Lake Fork Winter Pattern

Winter time is likely your best bet for a monster bass. If you look at the Texas top 50 bass, 7 of the top 10 fish were caught from the last week of November through the first week of March. In the winter, I have caught more 10+ bass than any other time of the year, excluding the spawn. Considering what little time I spend on the water in the winter, that is an impressive statistic. Winter is usually when I put the boat in the shop for much needed repairs. This is also the best time for promoting my fishing business for the rest of the year (boat and tackle shows, etc.). I don't seem to get a lot of clients that want to fish in the extreme cold of winter.
During the winter, the fish on Lake Fork get very big, but when the water is cold, it is tough to get good numbers. However, recent winter fishing has produced better numbers than I can recall in several years. I think this has a lot to do with the grass making a comeback. We have caught lots of quality fish with water temps as low as the 40s. We catch most of them on spinnerbaits, rattle traps, rogues, and weightless worms. I fish mostly around the greenest hydrilla I can find.
If you are out for BIG fish, Fork is most always the best bet any time of the year. Those days when you aren't getting any bites could be one of the days you get THE BITE OF YOUR LIFE.
However, I like to guarantee fish to my clients and I don't know of anybody who would guarantee fish with water temps in the 40s. When the water is below 60 degrees, I recommend the warm water lakes to my clients who want guaranteed fish. I guide on Lake Monticello and Lake Welsh from late November through early March and recommend those lakes for those of you who prefer quantity over quality. These lakes have warm water in the winter, so you can usually catch fish even in the worst conditions.