Jonah and his Uncle Ink with their whales. Good times!








Damon with a couple big ones:




As we near May, I’m still seeing a number of spawning pairs in the shallows at Lake Fork. Between the fry guarders, spawning fish and the bass chasing the hoards of shad spawning in the grass, 8’ and less has been my best depth range this week. I expect the shallows will remain my main pattern for a couple more weeks, too. Meanwhile, a few fish are starting to show up on deep structure and a number of fish are hanging out in mid-range depths (8’ to 18’). Just about any bait in your tackle box will work at some point in May, and the fishing will continue to get better as the females wrap up their spawning rituals and put on the feedbag. From lunkers on topwaters to structure fishing for schools of big bass on crankbaits, swimbaits, and Carolina rigs, the annual summer whack-fest is about to begin. Head on out to Lake Fork this summer and find out why May, June, and July are the favorite months of many Fork regulars.

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork’s water level is currently reading 401.93’, about 1’ 1” below full pool. Recent rains and winds have resulted in some areas that are still muddier than normal; however, the visibility is still very good in most places. Water temps continue to rise, holding in the mid-60s in the main lake to the mid-70s in the creeks.

Location Pattern: I’m finding most of the bigger spawning fish nearer the mouths of coves and on main lake flats in 8’ and less. While some bass are spawning in the newly flooded grass and cattails, many are spawning or staging along the inside grassline in about 4’. In addition, many bass are also holding amongst the rapidly burgeoning lily pads. Near where we found numbers of shallow spawning bass on slightly deeper structure such as points, creek channels, and ledges is where we’ve found most of the bigger females.

Presentation Pattern: Shad colored topwaters and jerkbaits have been very productive for actively feeding post spawners on some days this week. For the bass holding in the newly flooded vegetation, swimming a green pumpkin red/pearl Fork Frog is hard to beat. My jig bite produced a few big fish when pitched to timber on points and creek channels or on the deep grasslines. I go with a 3/8 oz Mega Weight green pumpkin jig with a watermelon candy 4” Fork Craw trailer. For bass around beds and on the spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged 4.5” Live Magic Shads have produced very well this week. Rig these weightless on an Owner 4/0 or 5/0 Wide Gap Plus hook and try the watermelon red/pearl, watermelon seed/red flake, golden shiner, or Magic Shad colors. While some bass are biting on the swim, our best retrieve has been dead-sticking on the bottom, followed by swimming it a few feet and letting it fall back to the bottom, repeating this all the way back to the boat. For spawning bass, white or watermelon candy Fork Craws and Merthiolate twitch worms have worked well.

Lake Baccarac Update:


Baccarac is on fire for big bass! Check out a few snippets from the latest reports. James Fraioli writer for Bassmaster on April 22 caught a 13.10, 11.5 and 10.14. On April 23rd James's camera man Kevin Goodrich caught a 15.2 using a Storm swim bait then James again landed a 10, 10.7 and 11.4. On April 24th James Frioli caught 2 more over 10 and Kevin Goodrich caught a 14.1. April 23rd John Thurston caught 11.4 and 9.14 and Barry Weiland also caught 11.4. Mike Hammer had a great topwater day April 19th catching 3 fish over 10 on topwater. Wilo Blackwell caught 11.10 using a 7" senko. April 20th Mike Hammer had another great day, his 3 biggest fish 13.6, 10.7, 10.4 all on swimbaits. Awesome!! May is historically one of the best trophy bass months, so look for this trend to continue. There are still a few openings left for this season, while the fall and winter of 2007/2008 are booking very quickly. Anyone interested in fishing Baccarac next season should start finalizing their plans soon, as the lodge only holds 24 anglers and many of the premium dates are already booked solid. For more info on a trip to Baccarac, please check out my website: http://www.bigmexicobass.com .

Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Good Fishing,

Tom

Ken caught a lunker while Bob caught his biggest ever:




Pete with his biggest bass ever, almost 7 pounds:


A few recent ones for me, including a big double at the Stren Series tourney: