The water is low. That’s the predominate theme you’ll hear this week from anglers and commentators alike as we all prepare for the 2022 Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork. But this lake has giant bass in it, and in all reality the low water just means there are more giants now per acre than there were last year.
Texas resident and Elite Series Pro Chris Zaldain knows all about catching giants and Texas bass fishing. We caught up with him to get the low down on the skinny water and see what his thoughts were on how this week is going to play out.
“The water is crazy down,” said Zaldain. “It’s about 5 1/2 feet low. They sucked it down in the fall of last year for dam maintenance. So it’s extremely low, and there’s lots and lots of timber exposed.”
This makes getting around Fork a little more difficult than usual right now. But in addition to the added navigational challenges, there’s also a massive reduction of surface area to the lake, likely reducing the surface of Fork by several thousands of acres compared to its full pool capacity of just over 27,000 acres. This will make the lake fish smaller than usual, and anglers will be vying for a lot of the same spots.
But the reduction of water and increase in exposed timber both pale in comparison to something else according to Zaldain.
“The biggest thing the about the draw down is that there is zero vegetation in the water.”
Whenever the Elite Series has visited Lake Fork in recent years, there has been a good grass bite up shallow. But that’s not going to be the case this year. All the places where there used to be shoreline vegetation are high and dry now.
“So your shallow water, swim jigging Alabama hammers that generally catch them every year just throwing a swimjig, that’s completely out of the picture.”
This low water is also affecting the shad spawn and bluegill spawn, or at least where the spawning activity is taking place. While these spawns are still happening this week, most of the places where anglers caught bass here relating to spawning baitfish in the 2021 Elite Series event here are also out of the water.
“Last year I relied heavily on a shad spawn. But all those shad spawn points are high and dry. They’re way up on the bank because these points are so flat.”
Still, there are shad spawning here on Fork this week, and the shad spawn will play some sort of role at least. But its felt effect will be less than normal. For one thing, the anglers won’t be taking off from the dock until 7 a.m. Central Time.
By the time the anglers reach their starting spots, much of the spawning activity will be over and done with since shad spawns are typically a low light occurrence and short lived. But the bass are also a little further along here this year according to Zaldain, and that’s playing into things as well.
“Last year we had a great shad spawn, and the fish were still shallow. But this year with these rapid 90-plus degree air temperatures, things are happening fast. Mother Nature is trying to turn this thing into a summertime derby.”
Still, there’s this “in-between” feel to the lake right now according to Zaldain. When asked if he thought this is going to be a tournament where someone can just lock in and do one thing, he had mixed emotions.
“It’s really not like that right now,” said Zaldain referring to practice. “You could literally catch them any which way right now. But the biggest thing is finding migrating fish out deep.”
Finding these deep schools of “fresh fish” will be the key to doing well here this week in Zaldain’s eyes. These fish are just starting to show up offshore and haven’t been tampered with out there yet. They’re hungry and aggressive. And more will be coming right behind them.
“Maybe the last two days of the tournament, it’ll be like, ‘Oh, I’m only going to do one thing,’ once these fish have grouped up and moved out. That typical offshore East Texas bite will happen. Is it going to happen this week with these 90-plus degree temps? That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Knowing there are still some bass shallow though, and not yet knowing if the offshore bite will be in full swing, Zaldain’s plan is to mix it up, to start shallow and end up deep each day, following the shad. As for what he’ll be throwing, “Topwaters, cranking, hopefully the big spoon thing turns on for me and then the glide bait. Straight up power fishing.”
Though the fish are a little spread out as practice draws to a close, and Zaldain as well as many other anglers in the Elite field aren’t exactly sure yet the best way to target the bass, rest assured the bass are biting. We’re about to witness an exciting event.
All signs are pointing to some explosive topwater action early, lots of deep cranking and a little bit of everything in between. Forward facing sonar will inevitably be a crucial tool here again this week as the anglers scour the shallows and offshore spots for baitfish and bass.
Be sure to tune into Bassmaster LIVE starting Thursday morning at 8 a.m. ET to see who can figure them out fast and keep figuring them out as the week goes on.
