You have to have a a harvest of some sort in any management program. The lake maybe good but it could be way better. If you did a slot/no kill on a game ranch like Fork has done with the slot you would have a bunch of [censored] in your herd. That is what we have here. I have seen a recorded data since 1982 and it does not have the genitics to get it back to lots of 10 caught each day. All the lakes that are producing giants right now and will be for 10 mores years have no slot. I honestly think if they would raise the slot to 20 inches and protect the 20 and over in 3-5 years you would start to seen more giants. There is a lot of reasons why this would work. Tournaments have a harvest but here it is the small ones that handle the pressure better.This is a topic that will have both sides but you have to look at a harvest and good gentics to get the best out of what you have.Slots are great for getting a program started but they are only good for so long you cannot leave them in place and expect good results. I think it is broke and it needs fixing the TP&W just cannot see that is broke or they know and like anything else they do nothing about it. Just part of my 2 cents.

+1, don't mess with Fork. From what I've read on here and other sites, it does seem that the lake could benefit from more folks keeping unders.

The lake isn't broke. My dad fished hard (2 days every weekend) for 15-20 years when he was younger, mostly on Toledo Bend and then Ray Roberts. He hadn't been out in probably 10 years when my wife got me a guided trip to Fork last year as a Christmas gift and I took my dad, who caught a new PB and joined the DD club. Any lake that can beat out 15-20 years of hard fishing with one day of flipping jigs needs to be left alone. Fork may not be the hog factory it used to be, but that doesn't change the fact that any cast could still be a monster.

I would at least like to see a change in the slot. Would like to see it go 18" - 24".
16" - 24" is a big span.

Better yet 16" - 23"

Isnt this post a re-run ???

give the lake a rest for three years....no fishing

Every man made impoundment is a experiment. Fork is still a great lake thats held up well under alot of pressure. Its still TPW prize
lake. They will change it when they need to.

I would have a few things to say about this post.
1. If the genetics is the reason we do not have 10 pound bass then changing the slot would not change the genetics
2. On game ranches you have to kill out the smaller animals and manage the ranches for numbers of animals to keep the herd Healthy because on most ranches in Texas there is not a enemy to the deer to manage the herd. I would think the fish do have enemies to help manage the population of the fish. They only need a little help which is why the TPW count the numbers on the lake to help keep it at healthy levels.
3. The age of a lake and and it's ability to regenerate the food chain. The grass going down and the lake staying full so the ground cannot dry out a little every now and then to regenerate it's ability to keep growing grass is all factors in growing big bass.
4. Fork is still one of few lakes when you throw a line in the water you have the chance to catch a DD a really bad day on Fork is still better then most others lakes in the country. Yes I know there are a few lakes in Tx that are better right now but that may not stay that way.
5. Let take Falcon which you could not get people to go to a few years a go because of how low the water was for so long. When Falcon came back after so many years being low and the ground regenerated then you see what happen to the fish they got real big

Just my two cents

Tooo many tournaments at fork as it is. Leave it alone. if you want to change it move the bottom number up an inch or 2. that would be the only change.

You hit the nail on the head. I couldent agree with you more.

As already mentioned, unless you are filleting the bass or wanting to posess your slot fish for a weigh in then I fail to see any validity to any "removing the slot" argument. As for tournaments, Cameron will be happy to provide the tournament list again that shows two tournaments many weekends. Soooooo -- do you want 3 or 4 tournaments on Saturday and Sunday instead of two? The upcoming Dodge Ram Tournament had over 1300 anglers last year along with thousands in the McDonalds, Legend, Skeeter, Bekley, ect. It appears not many tournament anglers are shying away from Fork. I have noticed at any drive-to vacation destination lake there is a definate change in demographics. The enoconomy seems to have mostly eliminated the low budget fisherman unless they live close enough for a day trip (with few or no hotel stays.) In years past I would see most any kind of an old boat that would barely float on Fork, now it seems to be mostly high end expensive boats along with the occasional kayaks or little 2 man bass busters. I fished Falcon in February and did not see any lower end equipment there either. It looks to me that the average working family man is quickly getting pushed back from major fishing vacations. I attribute this slowdown around Lake Fork to many anglers of modest means being unable to continue using Fork as a vacation fishing destination. If a guy can drop a thousand bucks on a fishing vacation then it is Falcon, not Fork --- slot or no slot. Do you really want more craziness on the lake? Sure Fork is showing signs of maturity and the fishing could be better but there are plenty of boats on Lake Fork for me.

Agreed

I didn't bother to Read alot of the responses , So I hope I am not repeating here.

Leave it alone!! The Lake is managed for Trophys..... We are all Spoiled and have forgotten that a TON of the Slot fish in that Lake are Trophys and PB's to alot of nothern anglers. Folks that Travel to fish. They are what makes or breaks Forks economy, not local tourney anglers.

Right now, it isn't producing like it was, BUT all this newly flooded Grass will rejuvinate the lake. There will be a huge recruitment of fry this year and in 3 years the under stringers will be easy to come by.

All removing the slot will do is turn it into an ordinary lake.

Everybody keeps pointing to Falcon...... What makes Falcon good is the water fluctuations. Just exactly what just happened at Fork. It is what makes Ivie Boom, Hubbard Creek and all lakes Boom.

Mark my words, 3 yrs from now you will see a different Fork and most will like it.

If it ain't broke;Don't fix it. Fork ain't broke;So don't "Fix" it!

there are still ways for the average family/working man to come to fork to fish, just have to get a little more creative. instead of hotel room get a tent and camp and be smart about where you put your boat in and don't burn lots of gas running around the lake. but if gas prices keep going up it will eliminate a lot of hard working family men from even getting to the lake. as far as the slot goes i dont think taking it away would do any good for the quality of fish, it would probably hurt the size of the fish. i think that the best thing would maybe be to increase the number of unders a person can harvest per day so that the people that actually do harvest bass from fork could take more of the smaller fish out leaving more bait species to get healthier and feed the bigger fish in the lake. for those of us that are lucky enough to fish a lake like fork we are used to 5 lb fish, but for the majority of bass anglers in this great state a 5 lber is a really special deal, a once every few years type of deal. and when it comes to catching a 5 lber or ten of them there is no more affordable and better place than fork. be thankful for what tpwd and the slot has done for this lake and for us who fish it. it is still a really special place.