Zeroed at Fork.....again

That lake has my number. I've been four times now and I struggle to even get a bite. I went today for about 6 hours and didn't even get a bite. I fished chatter baits and swim jigs shallow around the vegetation and nothing. I went a little deeper to about 8-12' and dragged stuff and also nothing. I stayed on the Caney side, first time fishing this creek. How did anybody else do?? Mind sharing some general tips? Thanks!

Join the club. It is bigger than most want to admit being a member of. Thanks for your honesty.

I have struck out plenty of times at Fork, it can be tough for long stretches. And, in my opinion, its the most pressured lake in Texas, so it makes it even tougher.

Talked to an unnamed guide this past weekend and he was just at a loss for trying to catch fish. Had clients in his boat at the time. I had nothing to offer. Very frustrating for all of us.

Fished Sat & Sun and caught 2 dinks on Saturday and 1 slot on Sunday, guess I should throw in one nice crappie wth. It's tough out there but it's nice when you put in the work and get that one that'll make it all worth it.

Must be tough when ole red hook is lamenting...

Fished from 2 until dark today... Didn't get bit until after 6pm and then caught six fish from then until sunset up to 6lbs. Missed a few others as well. Up shallow in the back of a couple spawning pocket... Wacky rig, frog and buzzbait. I Covered a lot of water and slowed way, way down when I got bit in an area. Not a stellar day, but I'll take it. I hope this helps!

I've been guiding on this lake since 1983, and Saturday, neither I or my customer had a bite that we know of, and I really fished hard myself.
I did not try to catch those little guys that are up.
I have my own opinion of why it's so tough, but I'll keep it to myself to avoid drama.

She sure was tough! Fun though, but definitely tough. I read that people were seeing fish on beds, I think I only saw one male on a bed, definitely not what I consider full on spawn. Anybody else finding more, or is it still a little early on Fork?

Reading all of these helps my confidence for sure. Fork has kicked my tail more than any other lake I have ever fished. It won again yesterday as well. My theory is got to just keep working and studying her and sooner or later I will figure it out. Think I will go somewhere different today for relief.

Been fishing Fork since she opened. I have been skunked more times on that lake than all others combined. Especially since the LMBV. Last time out we caught two but graphed a huge school of sandies. We rigged up spoons, tailkickers and traps and proceeded to have a fun couple hours catching nice whites. Great way to salvage a day AND help the lake by removing a bunch of hungry mouths.

So what do you think Fouzman? Fishing Pressure, LMBV, lack of hydrilla, mega tournaments, natural aging, water fluctuations, a normal down cycle, sandies? A little bit of all of the above?

Saturday was a bit slow for us but we caught 12 on Sunday although we fished in a different area on Sunday.

I think all of the above are contributing factors. Prolonged drought, natural aging of the lake and fewer pure Florida alleles in the population being the primary factors, in my non-biologist opinion. We have to remember that an acre of water can only support so much biomass. I think we lost a bunch of fish during the drought. And recruitment during this same period was very low. Now we have a full lake and fewer fish. Gonna take a few years to make a comeback, but I don't think Fork will ever be the same lake it was in it's first 10-15 years.

Hate seeing posts like this, my wife and I are going for the first time this weekend and this doesn't sound to promising but oh well I guess we will make the best of it!

Lake Fork is dying due to the pressure it receives. This might be a sign of that.

Fork has always had pressure. What it lacks now is stable water levels, abundant hydrilla, and clearer water. Also, lots more competition for food with the sand bass becoming more prevalent.

We had six fish on Sat from 1 pm to 7 pm with Justin Margraves. We got three of those off the bed.

Caught a dink on a Magnum Fluke!!

Wow I went yesterday and just thought it was bad I was sight fishing and did fish for 5 fish they were all over 5 pounds. Stuck every one. I did get away from all the people and seen no one sight fishing in the area I was in. They were all very hard to see and took a long time to catch.

It used to be fun out there, now it's work LOL.. I hate that, must be getting lazy.. Hard to be spot on what's happening, lots of mini bass every where.. Maybe a down cycle, she'll get better over time with a steady lake level and grass.. I know from 2006-2010 we fished 2 trails on Fork, it was nothing for us to catch 40-50 bass a day in some of those events.. It was amazing, and a lot of fun.. now, not so much, having a great time with the crappie...

