Trying to find a good guide for lake fork. I want to catch a 10 plus. We plan on going 1st weekend in March. I appreciate the help.

Any will be good, they are all GOOD, but I am kinda partial to Marc Mitchell, good guy and you will have fun too

Wrong reason to hire a guide. NO guide worth his salt would say yeah, come on out to Fork and we'll catch a 10+. Could be easier then as there will be fish on beds.

You should hire a guide to learn. Techniques, handling yourself on a boat, navigational tips, electronics and pattens are just a few of the things a good guide can teach you.

As for "Best" Lake Fork guide, no such thing. We all have our favorites and most of them will be booked already. There are a ton of good ones on Fork.

Mark Pack
Lance Vick
Tom Redington
John Tanner
James Caldemeyer
Jason Hoffman
Ronnie Kelly
Brooks Rogers
Rick Carter
Tony Clark
Cody Malone
Marc Mitchell
Larry Barnes
and on and on....

There are alot of awesome guides on the lake, but if your expectation is to catch a DD, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment. You will catch fish, and you will catch nice fish, but view it as an opportunity to learn. These guys are packed full of knowledge and they will get you on a pattern that has the highest potential of producing a DD.
1. Tom Reddington
2. Mark Pack
These two guys are legit and either I or a friend has personally hired them. More guys will post with great guides, but if you call Cameron at Lake Fork Marina, he has a full list.

+1 couldnt have posted a better reply.

+1 Fouz, my thoughts exactly!

Eddie Garrett is a good guy on Fork too

Thanks for the help bigtex guess I should've worded different. Just lookn for a good guide that's worth the money. Don't want to hire some joke and catch unders all day.

Get the list of guides from Cam at LFM. Don't think you could go wrong with any of them.

Listed to fouz and bigtex. You hire a guide to learn and have a good time on the water. If you go with those expectations, there are a lot of good ones out there. Even though Fork can put out a monster at any time, hiring a guide for 1 day during the spawn doesn't come with a DD guarantee.

All that being said, I've fished with a couple and Tom Redington is at the top of my list. But I've heard nothing but good stuff about most of the guys on fouz's list. However, like fouz said (again), I'd bet most of the good ones are booked up for February, March, and April by now.

Yea but they are all at Falcon right now.... Just kidding

i spent a few days with Dean Stroman and my 11 year old son and he was awesome........him and Rick Carter are very informative and even though i thought i new alot about electronics, these guys are REALLY good with them........Lance Vick came highly recommended, and of course how can you go wrong with Mark Pack.......just my .02.......If you were comming to Lake Powell i would take you!!! lol

James Caldemeyer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember JD (Jersey Dan) had a bounty on a 10+ on Fork a few years back.. Don't think it happened, he was with a good guide on Fork a lot of days on the hunt..
Like was said above, try to learn something if you can. How to run the lake, a new technique, what type of rod/reel work best for what etc...
Any of the guides who frequent this site are all good choices, contact a few an talk to them to see who's the best fit in your opinion..

D-Hobbs

Either Mark Pack or Jason Hoffman would be my suggestions.

Remember itis still fishing, not always catching. No one can guarantee that you will catch any slots or overs. I hired a guide and he told me going out we might be fishing for 5-6 bites and I was OK w/ that because I am a fisherman. Got lucky and my first bite was over 8. We didn't catch a lot of fish, but it was a good day on the water. Good luck

Just type in gene-snider.com and check out his web site. Best experience you'll ever have. He's not a highly promoted guy 'cause he's booked up with many long-time customers. Just talk with him on the phone and you'll be convinced.

Gene is a good guide and a lot of fun to be in the boat withvery informative and a heck of a jig fisherman! 903.638.1868

There is a bunch of good ones, but I give my money to Jason Hoffman and have never regretted it.

You are going to be lucky to find any of the top notch guys with a 1st of March opening though.

Cody Malone.. He's a great guide & will bust his butt to put you on fish.. Plus he is fun to fish with & will teach you so much.. 254-722-9031 is his number..

No worries bud, I was just lookin out for ya! Your mentality and expectations going into the trip will dictate what you take from it and you will have an awesome trip whether you catch a DD or not. Guides can't control the bite, but you can control how much you learn! The guides do it because they love it, and they want to teach! Learn all you can, its an awesome lake!

In my opinion, Lance Vick is the best guide on that lake. His pattern won the biggest event that has ever taken place on that lake, and I have never had a bad day with him.

Gene is a quick stick + nobody can surf a 7 footer better than Gene.

Ronnie Kelly is good.

How is JW Patterson?

"Guides can't control the bite, but you can control how much you learn! The guides do it because they love it, and they want to teach!"


This applies to the good guides out there....they are not all equal. I recommend that you figure out exactly what YOU want to get from the trip, other than the stated which no real prefessional guide would guarantee you, and then talk to several to find the right fit. I have fished with a bunch of them and there are some I would not fish with again (personalities just didn't fit) and others that I have fished with over and over again.

