Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Lake Fork Fishing Report May 5th 2025 - Topwater, Crappie, and Summer Patterns
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Lake Fork Fishing Report May 5th 2025 - Topwater, Crappie, and Summer Patterns
Howdy, folks! This is Artificial Lure comin' at ya with your Lake Fork fishing report for this fine Monday morning, May 5th, 2025.
Weather's shaping up nicely today with temperatures holding steady - perfect for a day on the water. The lake level is running about 0.21 feet below pool, and water temps are hovering around 73-74 degrees with stained clarity. That's prime fishing conditions if you ask me!
Bass fishing has been downright excellent lately. These post-spawn largemouth are aggressive and the topwater bite is absolutely on fire! Early mornings have been producing well with the shad spawn activity - those diesel chatterbaits and small spinnerbaits are doing the trick on points where you see birds working. Don't miss out on throwing frog patterns in the shallow vegetation - that's been money in the bank.
For those of you targeting those pockets where bass are guarding fry, topwaters have been the ticket. Once the sun gets up a bit, switch to flukes and wacky rigs around grass edges in 1-3 feet of water. If you're cranking or slow dragging over rocky areas, you'll find consistent action there too.
Crappie fishing has settled into that post-spawn pattern we'll see through summer. There's a ton of small black crappie loading up on brush piles, laydowns, bridges and docks. The bigger slabs are a bit trickier to locate, but worth hunting for. White crappie are starting to hit those summer pattern trees, though there's a lot of fry making them hard to spot even on forward facing sonar. Look for crappie anywhere from 10-30 feet deep - some might be just 2 feet under the surface while others are hugging bottom. Both minnows and jigs in any color are producing.
Bream have moved shallow, and fly fishermen are doing well with wooly buggers. Channel cats are cruising in 2-4 feet and hitting clousers nicely.
For hot spots, I'd recommend checking out the points near the 515 bridge early for that shad spawn action. Later in the day, Mustang Creek and the north end of the lake have been producing consistently. The area around Lake Fork Marina has been holding some quality fish too.
Remember, folks, the key this week is working those topwaters early, then switching to soft plastics as the day warms up. Don't forget your sunscreen and plenty of water!
This is Artificial Lure signing off - tight lines and good fishing to y'all until next time!
Weather's shaping up nicely today with temperatures holding steady - perfect for a day on the water. The lake level is running about 0.21 feet below pool, and water temps are hovering around 73-74 degrees with stained clarity. That's prime fishing conditions if you ask me!
Bass fishing has been downright excellent lately. These post-spawn largemouth are aggressive and the topwater bite is absolutely on fire! Early mornings have been producing well with the shad spawn activity - those diesel chatterbaits and small spinnerbaits are doing the trick on points where you see birds working. Don't miss out on throwing frog patterns in the shallow vegetation - that's been money in the bank.
For those of you targeting those pockets where bass are guarding fry, topwaters have been the ticket. Once the sun gets up a bit, switch to flukes and wacky rigs around grass edges in 1-3 feet of water. If you're cranking or slow dragging over rocky areas, you'll find consistent action there too.
Crappie fishing has settled into that post-spawn pattern we'll see through summer. There's a ton of small black crappie loading up on brush piles, laydowns, bridges and docks. The bigger slabs are a bit trickier to locate, but worth hunting for. White crappie are starting to hit those summer pattern trees, though there's a lot of fry making them hard to spot even on forward facing sonar. Look for crappie anywhere from 10-30 feet deep - some might be just 2 feet under the surface while others are hugging bottom. Both minnows and jigs in any color are producing.
Bream have moved shallow, and fly fishermen are doing well with wooly buggers. Channel cats are cruising in 2-4 feet and hitting clousers nicely.
For hot spots, I'd recommend checking out the points near the 515 bridge early for that shad spawn action. Later in the day, Mustang Creek and the north end of the lake have been producing consistently. The area around Lake Fork Marina has been holding some quality fish too.
Remember, folks, the key this week is working those topwaters early, then switching to soft plastics as the day warms up. Don't forget your sunscreen and plenty of water!
