thinking of taking a long weekend trip and head to TX to do some fishing. Never fished anything in TX other than Texoma once.
Fork is an 8 hour drive one way for me. but is there some other lakes worth looking at? would like to get into some quality fishing and have good chances to catch something 8+ lb

any info would be a great help. as well as a good time of year.
if you don't want to disclose anything in the open forum please Message me

Fork is definitely still plenty good for both numbers, based off previous years spawn, and size, kicking out some hawgs right now, but the real beauty is the number of other lakes within 30-40 minutes of Fork that can meet your criteria as well. Come on down, use Fork as your base and get you some.

I you come you gotta spend at least a little time on Mother Fork ... you never know what may happen.

Check ahead for tournaments before you come. There's a big one this weekend and Fork is crowded anyway this time of year. If it were me I'd wait until May. Not too bad during the week but the weekends are always crowded. Bob Sandlin, Winnsboro and Tawakoni would be some others to check out while you're here.

+1. By crowded he means you can walk from boat to boat. Fork is no cake walk either. Going in blind there is a decent chance you'll get skunked. Not talking down about the lake, it has giants in it, but it's not the easiest place in the world to fish for those unfamiliar. A lot of hazards and a whole lot of water.

Very fun lake to fish but can also be very challenging. Of course any lake can be challenging. Do a search on this forum and you will find stories of success and stories of struggle. Some guys that live much closer than you avoid fork like the plague. But it has huge fish and can be very rewarding.

I haven�t fished the lakes in your area or closer to you than fork so I can�t say if it�s worth going to fork. You might have great fisheries much closer.

+2

Fork has kicked out two 13's and a 15.48 in the past ten days. Proof enough that the Ole Girl still has some giants to be caught. A good friend of mine fished most of the day Saturday and never caught a fish and he has been on the lake 100 times. The lake has also just filled to full pool meaning there are TONS of stumps lurking just under the surface that will take out your lower unit in a heartbeat.

I would highly recommend you hire a good guide for your first time on the lake.

Caddo

I have fished Fork off and on since 1990. It is a 5 hour drive for me. I try to make at least two 3 or 4 day trips each year. Some years I only make one.

I absolutely love fishing a lake with huge bass. I'll drive right by a "hotter" lake that is not really known for huge bass to go and fish tough old Fork.

My expectations each trip are low numbers and a shot (or several) at some 8+ pound fish. Sometimes I get numbers and several big fish but not often. Often I will catch one or two big fish. Fork gets a lot of pressure (does this affect bass catching Jpurdue?), and there is not much grass. It is a beautiful lake and I have enjoyed every day I have been lucky enough to fish it.

I fished Fork last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I only caught about a dozen bass with one 8 and one 7.

If you set your expectations accordingly you could have a fun trip. You might even latch on to a sharelunker, who knows?

NO

With the water 3' over full?

Get a reputable guide for day 1. May is a great time if the wind doesn't blow crazy.

Here is what you do. Plan a trip to Fork during the week after spring break. Ask a few on here areas and what�s working. Yes it�s worth it still but can humble he best. While your there plan a day at Monticello. Super easy to fish and you can load the boat with some nice sized fish. Plus that�s where it really started for big Texas Florida bass. You can stay at Fork and run the 45 minutes to Monticello. Also if you have time caddo is worth checking out. It�s the only natural lake in Texas and full of cypress trees.

If you are coming to Fork in March/April, try to avoid fishing on weekends. Weekdays are busy too, but nothing like weekends. If you come, invest in the Lance Vick boatlanes chip so you will have some peace of mind while running Fork. Pay attention to the instructions and disclaimers. Also, check out yourlakeforkguide on YouTube and FB. Billy Lawson has great current info and instructions on his yourlakeforkguide videos and live streamed segments.

isn�t Monticello way low on water now? I saw Picks of stumps 3� out of water.