Elite

Top lures at Lake Fork 2022

Posted on
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Lake Fork. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Lee Livesay. The Texas grandaddy of trophy bass fishing, a fisheries department whose quality bass management is second to none and the angler whose name is synonymous for winning on his home lake.
For the second consecutive year, Livesay won on Lake Fork, this time with a winning weight of 113 pounds, 11 ounces, at the Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.
Livesay won another B.A.S.S. Century Club belt, as did veterans Brandon Palaniuk (102-2), Gerald Swindle (102-2) and Shane LeHew (100-9).
Lake Fork’s largemouth population was mainly in postspawn mode, staging on points, submerged islands, humps and other textbook areas leading to deeper water.
In this gallery you will discover the top anglers used a mix of crankbaits, jigs and soft plastic worms to find and catch transitional postspawn bass. Having a variety of baits on hand is a must when tracking down bass on the move. Do you have all the tackle it takes to catch them? From shallow to deep, the baits you need to catch fish from the entire water column are available at basspro.com.
Chris Johnston (10th; 92-2)
Chris Johnston found success on a magnum worm and football jig.
A 3/4-ounce football jig with a Strike King Rage Chunk did most of the damage, as Johnston hopped it on the bottom for reaction strikes.
For slower action, he used a Texas-rigged 12-inch flat-tail worm.
Derek Hudnall (9th; 92-4)
Derek Hudnall rotated between a bladed jig and skirted jig to catch bass in two key shallow- and deep-water areas.
For making long casts to feeding bass on points, he used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Missile Baits Shockwave 4.5 for a trailer.
For finesse fishing, he used a 3/4-ounce Missile Baits Ike’s Head Banger Jig, with a Missile Baits D Bomb for a trailer.
Bill Lowen (8th; 96-12)
Bill Lowen flipped and pitched a Texas-rigged worm and his signature jig.
A key bait was a LurePartsOnline 3/8-ounce Bill Lowen Signature Series Jig, with a LurePartsOnline Craw Chunk.
Lowen also used a Strike King Shim-E-Stick, rigged on a 4/0 Haybusa Fishing FPP Straight Hook, with a 1/4-ounce Reins Tungsten weight.
Joshua Stracner (7th; 97-14)
Crankbaits and plastic worms allowed Joshua Stracner to cover shallow- and deep-water strike zones.
Key crankbaits were a Strike King Pro Model Series 5 and a Strike King Pro Model 5XD. Stracner also used a Strike King Squarebill 8.0 Magnum Crankbait (pictured).
For finesse fishing, he used a Strike King Bullworm, rigged on a 1/2-ounce Owner Hooks Magnum Shaky Football Head.
Bryan New (6th; 98-14)
Bryan New relied on a deep-diving crankbait, swimbait and magnum plastic worm.
The crankbait choice was a Spro Little John DD 90.
During a shad spawn he used a Zoom Swimmer, rigged on a 3/4-ounce homemade jighead.
New also used a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm, rigged on a 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Crawball Shakey Head Jig.
Power and finesse lures are ideal for covering water and focusing on specific schools and individual bass during the postspawn cycle. Do you have the variety of baits needed to catch them? Check out the selections in this gallery and then shop now for what you need at basspro.com.
Marc Frazier (5th; 99-1)
Marc Frazier relied primarily on a jerkbait and crankbait to catch postspawn transition bass staging on points.
For the jerkbait, he used a Spro McStick.
For the crankbait, Frazier used a Spro Fat Papa SB 70.
Shane LeHew (4th; 100-9)
A squarebill crankbait, topwater walking bait and a plastic worm covered the water column throughout for Shane LeHew.
A top performer for bass on the move was a Berkley SquareBull 5.5 crankbait.
During a shad spawn he used a Berkley Cane Walker 110.
When that ended, he used a 10-inch PowerBait Power Worm, rigged on a Berkley Fusioni19 Swing Head.
Gerald Swindle (3rd; 102-2)
A skirted jig, leadhead jig and crankbait covered deep and shallow water fish for Gerald Swindle.
A key bait was a Boss Outdoors Jig, with the skirt chosen and added by Swindle. He alternated between 1/2- and 3/4-ounce sizes, adding a Zoom Z Craw for a trailer. He dipped the tails in chartreuse dye to imitate the bluegill tails of the panfish rising to eat bass fry in standing timber.  
A 3/4-ounce Buckeye Lures Spot Remover Pro Model Jig Head, with a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm, was another choice, for fishing in the timber.
For dredging deep water areas, Swindle cranked a Rapala DT20 Crankbait.
Brandon Palaniuk (2nd; 102-2)
A crankbait and structure spoon were ideal for the offshore program favored by Brandon Palaniuk, to catch fish in a 10- to 25-foot strike zone.
A key bait for covering water was a Rapala DT16.
For catching fish viewed on his forward-facing sonar, Palaniuk used a 6-inch flutter spoon.
Lee Livesay (1st; 113-11)
A crankbait for covering water to find sweet spots, and a pair of jigs for finessing the fish were the lures of choice for Livesay.
Livesay chose a 6th Sense Crush 300D Crankbait for postspawn bass in deeper water.
A 3/4-ounce 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig with a NetBait Paca Craw was a jig choice.
Another was a Hog Farmer Tremoring Hog Tie Jig.

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