Some of you are probably wondering what metrics you could use to determine what makes a lake the Greatest of All Time. I did a little research on Lake Fork over the years. This will likely spark a debate but here goes.

This is from the 1990-'91 SAL Season ONLY.

Thirteen fish over 13#
Three over 14#
Three over 15#
One over 16#
Two over 17#

This is also the year Brian Duplechain's son found the 20 lb 8 oz bass floating dead near Mustang Ramp on 2/11/90. You could tell it had not been dead long.

Ivie may be the GOAT lake but it has a LOT of ground to make up yet.

I asked about Fork’s glory days last year when things started heating up on Ivie. I believe you gave some great insight. Looking at some of the info from that time period, the numbers are pretty staggering. While I’m in no way any kind of expert, most of what is happening at I is right now seems to be a product of advanced electronics, and anglers that are highly skilled using them. Not bashing at all. If I had them and knew how to use them, I’d be out there chasing down those monsters every chance I got. I didn’t bass fish back then, except for farm ponds and creeks, but I have to believe that the electronics back then were very limited. Not just in seeing fish, but structure, cover, bottom comp as well. In addition to the number of SALs caught, there had to have been countless DDs weighed in as well. So while Ivie is producing great fish at the moment, I don’t think it’s comparable to Fork. And history shows that Ivie will fall off some once the water levels drop. Seems like it went 7 or 8 years without a SAL entry until the water came up again a few years back.

If size is all that matters------Fork
Numbers in double digits---- Baccarac

I hear about the glory days of Baccarac. When was the last confirmed 14 pounder landed there?

The Term G O A T Greatest Of All Time, or at least in Texas. LF has a slot that helps, It's a fairly young lake that helps, the cycle in the 90s was all stars lining up for a bumper crop of bigguns in the Lonestar state. Pressure was down. LF is arguably the best. Ivie is not the goat yet, another decade of pressure will tell the tale. In my opinion Sam Rayburn Is the GOAT, size limit has not changed much, 90s was great, 00s was good, cycles have gone up and down, tournament pressure and fishing pressure is relentless throughout the years. Yet it continues to put of tons of tons of good bags a year. You also can catch fish from one end to the other on anything you want to throw. If other lakes across Texas got Pressure Rayburn and Fork get it would ruin those lakes pretty quick. Ex. Amistad, Falcon, Alan Henry. Dont get me wrong those Lakes are still great fishing but pressure took a toll on them for awhile, but theres always the upward cycle.

The jealousy of another lake spitting out a ton of giants is funny when fork is dead has been dead for about 20 plus years minus a couple big ones.

Fork is like the Cowboys,,,Old History that will probably never see Greatness again

Conroe and Choke are great as well, but never will be the goat because of their size. As far as the smallmouth GOAT lake in Texas its Texoma, once again just my opinion.

One of the most accurate posts I've ever seen on the TFF!

Agreed

Respect to you BBBMC. I have a lot of reverence for Lake Fork because I made a living off her for years.

Just trying to keep it real for the folks that don't know the history. Ivie may very well smash the record books and produce a new world record but it's got a LONG way to go

I’ll agree Fork as the GOAT …. but suggest the GTAOAT “was” the ~1,000 acres north of the Hwy bridge on Monticello.

As someone who knows Ivie well and has fished it for years, you couldn't be more right. Ivie can be one of the toughest lakes in Texas, especially when the water level falls (and it will). There were several years where the fishing was tough and nobody but the local population was even fishing out there. This is not the norm. Ivie is producing some big fish right now, but when the lake evens out and the fishing gets to what I call "Ivie normal", people will quit coming as they did for about 10-12 years.

I’ve been going out there a couple times a year since 2009, and it’s almost a different lake every year. I know what you mean about lack of crowds. After the last boom cycle was over in maybe 2012 it seems, I’d go there on a Thursday or Friday and only see 4 or 5 trailers at the ramp. In the Spring, with Concho ramp being bone dry. Different story now.

Someone talks stats and children start with “jealousy “ and start singing their favorite Taylor swift song.