James Caldemeyer has made a living as one of Lake Fork’s most respected and popular fishing guides for nearly 20 years, boating well over 100 bass exceeding 10-pounds for he and his clients in that time period.
An all-around good guy, Caldemeyer has also fished a number of Bassmaster Opens too. So, he understands both the challenges and phenomenal opportunities the Bassmaster Elite Series pros are about to face, and he graciously shared his thoughts on the eve of competition.
Q: How many days a year are you on Lake Fork?
Caldemeyer: About 260 days a year.
Q: Let’s start with the obvious question everybody is asking, how much weight will an Elite Series pro have to average each day for a chance to win?
Caldemeyer: History proves that no matter how we doubt this place, you better have at least 25 pounds a day.
Q: What do you think the winning pattern will be this week?
Caldemeyer: It’s going to be an offshore slugfest with football jigs, deep crankbaits, and Carolina rigs all being major players.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge Elite Series pros will face?
Caldemeyer: The lake is 5+ feet low, that shrinks the playing field a lot, so managing your best fishing spots for three or four days of competition is going to be really tough.
Q: How do folks get in touch with you if they want to book a fishing trip?
Caldemeyer: Please check out my website and get ahold of me there at https://officiallakeforktrophybass.com/