Today is the 4th anniversary of Mark's passing and for everyone that knew him its hard not to remember his pretty well daily. He was one of a kind and I truly miss those Packisms that only he could say. People remember him as the a guide, a pro angler, lure designer and lure company owner but most importantly Mark was a family man. He loved them tremendously.

Fork has not been the same top me since he passed and I'd give anything to sit down and share a meal with him just one more time.
Never take a second for granted with those close to you.


We all miss you Mark!!!!!

Please feel free to post your favorite Pack stories and memories if you care to do so. Please take a second to think of his wife Donna and his boys as well.

The first "run in" I had with Mark was probably around 1992 or so. Me and a buddy were fishing late winter/early spring in the back of Wolf Creek when I see him pull into the middle of the creek with a couple of clients just north of the old road bed, if you know that creek well. We were having a decent day, but what happened the next two hours was almost unbelievable. Mark and his two clients caught well over 40 bass, and I don't remember seeing ANY that were under 4 pounds. I mean they were absolutely hammering big fish. I saw him at the ramp and introduced myself, and asked about it. They were throwing suspending Long A's, silver/black with orange bellys, and he told me their best 5 were all over 8 pounds, with the biggest being right around 9.5. If I hadn't have seen it I would have called "guide BS" on him. Went on several trips with Mark and he was just a really, really down to earth good ol boy. The funniest thing that ever happened to me, or actually him, was on my last trip out with him, probably 10 or 11 years ago. We were on a pretty good jig bite, and since he was such a nut I told my buddy that I was gonna "butt tap" the end of his rod. I managed to sneak in beside him right afterhe pitched his jig beside a lay down, and very discreetly "tapped" the butt end of his rod. BAM...sets the hook on the log, breaks off, and swears it was a giant!! About 30 seconds later we both just about bowl over laughing!! LOL. It took us both about 10 minutes to convince him I had done it to him!!! He finally gave in and swore he'd get me back!!! R.I.P. Mark.

Good dude for sure..... Mark turned me onto Seth's Bread Pudding years ago after a trip.....And now its a must every time I'm at Fork.

Losing Mark Pack & Skeeter Fowler during covid hit pretty hard.

Nice thread, I never met Mark, but everything I ever heard about him was good, may you continue to RIP Mark.

Mark was truly one of a kind. I fished with him a few times and bought his 2014 Skeeter.
Always saw him at LFM for lunch and he was always very forthcoming with what was working.
RIP Packman🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

“Sinkey…sit down and have a pancake. They don’t start biting til we get out there. “

Would always make me laugh hearing him say that. He’s missed by many around the lake. Glad I’m part of the new LFT to carry his legacy forward.

Probably around 2006 or so I got a place at Fork. I would stop by LFT on my way by and Mark and I struck up a friendship. My couple of minute visits to grab a pack or two of baits suddenly turned into an hour or longer visit just talking fishing, family and life. Mark was just one of those people that you enjoyed being around.
Over the years I got to work with LFT and traveled a bit with Mark to a show here and there. By this time Mark was like extended family to me. I broke my back on a house fire in late 2008. The first few days I was not sure if my fire career was over etc. Lots of uncertainty and nervousness. Mark called me and asked how we were doing for money etc and if we needed anything. He then told me that if my fire career was over that I had a job there at LFT. Looking back I cannot tell you what that meant to us.

That was just Mark though. If you know then you know. He was a friend, a fishing and lure building mentor and a constant example of always being a family man. I will miss those says of just fishing together and talking life. I will miss the times we grabbed a late breakfast together at Kitchens Hardware then a few hours of catching fish on Brenda Lake. I miss those days in the boat at Fork and him showing me so much about the lake. I was with him when he lost what looked to be a teener near the boat. First time I ever saw his hands shake.

I will miss him showing me his mock ups of bait ideas and prototypes. I still have a bunch of different things gs like that he gave me. I used to love raiding his personal stash of one off colors etc at the shop. No one was better offshore than Pack. He knew every inch of Fork by memory. I still have runs and trails saved that he ran in my boat to help me shave time off a run etc. One of my favorite days was just fishing with Mark and Chris Mahfouz. They put on an absolute clinic on bed fishing. First time I saw a swimbait get used in sight fishing.

Fishing wise I don't think a lot people really know how influential to the game he was. His lure designs have caught tens of thousands of fish. Mark was the first to bring tungsten to bass fishing. From FLW Tour wins to Classic appearances he was an incredible fisherman. One of the best guides to ever fish as well I remember a big Bass Pro event I went to with him and I sat beside him as he spoke with KVD. I had no clue they went that far back together. I sat there with my mouth shut and ears wide open as they talked fishing for a couple of hours. It was truly next level.

So many things I miss about Mark. Today when I go to Fork and launch at LFM it's just different when I don't see Marks rig there or here him greet me when I walk in the store or restaurant. I miss the texts I got when he knew was on the water telling me what he found. I miss the [censored] talking and picking on each other as well.

Mark was just one of those people that made the world a better place. He was not perfect, none of us are but he lived several lifetimes in his time. Still miss him daily. His name and number are still saved in my phone.

Mark, thank you for posting that! Mark was one of my best friends in this world. I could tell stories about our many fishing trips for days on end. I miss him terribly but having a friendship with Donna, Jason and Josh helps to dull the pain. Yesterday was tough as the anniversary of Mark’s passing always is for me.
I’m a much better man for having known Mark for so many years. Packman was truly one of a kind.
RIP brother.

Still won’t ever forget the look he gave me when you threw all those rods on his front deck and told him to rig em!

Another funny story is he was always telling me about a certain spot etc. He had talked up this one spot way back on a flat where a couple of creek channels met. I stopped by the shop and headed to fish. He drew me out a little map to get back to that spot. There was some lay downs and stuff piled up that the fish held on. He tells me how to run it back in there to it.
I get on the water and I'm headed back in there. I glanced a stump on pad with lower unit so I shut down and idled. I called him and asked him why he didn't tell me about that stump....he just laughed and said "oh you didn't know about that stump"....i told him had I known it was there would I have hit it... .....he said he would stay on the phone and guide me back to the spot. Finally I'm back in the area but can't find the exact spot. He tell me "it's where the two trees are touching".... .....I remind him that I'm on Lake Fork and all the damn trees touch. Needless to say I found the spot and he was right. It was loaded with fish. Still is at certain times of the year.

One of my favorite Packisms was "it doesn't cost more to go first class, you just can't stay as long"....

really neat tribute to Mark…..thanks for sharing….

I’ll never forget eating lunch at Moser’s and Pack says “hey Chris, that’s Larapin ain’t it”

I didn’t know WTH he was talking about🤣

Mark
You introduced me to him a long time ago at a boat show

He instantly took a liking and would go out of his way every time I saw him around fork

Great guy that made a quick impression and made you feel like you knew him for 20 years

Rest in Peace Pacman!

Had a buddy mention Mark about 20 minutes ago. A true Lake Fork legend!

Went fishing with him once on his birthday with a friend of mine in the late 90s. Most incredible bass fishing day I’ve ever had. Caught fish till our ribs were bruised on C rigged ring fries in watermelon and chart pepper! He was a character for sure! Miss seeing him at Mosers.

First time ai invited him to lunch he said...."i eat..........a lot!".......And he did....

Another couple.

Mark was all torso. No one ever accused him of being a sprinter! He went on a horseback Mule Deer hunt to Nebraska many years ago. Bill Hickey, his son and a couple more I can’t recall were present.
Pack was no horseman nor hunter.
The guide gave Mark a mule to ride but there were no saddles with stirrups short enough.
So they ‘rigged’ stirrups out of hemp rope so Mark could stay in the saddle. His nickname among the Hickeys and guides would forever be “Stubby”. Mark never fired a shot.

Packman came deer hunting with me at our place near Laredo about 10 years ago. For 10 days. Mark slept in every morning and stayed in camp all but one afternoon. He slept, read (which he loved to do), watched movies and just generally lounged around. While enjoying some world-class meals. I finally got him into a stand on our last evening there. Stubby never fired a shot.

First time I ever heard of him was at an Anglers Choice Pro Am on Possum Kingdom, he kicked everybody's butt by a lot. He had to be a special man as much as I hear folks talk about him.

Mark was Mescalero Apache.

I’m sure this is why he was so in tune with our natural world. Mark was blessed with an IQ in the high Mensa range. Common sense. Incredible brilliance, intellect and innovation. A deep love for family, friends and the Lord!

That was the PACKMAN.❤️

I did not know Mark as long as most of ya'll. I meet him around 2008. Miss him but I one day we will meet again.

Ran into him at Possum Hollow restaurant on PK and visited with him, I fished that Anglers Choice tournament . Good friend fished with Mark as non boater and put him on the spot where he won that tournament. Always stopped at his store when at Fork, heck of a nice guy.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Mark by my buddy John Tanner back in the 90's and had the privilege of talking and fishing with him off and on through the years. Such a nice and humble guy that always had time to visit with and I definitely soaked in as much knowledge as I could from him.

Great write up Mark! Mark Pack is one of the true legends of Lake Fork, about 10 years ago, I was going out there for 3-4 days a few times a month and I ran into him several times. What made him such a great guide, he was obviously a great fisherman, he knew the lake like the back of his hand and he had such a great way of talking to people, caring about people and didn't take himself too seriously. Hard to imagine how many people he influenced in the sport, and I miss seeing him around every time I go back out there.

I remember his shad spawn pattern. You need 4 things. 1] A point 2) gap in timber 3) shell bed 4] “Freddy” which was a heron. Find those and you could wreck them. Most were over 5#. We caught them on a Jackal Mikey.

Mark ran the boat up the lake, looked at points and said “there is Freddy”. We never noticed the shell beds before.

Breakfast to start the day. Always an early lunch.

Another trip the weather was miserable. Every time Mark went to hit the start button on the boat it rained. We got talking about ribs at the Country Tavern. I thought he was about to drive the boat over the damn to head that way…lol.

Always good to spend a day with him. He knew every stump in the lake.

You explained my last trip with Mark to a tee. He would fly by shellbeds one after the other until we found one with Freddy on the bank where he would fly in and shut down and we would proceed to get out arms worn out from big fish smashing his MPack Swim Jigs.

I always call "freddy" the old man. If you see 2-3 Herron in the same vicinity feeding then you found the shad jackpot. As a former striper guide you get real good at finding shad and Freddy. lol

Never met the man but seeing all of the post about him, he was not only a very good angler, he was also a great man who had made a positive impact on the people he met and became friends with.

Not only that he was a custom rod builder, and designer of many awesome baits like the original CrawTube, his MPack Shads etc. And came up with a lot of innovative ideas like his Structure Guard on his Jigs. He seemed to always be thinking of ways to make something new or an existing bait better.

Years ago on my first trip to fork and while on leave in the Air Force I stopped in at LFT. I knew who he was and we started talking. I told him we were catching some but nothing big. He looked around then quietly handed me a bag of LFT ring fries. He told me to throw it out weightless and let it sit. He said to smoke a cigarette and then when done lift up on the rod a bit. I said I didn’t smoke and he said “smoke one anyway”. I didn’t smoke one but that sure worked and we caught several good ones. To this day I always have ring fries in the boat!

cmon y'all gotta keep these rollin, I know there's hundreds of stories, lets hear more!