Fork

Lake Fork Report 4-18

Water Temp: 60-65
Clarity: Stained and more Stained
Location: Birch Creek

Hit up Lake Fork last Thursday night. We had about 30 minutes before dark after we got there, so trolled around a little and caught a few on frogs up to 4lbs. The bite was on it seemed....then it rained a lot late Thursday night, and temps dropped into the 40's; we started out Friday and caught fish for most of the morning around timber in 7-12ft. Friday afternoon only caught one fish (our smallest fish 2.5lb) on a spinnerbait. The frog bite was over. We ended Friday trolling across the lake due to our Motor was locked and trimmed all the way up
Fixed our motor problem and decided to head South on Saturday looking for clear water... Went down to Wolf Branch, and water was slightly clearer, but not much. We had a 40hp aluminum boat so used a lot of time running South and missed any early morning bite. After getting skunked down South we headed back for lunch into the wind and got soaked ;D I mean like a shower. That afternoon we stayed North Took it real slow for awhile, but only had two or three bites which were hesitant and missed. We had to troll back again because now our motor just wouldn't start Also, while trolling back, jacked our TM a few times, breaking the Transducer off the bottom, and bending the shaft, which made it really fun to operate. Imagine going about 600yds on a trolling motor that really wants to turn left and you have to put all your weight on it just to keep it straight ;D We finally got it back to the dock, but couldn't get a hold of the guy we rented it from. We were supposed to fish Sunday till Noon (turns out to be a great day for fishing), but due to the boat issues, we just packed up and headed out. I did nail one more big fish off the dock before we left, so all in all, caught enough to be happy. Thanks for all the tips Robertinaustin and others who responded to my Misc post. I think our main obstacle was the rental boat, but we still had a great time. Hopefully next year we will have a fully operable boat with GPS, a bigger motor, no cold fronts, and clearer water ;D; I really would have liked to sight fish :'(
No matter how much you plan for a fishing trip, stuff happens, and you just have to make the best of it i.e: bring a lot of beer I love that lake and can't wait to go back again, and hopefully find some of the big females next time. Here's some pics.