Imagine the bags they weigh with stable weather and water conditions!!

With the few guys that really figured it out catching mega bags we tend to forget that 40 of the top fishermen in the world weren't able to break 32 lbs in 2 days of fishing on ole Fork.

The Day 4 weights of the Top 10 were pretty impressive today. Gates open and all. After 4 days of fishing and the wekend crowd plus gates being open its hard to argue what was put on the scales today.

The 10th place finisher averaged a 4lber plus for all 4 days on every fish they weighed in for the total. It only went up from there.

The gates being open in May doesn't make much of a difference. Go fish Fork in Feb-early March with the gates open and tell us what you think then...

Someone in nearly every tournament (especially at this level) will unlock the magic of Lake Fork. The majority of the field will struggle or have an okay day. Let's not act like they all killed it. Lee Livesay missed the cut...that shows you how humbling Fork can be. Of course 10-15 guys at this level unlocked it, not surprising to anyone that fishes the lake regularly (nor is the fact that many struggled).

I do and have. Fish still bite some days, others not so much. Have had great days with gates open.

The fish are going to eat sooner or later. I think the problem with the gates being open, or bluebird skies, or a front coming through is that it changes what we expect the fish to do. I'm pretty sure that the fish don't go on a hunger strike just because something changed.

Gates being opened or not, when the majority of fish are either in spawn and post spawn mode and shad-spawn feeding, they will stay shallow and are easier to catch, period. Go catch a flood in 4 weeks and open the floodgates�..then see what happens. Only a few will have good bags. It's harder to find 'em when they're suspended or deep. Fouz is right.....there's only just so many deep water honey holes.

Sorry Mark, I'm not talking about absolutes here (of which there are none in fishing). I obviously don't think that the gates being open means it's impossible to catch fish. It's common knowledge that it affects the bite out there but yes, of course, some fish still eat. It's on a spectrum, less fish are eating, less are active.

This is a totally useless comment.

Not completely. I used it for a good

Full pool at Fork is 403' above sea level.

If the oceans ever rise that much, we're all going to have a WHOLE lot more to worry about than if the fish are biting.

I think these "paper tournaments" will be the ideal tournament format for years to come. That being said, had this tournament followed normal rules the weights would have been normal. 7-10 pound stringer's with an occasional over mixed in with it. It is great catching the slot fish but if you like to compete in tournaments then the slot fish don't bring home the bacon. I mainly fish for the "money" fish and do quite well most of the time. There are times however when the under-the-slot fish will not cooperate in my opinion. First day of a north wind and current. Again in my opinion when these changes occur the little fish are hard to catch. The more aggressive slot fish will continue to bite but they will not pay for your gas and entry fee's. I liked watching this tournament on TV seeing how excited the pro's got catching 3-7 pounders but in real life when you catch these fish all you can say is "XXX XXXX slot fish" and throw them back.

That's a good point, Mark. It's also worth pointing out is that the pros had to stay off the water on Saturday, while people who knew where they were fishing went and beat on their fish.

I was a judge at the event and had never been on Fork before. But when I saw Live yesterday and saw the docks around where Pipkens was fishing, hell, even I knew where he was. And I even confirmed it with Google Earth.

Yep !

From the BASS website: The fishing was as good as expected on Lake Fork with 63 five-bass limits of 20 pounds or more caught in four days. Of those 63, five topped the 30-pound mark