Local Knowledge: What’s Working on Lake Fork?

LAKE FORK, Texas – If you ever want to see what’s working on a body of water, one of the best ways to do it is to visit a local tackle shop. Take a look around the store to see what they stock, and take a gander at the empty pegs to see what people are buying. And while you’re there, also ask the staff working at the store.

Tackle store employees are the “all-knowing,” and see what the local sticks are buying after winning tournaments. They also know what the guides are buying. They see it every day, and these same employees are also the ones ordering products and restocking shelves.

This week, the Bass Pro Tour anglers are fishing the famed Lake Fork, an area with tackle shops galore. One of the better ones is located right at Oak Ridge Marina, where all of the anglers will launch their boats this week.

We talked with Barbara Stevenson to get some inside information on what’s working right now on Fork. She’s been a guide for 33 years alongside her husband, Mark, who is well known for his catch of “Ethel,” a 17-pound, 10-ounce bass that he landed in 1986. The bass was the first-ever entered in the Lone Star Lunker Program, now known as the Toyota ShareLunker program.

Shallow Crankbaits

While talking with Barbara, several shallow crankbait could be seen as low in inventory, or entirely out of stock. That’s because they’re working right now.

“Shallow diving crankbaits and big squarebills are selling well,” she reported. “The bass are mostly near the bank everywhere from ‘dirt shallow’ to around 8 feet of water.”

Stevenson said the bass are just starting to spawn, but the majority of fish want to be near the bank and large numbers of fish are shallow.

“The spawn is only just starting around here,” Stevenson said. “There are some prespawn fish still out deeper, but they are going to be harder to catch right now.”

Swimbaits, Jerkbaits and Plastics

Stevenson said that one of the Bass Pro Tour pros came in and bought plenty of swimbaits, and he was not alone: they’re selling well to everyone who enters the store at Oak Ridge Marina.

“The paddle tail and boot tail swimbaits and the matching swimbait hooks are selling fast,” Stevenson disclosed.

Suspending jerkbaits have been another hot bait, according to Stevenson. “They have been catching a lot of fish and there have been some really big bass caught on jerkbaits recently.”

Soft plastics are always going to be a hot seller at a tackle store, and Stevenson reported that soft stick baits have been both top performers and top sellers recently on Lake Fork.

“They’ve been catching them shallow, and we’ve also been doing well on small Carolina-Rigs,” she shared.

The insight from the team at Oak Ridge Marina gave us a sneak peek of what’s working on Lake Fork. This week, we’re likely to see a wide variety of lures used with success.