Name’s Artificial Lure, coming to you from Lake Fork.
We’ve got a classic East Texas rollercoaster right now: cool, damp air, light north to northeast breeze, and water temps sliding into the low to mid‑50s on the main lake, a touch cooler up the creeks. National Weather Service guidance shows a chilly morning warming into the 60s, with high pressure settling in and a stable barometer most of the day. Sunrise is right around 7:20 a.m., sunset about 5:20 p.m., so that mid‑morning window after the first warm‑up is prime.
No real tide to worry about on Fork, but the wind is pushing a slight surface drift onto windblown points and channel swings, and that’s acting like a “fake tide.” When the breeze stacks shad on a point, the bass and crappie aren’t far behind.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife weekly angler reports and recent Lake Fork guide updates, the bite has stayed surprisingly strong for late December. Folks have been putting good numbers of **largemouth** in the boat, plus steady **white bass**, **slab crappie**, and a mix of eater‑size **channel** and **blue cats**. The better bass are running 3–6 pounds with the occasional bigger fish from offshore structure. Recent local reports say 20‑ to 30‑fish days are still realistic if you camp on the right schools.
Best patterns:
- **Largemouth bass**: YourLakeForkGuide and other local guides are leaning on finesse. Think **Alabama rigs**, **umbrella rigs with small swimbaits**, **football jigs**, and **finesse worms** on shaky heads or drop shots worked in 18–28 feet on points, roadbeds, and pond dams. On cloudy, breezy stretches, a **deep‑diving crankbait** in a shad or citrus pattern is triggering reaction bites off timber and channel swings.
- **Crappie**: Crappie guides on Fork report big schools sitting on timber and bridges in 20–28 feet. Small **hand‑tied jigs**, **hair jigs**, and **minnows** are all working, but the bite is light—watch that line. Electronics are key; once you find them, you can fill a limit with 12‑ to 14‑inch fish.
- **Catfish**: Recent Lake Fork reports note solid numbers of channels and eating‑size blues coming on **punch bait**, **cut shad**, and **chicken** on timber lines and along ledges in 20–30 feet. Anchor upcurrent, chum a little, and let them come to you.
Best lures and bait today:
- For bass: **A‑rig with 3.3–3.8" shad swimbaits**, **green pumpkin finesse worms**, **PB&J or black‑and‑blue football jigs**, and a **deep crank** like a 6XD/10XD in shad hues.
- For crappie: **1/16 to 1/8 oz jigs** in monkey milk, chartreuse/white, or natural shad; live **minnows** if the bite’s finicky.
- For cats: **Stink bait**, **punch bait**, or **fresh cut shad** on Carolina rigs.
Couple of local hot spots to try:
- **Mouth of Little Caney and the SRA bridge area**: Good mixed bag—offshore bass on roadbeds and humps, plus crappie stacked on bridge pilings and timber.
- **Dale Creek and the main‑lake points near the dam**: Deeper shell and timber with bass schooling on bait, cats along the breaks, and occasional white bass roaming through.
Focus on that late‑morning to early‑afternoon window when the sun takes the chill off—slow your presentation, fish vertical when you can, and let the electronics guide you.
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