Fantasy Fishing: Heavy hitters and shallow bass

Written by

Coy Greathouse

The famed Lake Fork is famous for one reason. Big bass. And a lot of them. While a 7- to 8-pounder is a bona fide giant on most lakes across the country, they barely get a glance on this fishery. The last several years have been really interesting for Lake Fork. A few years ago, they dropped the lake level down over eight feet to do some work on the dam. During that stent, the bank grass and bushes flourished and when they lake finally filled back up, it introduced a whole new biome to the lake that hadn’t been there in some time. The last few years, including the last Elite Series trip here, it has been relatively stable and all signs would have pointed to this tournament being a stable-water slugfest. But don’t hold your breath! This part of Texas has gotten some serious rain the last few weeks. With all that rain comes two things that significantly impact this lake—flooded banks and current.

In general, current is a good thing for fishing… but not on Lake Fork. When they open the gates, it shuts these Florida strain bass down. In the past, the bass have been spread out all over the lake, but with these conditions, and more rain on the way this week, it will almost certainly be a genuine grinder of a tournament. This will undoubtably be the most difficult Elite Series tournament on Lake Fork these anglers have ever experienced.

Will that means low weights? Yes. The field will have a lower average weight because they simply won’t catch as many fish as they have in years past. But trust me, they’re still gonna smash ‘em.

Don’t be surprised to still see it take over a hundred pounds to win. The difference will be in the bottom 60% of the field. It will be tough to catch a limit for some of these guys. The Top 10 on Sunday will spend most of their time as far away from the current as possible. With all the vegetation in the water and freshly flooded bank cover, you will see a ton of bass being caught in super shallow water. Some guys will certainly pick them off of standing timber or around docks too. Look for guys who are really good at throwing frogs, jigs, and crankbaits.

The last factor to pay attention to will be the shad spawn. It has been an unusually delayed spawn this year, so there will likely be some fish on beds still, but temperatures are ranging in the mid-70’s, which means that morning bite on the shad that are flooding the bank will be critical. The balance to the shallow fisherman will be to snag a few guys that are good at spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwaters and swimbaits too. This is going to be an interesting one.

Let’s get into some picks.

BUCKET A: LIVESAY

If Lee Livesay had a dollar for every set of conditions he has ever fished in on Lake Fork, the dude would be a millionaire. This tournament will absolutely require some junk fishing and a ton of adjustment. He has the rolodex of spots to be able to move around efficiently. If he can avoid the “local” pressure, he’ll be a shoe-in for a Top 10. He has fished three events on Fork and won two of them. The 2024 event was an anomaly and you can rest assured that an 82nd place finish won’t happen again.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 82nd, 1st, 1st

Don’t Sleep On: Patrick Walters

Patrick Walters is certainly a value pick anywhere south of 10% player percentage. He has fairly consistent results here. In the past, he has plucked them off of standing timber and brush piles using his FFS. If the water gets stable, that may very well be the way they get caught, in which case, Walters will be a strong contender.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 12th, 24th, 2nd

BUCKET B: PALANIUK

In the last half a decade or so, Brandon Palaniuk has shifted from a one-trick pony with a deep diving crankbait, to one of the most versatile anglers on tour, and his six Elite wins is proof of that. He can do all of the following with consistent success: flip, frog, jerkabait over brush piles, throw giant swimbaits, walk a big topwater and of course, crank. He won on Okeechobee doing something completely different than 95% of the field and blew it out. It could get nasty out there and you’ll have to get sneaky to get a bite.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 1st, 17th, 17th

23rd, 2nd, 14th

Don’t Sleep On: Drew Benton

It seemed like Texas just wouldn’t warm up long enough to get things rolling for the bass spawn until well into April. With it just now being May, sure, a lot of fish have spawned, but there are still going to be some lingering bertha’s up doing their thing. Drew Benton loves to sight fish and is clearly one of the best. A lot of guys will be focused on the shad spawn first thing, which may give him some extra time to pick of a few big ones before the crowds make their way back into the creeks.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 42nd, 41st, 19th

BUCKET C: WILLIAMS

For a sophomore, Tyler Williams is defying all the odds and having a spectacular year. As a rule of thumb, second year Elite Series anglers tend to struggle, but not this guy. The events he was built for, Lake Ray Roberts (14th), Okeechobee (15th) and Pasquotank (7th), he got the job done. Last year, he put the hammer down and finished 4th place flipping big cypress trees and docks for spawning and post-spawn fish. That’ll certainly be a factor this week.

Previous B.A.S.S. finishes: 4th

Don’t Sleep On: Keith Combs

With the records that Keith Combs has set on this body of water, it’s tough to not pick him. Texas is a big state, so I don’t think he would consider himself a local, but he has fished this lake a ton. It all comes down to whether he can lock in with what they’re doing. He has had a decent start to his season and this one could certainly ramp up the pace for the back half of the schedule.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 29th, 59th, 43rd

BUCKET D: SWINDLE

When Gerald Swindle was in grade school, he won the end-of-year award for “Most Likely to be the King of the Junkyard”. I don’t know how they could have nailed that one any better. There is no better junk fisherman on tour than this man. His version of dialed in has twenty-five rods on the front deck, fifteen in the back seat, and 20 more rigged up in the box. This tournament will fit his style. His history is mixed, but if you chock 2024 up to a fluke, he is always good for a finish in the 30s or better.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 93rd, 3rd, 39th

Don’t Sleep On: Brandon Cobb

It was tempting to not pick Brandon Cobb because of his love for the spawn, whether that be for bass or shad. He has proven in multiple events on this very lake that he can be dangerous. One of those tournament resulted in a win (2019) and multiple fish at or above the 10-pound mark.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 47th, 63rd, 25th

BUCKET E: ZALDAIN

Chris Zaldain moved from the West Coast to be more centered for the sake of the travel schedule, but you can bet money it was also to be closer to a bunch of lakes with huge bass in them. Living just two and half hours from Fork means that he has plenty of opportunities to make it out there to learn the lake. Since he is in Bucket E, it will be tough to get back in Classic contention… but not if he can manage to bring one home. With that in mind, he will be swinging for it. Big baits around timber, rocky banks, docks and marinas will definitely get a bunch of followers, but will they eat? And even more importantly, can he get them in the boat? If he doesn’t have a Bass Live camera in his boat early on, you’ll be able to watch him LIVE on his Facebook page. It could get nasty.

Last three B.A.S.S. finishes: 36th, 40th, 5th