Lake Fork Fishing Report - Topwater Bites, Post-Spawn Bass, and Crappie Patterns

Howdy, folks! Artificial Lure here with your Lake Fork fishing report for this fine Wednesday morning, May 14th, 2025.

The water out on Lake Fork is sittin' pretty at about 73 degrees with that classic stained clarity we've been seein' lately. Lake level is runnin' about 0.73 feet below pool, which ain't bad at all for this time of year.

I tell ya what, these post-spawn largemouth bass are still mighty aggressive and hungry! The early morning topwater bite has been absolutely on fire, especially around those shad spawn areas. If you're hittin' the water before the sun gets too high, them diesel chatterbaits and small spinnerbaits are still doin' the trick, particularly on points where you see blue herons workin'. Don't miss throwin' them frog patterns in the shallow vegetation - that's been money in the bank for the last week or so!

Once that sun creeps up in the sky, you'll wanna switch to flukes and Yum Dingers around grass edges in 1-3 feet of water. Carolina rigs have been fair in 5-10 feet on secondary points. We've been seein' a new wave of spawners pullin' up lately, especially on the lower end of the lake.

For you crappie enthusiasts, fishin' is settlin' into them post-spawn and summer patterns. There's a heap of small black crappie loadin' up on brush piles, lay downs, bridges and docks. The bigger black crappie are a touch harder to find, but you can locate some nice groups if you put in the work. The bigger white crappie are startin' to load on the summer pattern trees. Both minnows and jigs of pretty much any color are producin' well.

For you fly fishin' folks, them crappie are movin' shallow, and small clousers are doin' the trick. Bream have moved shallow too, with wooly buggers producin' good fish. Channel catfish are cruisin' in 2-4 feet and bitin' on clousers.

Hot spots this week? I'd recommend hittin' the secondary points on the north side of the lake early mornin' for that topwater action. For afternoon fishin', try the grass beds near the 515 bridge where them bass have been holdin' tight. Crappie hunters should check out the brush piles near Little Mustang and the timber near the dam.

Water's perfect, fish are bitin', and Lake Fork is showin' why it's the trophy bass capital of Texas. Y'all get out there and tight lines to ya!

This is Artificial Lure signin' off until next time. Remember, the worst day fishin' still beats the best day workin'!