Just my .02 here.

I've been on trips with James Caldemeyer x2,, Bryan Duplachan x2, Eddie Garrett. My brother caught a 10 plus with Bryan Duplachan. They all work extremely hard for you. I post this only because no one has mentioned Duplachan.

Marc Mitchell is probably the best eyes on the lake for finding bed fish. His years of experience on what to look for in finding beds and his ability to figure out pretty quick if you are wasting your time flipping to one of those big mamas. He would be my pick and #2 would be Jason Hoffman. IMO

I always forget to mention Duplechain. Excellent guide, super nice guy, too! Been guiding on Fork for a loooooong time.

Mark Pack or Randy Oldfield. for big fish

Zeeter

James Caldemeyer!!!!!!!!!! I've been out with him several times and I've never been disappointed! He's a great guide, and even more, a great person.

http://www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com/

1+
You are definitely going during a prime time on a prime lake to catch that 10lb fish. Don't be disappointed if you don't, lots of variables involved in catching a true giant bass. Will be tough to get a guide who is good during that time because everyone else wants to go and they book early. Good luck!

Don't hire a guide going into this with the idea of wanting to catch a 10 pounder. This hardly every works. The clients I had that did catch double digit fish, did this when we least expected it. Just relax and go fish.

Caldemeyer is very hard to beat

Johnny Glass

If your going just for a big bite, Randy Oldfield is hard to beat. I have a buddy that has put a 10+ in the boat on two different trips with him. However, I like Pack's style and learned a great deal fishing with him. And think he is just as likely to put you on a toad.

Pack-Reddington-Tanner are the top three in my opinion

Brooks Rogers
Gary Paris
Lots to choose from, these are just my two favorites.
I've never caught a 10 with either, but neither have I ever had a bad trip.
Good luck,
Jim

The best one would be the one you are happy with. There are a lot of of them and they all do not have the same personality and fishing style. Call several and talk with them. You decide. A little time spend on the phone with make the trip much nicer. After speaking with them, go with your gut.

Best Fork guide for a 10+ would be the ones guiding at Falcon right now.

Thanks for the input! Luckily I got hooked up with Jason Hoffman!

He is a good one, good teacher and a great guy to spend the day in the boat with. You will have a good time.

Brooks Rogers was great on my trip. I hoped for a good fish, and he had me in position to catch one, saw it at the boat, and it scured me it was so big.

+1

I hope you're right, fishing on his boat in a couple weeks..

A lot of good recommendations here...

Anyone heard from Cam?..he on vacation, or somethin'...figured that he would unleash "The List" upon this thread..

I caught a 10-2 and my brother caught a 10-10 on one day with Oldfield in '03, my dad caught his first DD with Randy in 2010 and a week or 2 later I caught a 12-12 with him. I've also lipped an 11 and a 12-8 for Randy when I was fishing with him.

He catches big fish.

I've only been to Fork once, and it was with Jason Hoffman. My wife and I had a great time, caught some fish on a tough day, and I would book him again if I ever head back.

I have used Stephen Fatherree for the last 2 years, and already have 3 trips booked with him this year...

http://www.mylakeforkguide.com/index.php

I have been fishing with Stephen 5 different trips and have caught one DD fish while with him. Have caught a bunch of other fish and more importantly learned more than I ever could by fishing on my own.

You need to find someone that you are comfortable with and who is going to help you learn to be a better angler. I have found that in Stephen, however someone else may be the best for you.

Good luck in your hunt for a guide and the DD!

i only have a pic of the 12-12 on this comp

Fork has the best guides anywhere. Period. Hire you a good reputable guide and don't focus on how many fish you catch. Watch, listen and learn.

I know most of the guides listed on here. Any of them can catch a 10+ on any day out there. Then again, so can anybody.
But, if I had to put my money on the line for a chance, Id pick:
Mark Pack, Lance Vick, John Tanner, Larry Barnes, or Brian Duplachein (sorry if I spelled it wrong Brian). Period.

Or, spend your money and go down to Falcon and take out Charlie, Speedy, or Jim. You will stand a far better chance down there if a 10+ is what you are seeking.

I would have to throw Jason Hoffman in the mix!! Great guy, catches fish, and excellent at introducing new techniques!

You need realistic expectations at Fork. The last 15 months I have done 10 guide trips with 3 different guides at Fork. I think all the guides are good. Clint gave me a great lesson when I was starting out before he moved away. My guy now is Cody Malone, I love his energy and he’s continued my education. I’ve had days where we caught less than 10 fish and there have been days we’ve caught 100. I have caught dozens of 4-6 pound fish and lost a few 8’s. To my knowledge I’ve never even had a double on my line. Obviously my skill isn’t 25% of the guides, but even they haven’t boated a double when I was there. Cody has landed a 8-9 in front of me and I knocked another 8-9 off with the net.

If you want to understand how few doubles get caught, just check out the big tournaments adding up all the fishing hours and then number of doubles. I think it can be 250-500 hours per double.