This is Artificial Lure signing off - tight lines and good fishing to y'all until next time!
View all episodes
By Quiet. PleaseHowdy, folks! This is Artificial Lure comin' at ya with your Lake Fork fishing report for this fine Monday morning, May 5th, 2025.
Weather's shaping up nicely today with temperatures holding steady - perfect for a day on the water. The lake level is running about 0.21 feet below pool, and water temps are hovering around 73-74 degrees with stained clarity. That's prime fishing conditions if you ask me!
Bass fishing has been downright excellent lately. These post-spawn largemouth are aggressive and the topwater bite is absolutely on fire! Early mornings have been producing well with the shad spawn activity - those diesel chatterbaits and small spinnerbaits are doing the trick on points where you see birds working. Don't miss out on throwing frog patterns in the shallow vegetation - that's been money in the bank.
For those of you targeting those pockets where bass are guarding fry, topwaters have been the ticket. Once the sun gets up a bit, switch to flukes and wacky rigs around grass edges in 1-3 feet of water. If you're cranking or slow dragging over rocky areas, you'll find consistent action there too.
Crappie fishing has settled into that post-spawn pattern we'll see through summer. There's a ton of small black crappie loading up on brush piles, laydowns, bridges and docks. The bigger slabs are a bit trickier to locate, but worth hunting for. White crappie are starting to hit those summer pattern trees, though there's a lot of fry making them hard to spot even on forward facing sonar. Look for crappie anywhere from 10-30 feet deep - some might be just 2 feet under the surface while others are hugging bottom. Both minnows and jigs in any color are producing.
Bream have moved shallow, and fly fishermen are doing well with wooly buggers. Channel cats are cruising in 2-4 feet and hitting clousers nicely.
For hot spots, I'd recommend checking out the points near the 515 bridge early for that shad spawn action. Later in the day, Mustang Creek and the north end of the lake have been producing consistently. The area around Lake Fork Marina has been holding some quality fish too.
Remember, folks, the key this week is working those topwaters early, then switching to soft plastics as the day warms up. Don't forget your sunscreen and plenty of water!
This is Artificial Lure signing off - tight lines and good fishing to y'all until next time!
Weather's shaping up nicely today with temperatures holding steady - perfect for a day on the water. The lake level is running about 0.21 feet below pool, and water temps are hovering around 73-74 degrees with stained clarity. That's prime fishing conditions if you ask me!
Bass fishing has been downright excellent lately. These post-spawn largemouth are aggressive and the topwater bite is absolutely on fire! Early mornings have been producing well with the shad spawn activity - those diesel chatterbaits and small spinnerbaits are doing the trick on points where you see birds working. Don't miss out on throwing frog patterns in the shallow vegetation - that's been money in the bank.
For those of you targeting those pockets where bass are guarding fry, topwaters have been the ticket. Once the sun gets up a bit, switch to flukes and wacky rigs around grass edges in 1-3 feet of water. If you're cranking or slow dragging over rocky areas, you'll find consistent action there too.
Crappie fishing has settled into that post-spawn pattern we'll see through summer. There's a ton of small black crappie loading up on brush piles, laydowns, bridges and docks. The bigger slabs are a bit trickier to locate, but worth hunting for. White crappie are starting to hit those summer pattern trees, though there's a lot of fry making them hard to spot even on forward facing sonar. Look for crappie anywhere from 10-30 feet deep - some might be just 2 feet under the surface while others are hugging bottom. Both minnows and jigs in any color are producing.
Bream have moved shallow, and fly fishermen are doing well with wooly buggers. Channel cats are cruising in 2-4 feet and hitting clousers nicely.
For hot spots, I'd recommend checking out the points near the 515 bridge early for that shad spawn action. Later in the day, Mustang Creek and the north end of the lake have been producing consistently. The area around Lake Fork Marina has been holding some quality fish too.
Remember, folks, the key this week is working those topwaters early, then switching to soft plastics as the day warms up. Don't forget your sunscreen and plenty of water!
This is Artificial Lure signing off - tight lines and good fishing to y'all until next time!