|
|
 |
Welcome to Ricky's Guide Service
|
One of the great things about keeping a log of your fishing trips is being able to go back to it and see what the fish were doing in any given month and start your next trip using the same pattern. This has paid off for me MANY times in the past and I am certain it will pay off again. A lot of people come to East Texas each year from out of town, out of state and even from other countries to take part in some of, if not the best, bass fishing in the world. Now, nothing beats an up to date fishing report, which we also have, but when that is not available logs from previous trips are hard to beat! I have compiled a condensed version of my logs that detail the patterns that I have seen time and again on these lakes. Click on the month that you are interested in to see what the fish should be doing when you get here.
|
03/28/2005
Palestine and Fork - TX,
April One of the Years Best Months for Fishing
Just as the title says April is one of the year’s best months for fishing and it doesn’t matter where you are or what lake you may be fishing on. You will find bass in the shallows and biting on near about anything you can throw at them. Crappie will be up shallow as well and you can use jigs and minnows to catch them and if you are at a lake that has catfish, sand bass and Hybrid strippers in it such as lake Palestine one of the lakes I guide on then you will find them all doing well to.
As a fishing guide here in East Texas, guiding on two of the very best lakes in Texas I have the opportunity to fish for all of the above fish I mentioned and I find that each of them have minds of their own and bite when they are ready. Now if you will come along with me, I will try and tell you just how I find and catch each of these fish and what you can expect to do this month on Lake Palestine and Lake Fork.
Well first let me tell you the conditions at this time. Lake Fork is where we will begin, you will find Lake Fork clear for the most part with the surface temps ranging from 58 to 65 degrees and fishing great. Lake Palestine will be clear to slightly stain up north and stained to muddy down south. Fishing is great.
Bass on both lakes can be found in the shallows working spawning beds and as I said you can catch them on just about any kind of lure.
The technique you use will determine the type lure you use. For instance if I’m fishing bedding bass I may be right up close to the bass and fishing it with a tube bait or jig and or even a lizard. This technique is called sight fishing which I will use this time of year a lot. Another way will be to find the bedding area and back out away from the beds and cast a fry or a sinko type lure and do what we call dead sticking. Dead sticking is where you rig your soft plastic lure up with no weight. You will cast it out and let it settle slowly to the bottom and then work it very slow back to the boat. This technique I will use a lot during March through July. Another form of spawn fishing will be another favorite of mine which is to beat the bank with spinner bait and a wacky worm. Spinner baits that I use will be ¼ to no more than 3/8’s oz. and in either white or chart/white. I will rig the spinner bait with a trailer hook and a Mr. Twister split double tail trailer. All of my soft Plastics will be products made by Mr. Twister because they are packed with salt and the new Exude fish catching formula that fish just can’t turn loose of.
When you fish what ever lake that it is your fishing on you might try these techniques out they can and will be very rewarding to you.
Next, crappie boy it just doesn’t get any better than now. The crappie are packed up in the shallows and they are biting. At this time I have been running several crappie trips and we are casting slip cork rigs with both minnows and jigs and we are even doing what we call long poling for crappie. Well for those that may be new to fishing let me tell you what I just said in English. To rig a slip cork rig you will need to go to your favorite tackle store whether it is Porters at Dogwood City on Lake Palestine or Bass pro Shops in Dallas. When you get there ask for help and tell them you want to fish for crappie using a slip cork rig, tell them you need a cork that will slide up and down your line and a bobber stopper to keep your bait from going to deep. You can get these rigs already made up or you can make them up yourself. Here is what I do, I will get a #2 gold hook, a weight, a glass bead and a swivel, and a bobber that has a hole up through the middle and then I will find a rubber band. I will tie my swivel on to a short piece of line then I will place a glass bead on the line then a bullet weight, next I will place another bead on the line and then tie on to my hook. After I do this I will run my main line through the hole in the bobber so that it will slide up and down my line. Next I will take a small rubber band and tie it on to my line above the bobber. With the band I can move it up and down my line to fish deep or shallow. With this rig you can cast it with a reel and fish deep brush piles or you can fish the shallows.
Long polling is where you use a 12 foot rod with or without a reel and the slip rig. This rig is used for reaching out and fishing hard to get to spots, such as up under a dock or in under a bush pile where you can’t cast. Long poling works.
Cat fish are doing well in the shallows on liver and chicken hearts. Fish under the boat docks and on rocky points for your catfish.
Sand bass on Lake Palestine have just about finished their spawn and are beginning to move back on the points and humps. You can catch them on spoons and small Sassy Shads rigged on a 1/4oz. jig head.
If you are coming to Lake Palestine or Lake Fork and need a guide then give me a call and lets spend a day on the water catching your favorite fish whether it be to catch the fast hard fighting large mouth bass or the great eating Crappie and Catfish.
You can call me at (903)561-7299 or email me at ricky@rickysguideservice.com
Until next month remember to keep only what you can use and release the rest to fight another day.
|
|
