How to catch crappie on Lake Fork




Seventeen people attended the July Williams Creek Crappie Club meeting, a relatively new group dedicated to promoting the art of catching crappie on Lake Fork. John Bordas and George Durham signed on as new members. Gary Breedlove signed up at the July Swap meet. Pro crappie guide, Brad Williams shared some of his fishing secrets. Williams Creek Crappie Club just formed this year and has 24 members. "We are not pros or anything, just fishermen," says Danny Kemp, club president. "There are a lot of guys who like to crappie fish, but they don't know how to catch them all year. They think the only time you can catch crappie is in the spring." Crappie can be caught right now in the heat of the summer if you know where to look and how to fish for them. Kemp says on Lake Fork the fish are in anywhere from 17 -25 ft. of water. "Action can be slow because of the heat," cautions Kemp. "The majority of the crappie anglers now are using minnows because of the swelter, but there are some anglers using jigs." Is the size of the minnow important? Not really, according to Kemp. "Size of the minnows really plays to where we buy our minnows, what they have. Right now they have smaller minnows. Last Sunday we went out and caught 20 crappie, the biggest fish measuring 14 inches in length. The fish now are averaging anywhere from 10 to 14 inches." You can fish the trees at this time of the year and get maybe one or two fish off each tree, but you can catch more fish if you can find a brush pile. Next Williams Creek Crappie Club meeting is Aug. 10 at the Oak Ridge Restaurant. Guest speaker will be Mathew Carroll from Jigum Jigs. "At some time we will have crappie tournaments, but the goal now is to educate anglers how to catch the fish. A Crappie Academy is on the calendar for November, a 3 day event including taking new anglers out on the water and teaching them how catch crappie in the winter. For more information go to the Club's website, williamscreekcrappieclub.com. Photo: The Williams Creek Crappie Club signed up two new members at the July meeting.




Tell us what you think!

Best Western - Emory TX Lake Fork

Lake Fork Email Updates


 

Visit our Lake Fork Sponsors!

Lake Fork on Social Media

 
       

Lake Fork Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Fork Weather Forecast

Tuesday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 80

Tuesday Night

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 68

Wednesday

Thunderstorms Likely

Hi: 77

Wednesday Night

Thunderstorms Likely

Lo: 69

Thursday

Rain Showers Likely

Hi: 80

Thursday Night

Thunderstorms Likely

Lo: 68

Friday

Rain Showers

Hi: 80

Friday Night

Rain Showers

Lo: 68


Lake Fork Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 4/2: 402.81 (-0.19)



Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Mar. 26)

GOOD. Water Stained; 62 degrees; 0.32 feet below pool. Water temperature is 58-66 degrees. Bass are pulling up shallow. There is a good late evening bite with Texas rigs, chatterbaits, flukes, wacky rig senkos in 1-3 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Smaller male black bass are moving to the shallows on warm windy banks. Fish the banks with the most sunlight. Bait fish and worm patterns are a good choice. Look for females close-by ready to move to nests. Slow presentations work best. The crappie should be moving shallowly in 60-65-degree water. Wooly buggers can be a good choice. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing has been steady with numbers of big fish possible when the winds allow. Good numbers of crappie on timber in 6-20 feet close to spawning areas. Cold fronts lately have been pushing the fish back out deeper and we may only see one or two days of shallow fish in between fronts. If you find a spawning area with 62-64 degree surface temperatures you may be able to find fish in 2-4 feet. Some fish are holding on bridges, but the bite can change not only by the day but by the hour this time of year. Wind directions and wind speeds are dictating a lot of the crappie’s location and demeanor. The bite is good most days if you can get a bait right on a fish. Minnows, hand tied jigs and soft plastics will all produce this time of year. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

More Fishing Reports