I have fished bass a multitude of times on Fork and am familiar with the lake in general. What I lack is the knowledge of crappie there.

I plan on giving my wife a fishing vacation in May on Lake Fork. She loves fishing with minnows under a slip cork. I like shooting docks. Heard many times that the 515 bridge is a good spot to find crappie. I'm looking for other ideas and known areas where dock shooting is good.

Also, I would like some local information on two or three good crappie guides there. I am retired, so would be looking for weekday spots for a guided trip.

I would see if Jerry Hancock, Todd Box, or Mark Standridge had an opening while you were there and jump on it. I've caught some fish off docks on Fork but I wouldn't go there planning to shoot docks. Too much other structure in the lake to catch a lot off docks IMO. May will be a great month to fish though!!!

Thanks. My memory is not what it used to be, but I believe I have heard those names before.

I met Mark Standridge a year or two ago briefly at a boat ramp. Will be looking to contact these guys.

Fork is tough for me once the fish go to spawn. I don't have a clue where they go. Once the spawn is over the bridges are good in summer and fall. Caught a few limits peacefully fishing minnows along those poles. I think if someone wanted to learn that lake a few guide trips would go a long way.

Seth Vanover does great work on Fork

http://www.ets-systems.com/vanover/

Seth lives in the same RV park I do,...#1 fisherman and guide, and just bought a new boat with all the goodies..

One reason people struggle during the early spring is most fish do not relate to structure in pre-spawn like they do most of the year. Its also normal to only pick up one here and one there when they are on structure. They do not bunch up like they do in summer. 80% of the fish I caught in February and March on Fork were suspended in open water in the mouths of creeks and coves. Many were 2-5� deep in 15-25� water. Very difficult to catch without Livescope. The shallow bite was very tough for me this year there. I have been catching large numbers of fish spawning/staging out in deeper water. Cold fronts, rain, water level change, etc. does not affect these fish like the shallow fish.
Your not alone, many people struggle because they are not always where we expect them to be in the spring.