Buddy and I went out with a guide and spent a full day dragging Carolina rigged baby brush hogs. We caught a total of 8 nice slot fish. Those came from Caney area fishing points slowly. The next day buddy and I fished in my boat and never got a bite all day....out of respect for the guide, we didn't return to area he took us day before. We fished similar points in other parts of lake. Had us scratching our heads. But we ate a chicken fried steak and all was good!

This is so true Billy,
I think with the excellent spawn from last year, the lake will reap the benefits in 3-5 years. In 1-2 years I am thinking the lake will get back consistently taking 11-12 lbs range to win the tournaments. Right now I do not like fishing the lake, I have been going down the road a little

One of the biggest misconceptions in Texas fishing is that Lake Fork is a great bass fishing lake. For most anglers, it is a very tough lake. The problem is that guides come on here and post the great trip they just had (which is only 10-20% of their total trips) and everyone thinks thats the norm for Fork. This leads to dad, brothers, uncles, and friends loading up their friends and family in the boat telling stories about state records, sharelunkers, sight fishing for giants, as they head onto the lake. At the end of the day, they got a few bites, maybe landed a few fish, burned up gas and lost a bunch of baits. Meanwhile, some other family caught 20 bass and 50 sandbass on Lewisville, Grapevine, Ray Hubbard, or a variety of other lakes.

I love seeing friends and families fishing but the vast majority of people I see on Fork are struggling on any given weekend. I'm out there every week and usually want to tell them to head to any other lake! Bass fishing Fork is for the hardcore fisherman, the really good fisherman, or the fisherman that enjoy a good struggle.

I really like this post... I have friend ask "hey man when are you going to take me to Fork" Most of the time I say "you won't like it"... Like Billy said Its Hard work to really do well out there now days... I do see hope with all the little fish lets just hope the tournaments don't kill all the little ones before they grow up to slot fish!!

Lol, I totally agree. I stopped taking friends to Fork unless they have a fair amount of experience fishing. And not so that they have a better chance of catching fish (yes, that too), more so that they understand that fishing does not always mean lots of catching. I've done better telling them to meet me at a local pond or lake somewhere around DFW. I bring the rods and we always catch fish, even from the bank.

Honestly I feel bad sometimes reading these guide posts because I think it intentionally drives people to the lake and local businesses but somewhat under false advertising because the lake is not as good as these guides sometimes show or say it is.

My point is that in a lot of cases, these people are driving 1-3 hours to hit Fork instead of 20-30 mins to their local lake that MOST of the time, would produce just as well if not better.

Ozzie, sure glad you didn't tellem about the sink hole in the back of Williams, that thing eats up fish faster than Hoss at a buffet!!

I don't know much about how it used to be, I am pretty much a novice and have had my share of bad days out there for sure. For me at least the last three years that I have been going out there fairly regularly the spawn is tough, October is just as tough for some reason I have done a lot better pre spawn with jigs and chatterbaits. Post spawn on frogs and chatter baits. And in the summer off shore. I think the big ones where being caught with those big swim baits in the pre spawn and everyone got excited and tournaments started happening and now the spawn is on but the water is real dirty and they have so many new places to get to that most boats can't get to, that it's even tougher than a normal spawn. But I think once the frog bite turns on full blast that it will be good again for awhile at least.

Spent 3-26 thru 4-2 on Fork for an annual family fishing week. 3-26 was awesome 12 fish in the boat, biggest was 8.0, two 6's, four 5's and the rest solid slots all in coves off the main lake on plastics. Didn't fish Easter Sunday due to weather. Monday 3-28 was a good day as well, an 8.2 backed by two 7's same pattern as 3-26. The rest of the time there was extremely tough fishing with several 1 and 2 fish days. I drive by Toledo Bend to fish Fork for this one week every year, for the last 3 years I've been wondering why. Might be time to break the habit.

It may be dying and it may be tough and it may be over pressured..... But every time the big pros, the real pros, come they set records..... I like the struggle myself..... Nothing I like more than a 100 ° July day with the lake basically empty.....

Driving past Toledo to hit Fork in March/April? Youre crazy!!

I know. The Bend I fish most weekends, just used to like the change and challenge of a new lake.

What else is new? That lake sucks.....

