Last weekend I reorganized my tackle for the Lake Fork trip next month. Still way too much!

So, I would like to put together a "Boat Bag," with ONLY the lures and SPECIFIC colors that you have had succes with. Do you find Fork to be "color specific?" Besides soft plastics and jigs, what lures would you HIGHLY recommend for the third week of March?

Rat-L-Traps are a must for the time frame y'all are planning on visiting Fork

Colors: Lake Fork Special & any thing red or orange

Sent a couple emails & here's another one  

Original RB1200 Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue, Gold, Black Back, Orange Belly

Lipless cranks for sure.

I have read a lil here and there, the long A jerkbait in gold or orange and maybe a another jerbait in blue/silver with the orange underbelly for the clear day if you get one.

Hi RW--

I use watermelon & red flake for plastics, green for jigs for general fishing and white or chartruse tubes or salamanders for sight fishing. Try white first and if you have trouble, try chartruse. I do not know why they demand the different color but they do. Of course 3/8 or 1/2 oz red rattle traps ticking the tops of weeds on a feeding flat is a must. The bass will strike when you are pulling the trap free from the weeds. Even though I caught my big girl on a 1/2oz chartruse colorado blade spinnerbait, for me that has been a low numbers bait. Most of my numbers and bigger fish came on the green jig fished aggressivly on the 5th to 7th cast to the same cover.

Good luck!!! 8-)

BassChaser57,

Do you mean a green trailer on a black jig?

RW,

I have used a green 1/2 oz jig with green watermelon frog type trailer with great success. I have fished behind guide boats that have not caught anything and I will catch unbelievable fish, 6, 7, and 8 lbrs on the jig. I have had the most success working feeding flats or gradually sloping points near a drain (we call it a creek channel.) That time of year the fish will be staging in the deeper water (drain) and coming up on the flats for baitfsh and to spawn. Here the normal bass fishing tactics work fine.

Work the outer edge of stickups, isolated cover, stickups closest to the drain, always make repeated casts to any angled stickup as the bass can get under it. This will normally be associated with a downed tree with lots of cover associated with it. For some reason most all my bigger fish have come from angled stickups, forked trees where more than one trunk is visible above the waterline with the bass always right in the middle, and of course sight fishing. Most all my nicer fish took repeated casts to the cover to entice a strike. Just figure where the bass should be and keep hammering the spot.

It has been my experience that the larger bass at Fork will have to be caught on a reaction strike and the smaller bass on a reaction or a feeding bite. I can not recall catching a hawg on a feeding strike.

If you would like, I will make a copy of some areas of the Fork map, mark it and fax it to you.

Fork can be VERY unforgiving if you try to be a bank beater. There is way too much pressure along the banks to do much good. Find a flat or hump away from the bank and your success will increase significantly. One problem you will have at first is learning where to start as the whole lake looks soooooo fishy.

It is my understanding that the guides use the trap so much as they have so many clients that cannot cast to a spot and do not know how to use a jig so the trap is a bait that novices can catch bass in the grass with. Fork has been harsh to me for the first few trips then I finally learned and now love it. I have seen MANY guys fish it all week and not even catch one fish.

I wanted to go to Amistad the end of this month but I am finishing up on the house so I may have to use my vacation the full moon in April to go to Fork instead so knock a home run and report back. 8-)

BassChaser57,

Thank you for the information. I will make no claim or prediction on how we will do at Fork, but I can assure you, I am not a bankbeater! My standard MO is slow and deep, structure not cover. I'm sure some adjustments will be in order.

Thanks again!

RW there is an abundant supply of deep water structure on Fork  

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