Lake Fork Fishing Report: Topwaters, Deep Divers, and Crappie Slabs for June 20, 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Fork, Texas fishing report for Friday, June 20, 2025.

Sunrise gave us a jumpstart at 6:16 a.m. and sunset won’t hit until 8:29 p.m., so anglers have a long window to work with today. Weather-wise, it’s classic East Texas in June—highs pushing the upper 80s, humidity thick, and a light southern breeze keeping things comfortable on the water. The lake is sitting just above full pool after our recent spring rains, water temps running a steady 78 to 84 degrees, and clarity is best mid-lake, with some stain in the east and west arms.

Let’s talk fish activity. Bass are booming right now. Early mornings and late evenings, you’ll want to get up shallow—points, grass, pads, and timber are loaded with shad, and the largemouths are on the prowl. Topwater action is red-hot on frogs and buzzbaits right at first light. Chatterbaits and squarebill crankbaits will also get hammered, especially if the wind’s pushing bait to shore. As the sun climbs, bass move out deeper—main and secondary points, humps, and those legendary roadbeds in 12 to 22 feet are all holding fish. Carolina rigs with flukes or big worms, deep-diving crankbaits, and shakey heads are all putting quality fish in the boat. Natural color craws and creature baits are working around submerged timber. Locals report daily catches of largemouths between 2 and 8 pounds, with a couple double-digit giants landed just this week.

Crappie are stacking up thick on underwater bridges, roadbeds, and brush piles, especially in the 14 to 32 foot range. Minnows, small soft plastics, and 1/16-ounce hand-tied jigs are all you need—just make sure to keep those baits above the fish for more bites. The bite is aggressive with plenty of post-spawn slabs coming in, and color hasn’t mattered much as long as you’re in the strike zone.

Catfish are cruising the shallows, especially around 2 to 4 feet, and big bream are up shallow, too. Try punch bait or fresh shad for cats, and wooly buggers or small worms for the bream.

Hot spots you’ll want to check out today include the 164 Bridge and Chicken Ridge Hump. Both are producing consistent action for bass; the 164 Bridge is especially good on crankbaits and Carolina rigs, while Chicken Ridge has yielded a couple of this week’s biggest fish.

In summary—topwaters early and late, move deeper mid-morning with Carolina rigs, deep divers, and finesse baits in natural colors. Minnows and small jigs for crappie, punch bait or shad for cats, and keep moving until you find the action because Lake Fork is fishing lights-out this week.

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