It is not and with the boat pressure most likely won't ever be a good numbers lake again. It is however still one of the best places in the world to catch bigger than normal bass. 110lbs, on 15 fish, for 3 days. Never before and probably be a while until it's matched. If you want to have an easy going lot of bites fishing experience, she's not your spot 99% of the time. But if you enjoy Trophy hunting bass on wide open public water, not some 40acre trout fed pond or highly managed private water. Fork is still as good as it gets. Best part about dfw and East Texas is you're never far from a fishery that can fit your desire.

BTW there is nothing wrong with Trophy hunting small or private waters, I just enjoy the big lake challenge

I have never been on Fork and really don't plan on ever going, just not my cup of tea! But I agree wholeheartedly with the statement above! Very well said, and I also think that is why you are starting to see some of the long time fork guides, venturing out to some of the other lakes!

Has this been the case for this year or just recent weeks?

Dad at Legends 2013 .... 7.4 personal best

I cashed a good check too

Dad at Legends 2014 .... 7.75 personal best

I cashed a check

Dad at Legends 2015 .... 8.34 personal best

I cashed a good check....just saying

#thestruggleisreal

Y'all sound like you've been fishing too many spring cold fronts!
Hell we had temps in the 30's this past weekend!

I've taken my lumps out there with a top flight guide this year and last year. But conditions have been tough each time (east winds, cold fronts, bluebird skies, high pressure, etc).

May and June are on the way and numbers should be much better and the spawn should get more consistent leading up to this next full moon.

Brighter days ahead... Tight lines, boys!

It was actually fishing really good right before the flooding at beginning of March but since then we've had fluctuating water levels, dirty water in majority of Lake, and the last few weeks we've had a couple hard fronts that seem to time it up just right to put a couple wknds in full post frontal conditions. So it just hasn't gotten stable since early March and the few bed fish you can see good are getting destroyed. We caught a 5 lber Sunday that had 3 holes in her mouth and a giant gash on her belly

A few of the reasons T-Bend has always remained at the top is because it is far from a major city, it is large enough that the fishing pressure gets distributed over a larger area, the abundance of aquatic grasses and the fluctuating lake level. The years of low water dries up the mucky bottom where fish spawn and when it rises puts nutrients back into the water. The new shoreline cover created by the low water also allows the fry a place to hide until they have a better survival rate. I think Fork's reputation nationally for many years is a key factor in the low catch rate. Not everyone returns their PB to the water. Many visiting anglers keeps the fish and has it mounted. I believe the low water years will show up with improved numbers and sizes. Another good lake to look at is Amistad. The pick fishing yrs. were always about 4-5 yrs. after a significant lake level increase.

The Bend is great. Right now.
I remember times when it was not at the top.

You should see Alan Henry on an April weekend. When the fish are close to the bank it looks like a boat train traveling down the shore...so I'm not off topic....I fished fork once and drove 7 bourse to get there and zeroed 3 days in a row...

Toledo Bend today Blows lake fork away. Why would you pass up a queen to kiss a Turd

I think it has been stuck in suck mode for a long time. But I have fished it since it opened .

Hope u guys get into some fish....have a planned trip in a couple of weeks, kind of feel the same way: anxious, one buddy is driving in from Missouri.....hoping the "zero train" rides on out of town by then...

Chin up, it happens, especially this time of year when fronts are moving through.

Honestly, you can have a blast on 3-4 lakes within 10-15 mins of Fork. Lake Holbrook, Winnsboro, and Quitman are very close and have good size fish, and easier to catch IMHO.. I grew up on Winnsboro, Mike you did to. It has less pressure, you can catch some decent numbers and size..
No kidding I've hauled out of fork on a tough day, drove to Winnsboro or Holbrook and had a blast, saved the day... Change of lake can be good some times,, I would come back to fork and do what was working on those lakes and get lucky sometimes.. I know guys don't drive from Big Mo. to fish Holbrook, but hey, It's fishing....

I don't believe the pressure theory. I fished it hard up until the LMBV and grass die off (both happened at the same time coincidentally). For years after Ethel was caught and before the LMBV, the parking at every ramp was completely full, including overflow, and down both sides of the road for hundreds of yards. Plates from out of state outnumbered Tx plates three to one. Fishing was still good. That all changed when the grass disappeared. I fished it a few times since and had some good trips..... but nothing like it was when it was full of hydrilla.

