November 19, 2011 – by Jason Hoffman
It looks like the late Fall feed is upon us. As of this writing, the lake level is 395.32 or 7.68 ft below normal pool.
Fish can be found both shallow and deep, but there are some BIG schools of deep fish in the lake right now, and that is where I am concentrating my efforts. They are not necessarily easy to find, but once you do, you can camp out on them for hours.
Look in the first half of major creeks and you should find fish on the flats adjacent to the creek channel. Creek channel swings and intersections are places of particular importance. The best depth range has been 16-25 ft of water, and these schools are moving almost constantly. If you go a few minutes without catching a bass, it's a good idea to re-graph the area and see where the fish have moved. What I am finding is that they are usually moving back and forth along a 500 yard stretch. Watch for some surface activity and that will help at times.
Our best baits have been a 5" and 4" Lake Fork Trophy Lures Flutter spoon, a 3/4 to 1 oz jigging spoon, and a 1/2 oz tail spinner. It's a good idea to keep a scrounger head jig rigged with a 3.5" Lake Fork Live Magic Shad on hand for those fish that surface within casting distance.
We have started to catch some magnum-sized white bass in the same areas as the largemouth. These are fun "fill-in-the-blank" fish that will flat out pull on your line. If you're looking to have a fish fry, these are great fish to take home and eat. The legal length limit is 10" and you can keep 25 per person.
Best of luck on the water. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.