17th and 18th hosted by Bass Champs at Lake Fork Marina & Motel. This event has become one of the biggest hourly big bass tournaments with great opportunities to win lots of cash and two boats will be given away. This event just keeps getting better and better each year so you will not want to miss it. Whether you are coming out for the tournament, fun fishing with the family, or in serious pursuit of a trophy bass of a lifetime, here are some tips and information that will help you catch lots of Lake Fork bass!
The lake is in great shape despite being over 4 feet low. Very little rain and an extremely hot summer have taken a toll on Texas, but I actually prefer the lake being low during this time of year. It makes the fishing better as it condenses the bait and bass into smaller areas instead of scattering them out. It also helps expedite the fall turnover process which we have yet to see begin. You’ll find visibility to about 2-3 feet in most areas of the lake. Water temperatures have been higher than normal for this time of year as summer lingered into fall. Temperatures are ranging from the mid to upper 70’s. We have some great vegetation growing in a lot of areas and its very visibly matted around the surface because of the falling lake levels from summer evaporation.
I have been starting off the day with some top water fishing of some kind. Berkley Baits has really made this exciting this year! They have an incredible line of hard baits for topwater fishing and have expanded the selection of sizes and colors. I’ve been having great success lately with the Berkley J Walker, Bullet Pop, Choppo and NEW Berkley Slap Gill topwater but there are several other baits that are really good also. Best colors are bone, white, or any shad or bluegill color. The action on these things is impressive and the fish explode on them. They are high quality and have excellent Fusion 19 treble hooks out of the package at an affordable price. Main lake points and secondary points have been best for topwater but also look for some schooling action in the back of the creeks and coves as the water cools down. Lake Fork Marina is one of the few places you can get these all the NEW Berkley baits and they have a HUGE assortment of other Berkley products. I am also fishing shallow running crank baits in these same areas and am concentrating on depths of 2-6 feet. I like to throw a lipless crank bait like the Berkley Warpig, Berkley Square Bull, or NEW Berkley Shallow Money Badger. These baits will catch a lot of fish during the month of October. My best areas have been where you find a combination of shallow grass, timber lined creek channels, and concentrations of bait fish. If you find the shad, you will find bass nearby. On windy days the Berkley Cull Shad swim bait fished directly against the bank has really produced some quality fish. Best colors on swim baits have been gizzard shad, pearl, and Tennessee shad. If you like swimbaits, you’ll also want to check out the NEW Berkley Chop Block for some BIG bites around the shallows or Live Scoping out deeper.
Old “tried and true” Texas rigged worms like the Berkley 7-10” Power worm are always a sure choice if you can’t get the bass to chase anything. It’s a staple in my Bass Cat boat during the fall months and very effective fished around the grass or standing timber. Best colors have been blue fleck, June bug, plum, and black/blue. There are days when the fish get finicky and it takes a subtle approach to coax them into biting. This is when I break out my Abu Garcia Zenon drop shot, neko rig, and shaky head rod. I will rig up some 10-12 lb. test Berkley X9 Braid on my Abu Garcia Zenon spinning reel and add about 10 feet of the NEW Berkley Gin Clear fluorocarbon leader to it at the end. This light line itself will produce more bites from finicky bass but coupled with a great bait like the Berkley Powerbait 4.75” Bottom Hopper or NEW Berkley Lab Series Finesse worm puts the icing on the cake. If you are a tournament fisherman this is the best way to increase your odds of catching more fish under the slot, especially when there is heavy fishing pressure on the lake from the tournaments.
I am also spending some time out in deep water and rely on my Garmin graphs, and I SEE U marine monitor to point the way! If you haven’t had the opportunity to check these mirroring screens for your boat, you’ll want to check them out. They are now available in 4K screens and the clarity for Live Scope is amazing! They are also equipped with Android/Apple so you can view your apps like Google Earth, watch your favorite YouTube videos, or catch the ballgame on TV as you fish. Come by and see the I SEE U booth set up at Lake Fork Marina during the Berkley tournament if you want to see them in person. As with the shallow fishing, when you are looking for fish out deep, the key during this time of year is locating bait fish. Again, once you locate the bait, you will find bass! The best places in early fall to start looking for bass out deep are humps, roadbeds, ridges, and points that slowly taper out into a channel or creek bend. The fish will be holding in 16-24 feet right now. I like to primarily target these deep bass with Carolina rigs. A ¾ -1 oz tungsten weight, four-foot leader, and a 3/0 hook will get the job done. Best baits have been the new Berkley Powerbait Jerk or Power Hawg in watermelon red, watermelon candy, or green pumpkin colors. Once I locate a school of fish on my graph, I am taking notice where exactly the fish are located in the water column. If the fish are suspended off the bottom, I am using deep diving Berkley Dredgers or scoping them with the NEW Garmin LVS 44 transducer and a Berkley “Moeba” urchin bait or jig head minnow, that won the Bassmaster Classic, the NEW Berkley Lab Series Minnow. I also like to throw a Santone Lures 5/8 or 3/4 oz football head jig on the deep bass. I will throw it out there and drag it or sometimes use a stroking technique of hopping it off the bottom to draw strikes from the biggest bass in the school. Best jig colors are my signature “JC’s” Spicy Craw, PB&J, Bass Candy, or Pake’s Perch (created by Bassmaster Elite angler Pake South). Be sure to also check for fish hanging around any brush piles you are able to locate out deeper. They like to school there and it’s a great place for big bass to hang out in deep water if the lake is turning over and eat crappie or bream.
Well, I hope this helps anyone that’s coming out this month to fish the tournaments or just chase some big bass around. If you would like to fish with me this fall, I still have a few dates available. The rest of my 2026 schedule is filling fast though so contact me as soon as possible if you are wanting to plan a trip. 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 have really enjoyed my Bass Cat Boats the past 7 years and am thrilled to be running the brand new 2026 Lynx model this year. Just when you think it can’t get any better, you get in this boat and it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen! I couldn’t be happier to be serving my customers on Lake Fork as part of the Bass Cat Team and am looking forward to providing more great trips this year out of the new ride. If you’re interested in checking out any of the Bass Cat models, be sure to reach out to Conroy Motorsports in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. They are the new Bass Cat dealer in Texas, Top 10 national dealer their first year of sales, and just a short distance from Lake Fork. They will be serving the area well with their team of sales professionals and service for Bass Cat Boats or any of your other boat service needs if you are around Lake Fork. They also have side by sides and ATVs for hunting as well! Contact Steven Stroman and tell him I sent you 903-572-3681.
I would like to thank all my sponsors and some new ones that have teamed up with me for the 2026 season. I appreciate all their support as I serve all my great guide clients throughout the year on Lake Fork as well! Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Cat Boats, Mercury, Conroy Motor Sports, I Am Second, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Garmin, Santone Lures, AFTCO, Costa Sunglasses, Power Pole, I SEE U, Elite Tungsten, Pro Guide Batteries, DD26 Fishing, Bass Boat Technologies, Bull Teams Only, BDS Suspension, and Method Wheels.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:6
Tight Lines & God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