Hydrilla - what made Conroe so good in its' hey-day, and why so many Florida destinations are fish factories....

Just get some Golf clubs

Billy!!! Winnsboro sucks, it's dry, the damn broke, it's a Walmart now!

Yep.....LMBV my [censored].....TPW sprayed the grass virus is what happened...

Fork has my number. It's a long trip to zero as often as I do. I can stay less than 30 minutes from my house and have consistently better days at my home lake. I'm not planning on going back to Fork anytime in the near future. I'll leave it to the guys who have it figured out. It's the only lake that has made me want to just sink my boat and give up fishing.

I think somebody did. And then the snot moss. Hate that stuff.

Lake Fork sucks. It's a "has been" kinda lake. Stump filled, over hyped, sand bass lake.

That said...I am glad it exists. It keeps all the local experts busy.....and off the lakes that have good fishing.

Lol

You are totally wrong.

Last year had a great spawn and this year will be the same and in 3-5 years it will be awesome.

Trolling a big crankbait for 3 days in May, to catch 15 fish that weigh 110 lbs, is not a true testament as to how good Lake Fork really is. (not to mention that this happened 2 years ago).
Right now, the public that is fishing Fork,(not the guides), is the real barometer of how well the lake fishes.
Most recreational fishermen, (and guides as well), are struggling to put good, consistant numbers of quality fish in their boats.

Some of you guys are just a bunch of whiners.

Sorry, I thought we were talking about how the fishing was at this time.

Fishing is not always catching. If you get skunked or have a crappy day write it in your log. Document the conditions, what you did and learn from it. Having a point of reference is where you start to build experience.

Been there 4 times and caught fish everytime. I think it's like any lake if it's tough slow down and down size baits.

Snot moss will give you eczema. Picking it off your lure. Out.

I completely agree it's not fishing well overall right now for many reasons. But I stand by my statement that it is still one of the best places in the world to catch bigger bass but one of the worst to catch numbers. The fact that one of the very few times the big dogs fished it with money on the line they broke an all time all lakes 3 day record helps prove that IMO.

You can represent and promote Lake Fork any way you want to, after all, you need the promotion,(being the rookie guide you claim), whether honest or not.
I'm going to represent the lake and my fishing (honestly), as it is currently.

I wonder if this is still just your opinion, does this mean you call ever guide on the lake every night to see how the lake did for everyone and did they tell you the truth. I would also wonder if the lake is so bad for big fish and their are no numbers are you still charging people to guide?? Their is always someone catching fish on fork. The lake is not fishing like it did in the 80's or 90's but if it is really as bad as you say why do you guide on it if you do not believe it can give a client a fish of a lifetime. I believe most people on here know its not fork of the old days but its the challenge of trying to out smart the big girls that brings people to fork and it does still put out some big fish during this time of year.

I talk to the most reputable guides daily.
I know what Fork can produce better than most.
I don't remember saying how bad Fork really is, simply that it's not doing well.
I feel that regardless how the lake is doing, if a potential client is coming to Fork and hiring a guide, I can provide as good a service as anyone out here.
At the very least, I have the credentials that most don't.
I'm simply not promoting the fishing as more than it is.

You can represent and promote Lake Fork any way you want to, after all, you need the promotion,(being the rookie guide you claim), whether honest or not.
I'm going to represent the lake and my fishing (honestly), as it is currently. [/qufork

Are you serious, get over yourself sir. Rookie or not, you opinion of me irregardless, I'm allowed an opinion and I have mine. I owned up and made apologies for my transgressions, I also provide as much "honest" info on here about fork as anybody. Can't recall much helpful info I've seen you contribute about the fishing on fork on here. Unless you consider get off my lawn helpful. Get some bigger shorts and take a chill biffle! BTW pardon me Mr McCarty sir, if I try to have a positive outlook on a lake that I still love.

Hey folks if you need any Fork info for a trip call or text anytime and im happy to help any way i can. because guys like this are why there is about 2 Fork Guide's left giving consistent info on here

Poll a 100 fishermen fishing the lake in July, all with their boats sitting in 2 ft of water, all complain the lake is fishing terrible. Do you take their advice or consider them idiots for fishing 2 ft of water and its 114 degrees outside in Texas. I'll go with the second thought here!