Cooper..such a sad story.
The money TP&W spent, and basically wasted on the Sulphur Park is embarrassing.
Perhaps in the next 25 yrs or so when the drought ends and the population in DFW subsides, Cooper will hold water once again and rebound to its former self........NOT!

I think it was the Gardner's caught the big fish and built cabins and guide out there

Not many bass in the lake anymore. Had a sand bass trip over there last year in April and we had a 5 lb bass on that threw the bait. That is the first bass I seen since back in the days. Even the white bass were very poor. I wished the TPW would restock it but just to much money and not enough people using the resources over there. Like you said about the parks what a waist of money.

Back when the lake first opened it was awesome for small 10-15" fish. I would go out on a Sunday afternoon and two of us would easily boat 100 fish in the afternoon. You could just about throw any colored worm and they would hit it. Got rid of a hole bunch of strange colored worms I had bought over the years.

As it matured a little it also was putting out some nice fish. I saw a 10.5 caught and weighed in at a club tournament. Also was a few 30-35 pound stringers winning tournaments. Really loved that lake, thought (as did TPW) it would be the next Fork. My personal best was an 8 1/2. Then it just kind of fell off the face of the fishing world. Water got real muddy, drought hit it hard and it just never fished the same.

A pretty sad ending for what was a pretty great fishery. Camped many times at both state parks. Both are very nice facilities. Was back there maybe three years ago and it is just not the same. Did not get a bite and I knew that lake pretty well.

The first time I ever saw the lake I caught a 7 pounder and a couple over 5. That was probably 1999 or 2000. I caught my PB on May 1, 2000. It was a 10.25 that was the third 10 pounder I had seen caught in a 15 minute span. A week later in the tournament I hung into a good fish on the same tree and thought maybe I had caught my big girl again...but it was "only" a 6 pounder.

Cooper was a great, great lake. I used to drive right over or around Fork to get to it until the combination of drought and water being pulled out of it killed the water quality and apparently most of the bass. The state park facilities were maybe the best I had ever used. As everyone else has said, it is a real shame that they have gone to waste.

Even if it fills up it won't be long before its right back down again. I doubt anymore money will ever be spent on it. Too risky to spend a lot of money on something that has so much uncertainty.

How much would it cost for TP&WD to stock fingerlings into it?

I fished it quite a bit back in it's hay day. That lake could humble you very quickly or you could have a phenomenal day.

Summer time during the hottest part of they day could be outstanding. I remember one trip in August catching big ol bass one after another throwing DD22's.

They did that in 09 and 10.....apparently they were eaten by hybrids... No grass or timber or any other cover...

Living almost on the lake my son and I have bank fished it quiet a bit catching mostly catfish. The last time it was full we were catfishing one day and I brought my finesse rig with me. There was a patch of hydrilla where we were fishing and it just kept knawing at me to pitch a finesse worm in it. I told my son; just messing with him, that I was going to catch a LMB out of a certain spot in that hydrilla. I flipped the worm in an opening in the weeds and immediately connected with a 2 pounder. That was the last LMB I caught out of it.
I think it was the 2010 waterfowl season it was full again. We were in the back of the lake on the south side and it was unseasonably warm and the last day of the season. We had our spread out before daylight and as the sun began to rise fish started breaking in the lily pads and aquatic weeds in the shallows. I'm pretty sure it was LMB's.
One thing good about the aquatic growth in this lake is once it gets water over it, it rebounds pretty quick. There will be lily pads almost instantly and the grasses will soon follow. I think this lake would fish like Twok if it stayed deep enough to keep aquatic growth. I think it would surprise you the number of LMB's you might catch. They will more than likely be caught in vegetation that is in a foot of water or less. If it fills the rest of the way I'll be out trying to find them........

Holy hell.....she's only -5.95

I know, im watching as well. sabine creek runs by Royse City, Sabine river at flood pool for last few weeks..Cooper had such promise before the drawdown..Maybe it can recover.

Oh the days we had out there in the late 90's. It all started when decided to do some work on the dam and draw the lake down for repairs. That started the killing of the grass. Then the droughts came and the pulling of water. The lake was never the same after that. I will never forget the day that Jimmy Smith and his son met me and my buddy out there on hot August day. Between our two boats we caught over 400 fish. All on Texas rigged worms in 15-25 ft of water. Jimmy kept saying "we're in Nam man"! It was crazy!

Cooper was great. I had some great days out there. I don't think it will ever come back.

Manhunter turned me on to Cooper, we fished it on a tourney but it was already suffering then..Only place we caught fish was doctors..At the time decent pepper grass..Probably wasted now...