Might have been early 2000’s, was anything ever figured out about it? Cause, cures, does it still happen and why, etc??

It was a hoax

In all seriousness, I have a very hot sports opinion on the Lake Fork virus thing that I am about to unleash upon this texas-based internet fishing forum.

I’m down in South Texas, used to be a highly regarded known guide here that swore we had it hit. That was around 98, the best I can remember.

1. TPWD unknowingly spread that virus to Fork, Rayburn, and a few others with tainted batches of fingerlings. I think they figured it out in time to not contaminate a bunch of other lakes but not before the damage was done.

2. Having been able to fish Fork many times before the virus, I submit to you that the fishing was better after the virus. From 2000-2010, I caught more numbers of big fish there than I ever had before the virus. I also submit to you that it wasn't the virus that damaged the fishing to what it is today, it was the killing of the hydrilla that ravaged the lake and the fishes that swims there.

did the fish in other lakes have to wear a mask ? (too soon ?...LOL).

Well just 4 months after spaying for invasive floating plants the fish kill happened on Fork.

This is the first time they ever did this on Fork 1999.

Obvious what happened with the chemical entering the fisheries. Their mixture must have been to strong.

Read up on Diquat and what it does.

Second thing that happened after they messed up was they went into panic mode after killing the fish.

Fork at that time was drawing 28 million to the state and they had to figure a way to bring it back.

Luckily for them Cooper Lake was on fire with 7 pound fish and above.

For months they pulled fish from Cooper to re-stock Fork and bring the fisheries back with adult fish and so the businesses would not suffer to long.

Fork was lucky at that time to receive the boost of new adult fish. Fork got a 10-12 year run on those fish.

Cooper unfortunately died after that , and they did not have a fish kill.

Now how I know this is they were going to Cooper and coming by my house for months, with the tank truck & shock boat, at early hours of the morning .

I then ask one of my friends at TPW what they were doing at Cooper so much at those hours, and what happened at Fork. His replies was...... lets say we are not in the weed killing business anymore ( Response to Fork Fish Kill.)

His Cooper response was oh we are just checking on somethings over there. I told him that was not a very good answer.

There is a lot of things that happened that they will never admit to. Why would they.

Cause they would lose the trust of the public and no matter what, they will withhold info for them not to look bad.

Same as the SAL program they never tell the bad stuff just what they want to so they look good.

I believe Marc’s version 100%

That is a very plausible theory, taking fish from Cooper to restock fork. It makes sense.

I’m being 100% serious, everybody talked about the Fishkill, which I saw with my own eyes. But for me, the fishing was never better than after the kill.

LMBV was in Virginia waters in 2001, 2010, and 2011

We shared a place on Fork before, during, and after the virus. I hated seeing all those floaters and when you did catch a LMB it looked nearly as bad as a spawned out salmon. We stopped bass fishing during the virus and learned how to crappie fish with jigs around the bridge pilings mainly the 154 bridge. For myself the best fishing on Fork was definitely pre LMBV no post.

I remember in 2000 the lakes in East Texas got it pretty bad. A lot of very skinny bass with open sores, and when you did catch one they hardly put up any fight. We were on Rayburn when they filmed a spiderwire commercial with A. Jones and they had to bring a 6-7 lbs fish from Fork because they couldn't catch one on Rayburn big enough for the commercial.
Palestine had it bad also, I think 17 lbs won and 11 lbs got a check in the Red Man tournament. In the Co Angler division 5lbs got a check, something was definately going on.

But Marc they said we were all crazy and the grass never was sprayed……..even though it disappeared that April and the state was pushing eradication of hydrilla. Same happened on RayRobert and Sam Rayburn around the same time. It’s coincidental that the kills on all three occurred around the same time the grass disappeared. It continues even now on fork. Saw them, who ever it was, spraying the pond weed around alligator before the current draw down all that grass disappeared in a month or so at the beginning of summer. This was around the time they ran the “test” in alligator to see if hydrilla would take again but it supposedly didn’t. Even though all the coon tail, pond weed and other submergent grasses that were growing in alligator disappeared around the time of the “test”. Fork will never see grass again. Too many people around the lake that don’t want it.

Fished it since 89……Fishing has never been the same since the kill for me. It’s better that a lot of lakes but if they would have ran pro tournaments there then like they do now the weights would have been incredible. Before the kill those giant schools of 6-9 lbers that roamed big mustang, Bell, or birch creek in the fall (Oct/Nov) surface schooling through the timber have never come back. Also back before the kill we had numerous days catching many 6-9 lb staging fish back to back off one lone deep spot (5-6fow) of hydrilla on the points in the spring. Not to mention sight fishing the holes in the hydrilla for giant fish in the spring. Also remember during that time there were many 11-14 lb fish caught. We should see some big fish in a year or two when the water floods all the brush but I am not sure we will ever see fork like some of us were able to experience prefish kill. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to fish it in those years.

I would like to see some soil test done in the areas where spraying has been done. It sure does seem like the chemicals are settling on the bottoms and not dissolving and causing poor soil conditions which lead to poor lake conditions. The spraying simply needs to be outlawed. Theres zero reason we should be putting those chemicals in our lakes.

Well they spray Rayburn every year, only had the virus the one time in about 1999. I do remember clearly it was an abnormally hot May with surface water temps 90-95 degrees. It was unreal. Combine that with the coincidence that Abitibi Paper Mill was allowed to double their discharge of heavy metals earlier that year. Odd deal that all of a sudden everything suddenly died or struggled. Lost all the grass and huge fish kill. Abitibi I believe was closed later that same year.