Derek’s Fishing Adventures: Mega Schools on Lake Fork

7-6-22 

It’s about 6:00 p.m. and we just picked up my mom to come watch us fish.  We found the spot we wanted to start at.  The water temp is 90 degrees, there is a slight breeze blowing and the water depth is 24 feet. 

When I pulled up to the spot I had a couple of short strikes hit my bait at the end of my cast.  On the next cast the bass tapped the line and I caught it. It was a 3 pounder.

There is so much bait in the water.  Looking at the graph there are a lot of fish in the water all around us.  Just gotta get em to bite.  Next cast, I caught a 5-13.  

I repositioned the boat to get a better angle on the fish.  You have to get everything perfectly lined up and then your ready for action.  As soon as I turned the boat Grant got bit.  He has one on the line.  He sets the hook and pulls it in.  He weighs it, the scale reads 4-87 and he throws it back in.  

Fish were all over the graph from 50 to 100 feet to the side of the boat.   We are fishing in 15 feet of water.  After tying on a 6XD I immediately started ripping donks.  This spot was so loaded.  First cast I caught one.  I asked Grant if he got bit.  He just pulled in a 5-77.  I had another and it was pulling drag.  It came off.  I know it was a big one.

I threw the buoy out to mark the spot so we would keep the position lined up.  I looked at the side imaging and the fish are at the buoy.  There are so many more fish.  I hooked one.  It was small.  Grant hooked one at the same time.  It came off.  I got one.  Oh no, I snagged it.  It came off and another one bit at the lure.  Didn’t get it.  They are all schooled up.  Grant is tying a hair jig on.  I am fishing in the back of the boat.  “Got one”, I yelled.  There are so many fish here.

There is a nice wind blowing.  I am idling to find more fish.  Grant, “Come over here and look at the side imaging”.  The fish moved again.  I am moving the boat to reposition again.  Lines are in.  I got one with my jig.  Grant said, “They are chasing bait in front of us”.  I just got wrecked.  

We tried to go to the same spot as yesterday but there was already a boat on it.

We are driving through the boat lanes.  Big trees are everywhere.  The lake is down 6 feet because they were working on the dam and now there is a drought. There are a lot more trees above the water.  You have to stay close to the buoys or you could really damage the boat.  The trunks of trees are all around.  As the waves glide over the top of the water you can see the trees right below the surface. 

There is a water plane flying over us.  He just landed on the water.  The school is loaded up. I am cranking now.  Oh my, I just hit one on his noggin with my crank bait. Grant is throwing a jig now. 

The sun is setting and the fish won’t bite.  It makes no sense.  So many fish, but they won’t eat.  They are shut down.  All of a sudden, I got bit and the fish almost yanked the reel out of my hand. I just got wrecked.  There are a couple of stumps in this area.

It’s quiet now and the sun is going down fast.  Wind is blowing and the fish are sleeping.  We ended up catching 29 pounds for our best five fish.

7-7-22

It’s 8:00 a.m. in the morning and we are driving over to Mustang Creek.  This spot is in the trees. There is another boat fishing across from us.  There are lots of trees in the water between us. Lines are in, but no bites.

The wind is blowing.  It feels cool like the air conditioner is on.  The skies are blue with little misty white clouds floating by. The sun is shimmering across the water. 

We are now at Bird Island.  The black birds flying all around are cormorants.  Some are in the water; others are perched on the logs lined up in a row, while others are swimming.   A few are flying by darting through the tree stumps jutting out of the water.   One bird has the best view.  She is in the tallest tree that has a nest tucked in the fork at the top.  It is suspended in the air looking out over the island. We are not catching any fish, but we are still enjoying nature and watching the birds on the island.  Finally, three hours later I caught my first fish.  We caught a lot of fish the last few days and it is starting to get hot. It is time to go home.  This week the evening bite was much better than fishing in the morning.  THROW IT OUT, POP IT IN, FISH ON!

Just wanted to let everyone know, “Swim with Fish” is now available at Alspaugh’s Ace Hardware of The Woodlands, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Walmart online.  This is a true story of how my fishing journey started catching one of the biggest catfish ever.