when you are trying to manage a pond i have heard/read that the number one factor to determining if it's a healthy population is if there are relatively equal numbers of healthy fish in several size classes rather than catching mostly one size fish with a few exceptional ones. fork has plenty of little ones and it does seem that the number of little fish i've caught out there went up this year compared to others, but there are still more solid, as in 4-8 lb fish in fork than any other place except maybe a couple lakes, and it's kicked 2 fish over 15 the last couple months, share a lunker numbers aren't what they were but there are more people forming there own opinions on that program and catching and releasing 13+ fish. believe it or not we don't see every dd from fork here on tff. there's lots caught that only the people in the boat and friends of those folks ever see. again 2 over 15 this winter, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. jmo

remember back in "THE DAY" when more people kept bass instead of releasing every one. You could catch on a average day 40-60 if not more fish per day on any northeast texas lake. Now a outstanding day for most is 20-30 fish. I see a pattern!! Just sayin

We have a high mortality rate from the number of tournaments we have here as it is. The fish get handled more here than in traditional tournaments on other lakes due to every ounce and hundreds of ounces counting. The major factor we have contributing to less fish being caught is lack of cover. Aquatic vegetation positions the fish where they can be caught more easily. Guys that finesse fish still catch lot's of bass because the have adapted to the way the lake is fishing. As far as white bass goes I personally catch more largemouth when white bass are present on offshore spots. When they are competing with the whites for food you can blast them. And white bass are not going to eat very many small largemouth if there is vegetation for them to hide in. Adult largemouth will eat more than they do. With all that being said there are still plenty of largemouth still in the lake we just have to learn how to catch them.

Back in the day, there wasn't near the pressure on fish as there is today.

Back in the day, a tournament was a more significant event than today. These days, you can find a tournament (and usually several more) every weekend within an hour from the house.

Back in the day, I remember getting up Saturday mornings (because that was the only time you could see it)and watching Roland Martin catching big bass after big bass on live shiners.

Back in the day, the Texas state record was caught on a 2/0 gold aberdeen hook using live bait.


Ahhhh, back in the day.

Agree....and mother nature makes the rules...not bass fishers..

Ok here is my opinion and it is worth exactly what I am charging for it. I have been on the lake since 1996 and to say it is more pressured now than then is absolutely incorrect. I dry by the boat ramps and businesses here on a daily basis. You remember when you could not only find a place to stay but had to stand in the store front of Axton's waiting to get a burger as there was no where to sit. Alot of folks had to tent camp because there were no available rooms. Now we have several businesses closing and struggling to keep their doors open. When Lake Fork was younger it had lots and lots of cover and vegetation and the growth weight averaged 3 pounds a year. The lake has matured and leveled out. It is still a GREAT fishery and one where you can catch a fish of a lifetime. I have never kept a bass here and not because I didn't want to be that fish killing guy. I release them in hopes that 1 day I may catch one over 6 pounds. The man who keeps a limit of fish is not changing the world he is merely doing what is his legal right. I love Fork and the people I have met on it and am thankful for TP&W for making it what it is then and now.

Very well stated Gary !!

People that say Fork has more pressure now than it did during the late 80's and early 90's didn't fish Fork during that time frame. If you didn't fish it then, then you don't have a clue how much pressure was on that lake 365 days a year and you have no idea how good the fishing was during that time.

I would give anything to have had a chance to fish it back in the early days. So much of what attracted me to the lake happened back then. So many great stories and so many good folks have spent time out there. Just a truly special place to me. You guys that experienced it I am envious for sure.

As a guy that has only been fishing Fork a lot for 4-5 years I think the lake truly is one of the best places to learn to pattern fish. When you find them you can often stay on them a good bit but when they shut down they truly shut down. I feel like I have learned more about bass fishing from fishing Fork more than any other lake. I can see why so many pros spend time here.

Anything we say here is just opinion without scientific data to back up any claim. I have researched and not found any electroshocking reports, creel surveys, or any other data to back any claims...good or bad
Two questions...
Why is it easy to find such data on most lakes except Fork.
If there is an overpopulation of Black Bass why have over one million Bass fingerlings been released in Fork.

The only somewhat reliable data is to watch weigh ins to see trends. When unders win the money on many days, it makes me wonder.

I spend many hours on Fork and never heard any angler complain about catching too many Black Bass...large or small.

I was at Fork Saturday, (had a great time) and it blew me away at the low number of anglers on the lake. Like some have said back 15 years ago during this time of year you would have seen packed parking lots with a ton of out of state license plates. When we left Saturday afternoon we saw plenty of completely empty parking lots.
Mark, I started fishing Fork during the days when you launched at the ends of roads in Alba and traveled the boat lanes. You would go to the power lines in Birch and that was where the water ended. Fishing Fork through the years especially in the 90's was awesome and have many, many great memories that will never be repeated.

I started fishing Fork in 9/1985 and still remember the day that the boat was in the middle of a very large school of 5 lb + surfacing bass. They stayed "on top" for a long, long time. But that was then and this is now.

+1

I didn't start fishing Fork until probably 1994. For several years it was an awesome experience and some friends and I would make the trip from Nacogdoches to spend a few days several times a year. Then, in the late 90s to early 2000s the fishing was poor enough that even though I moved to Tyler I fished Fork only sparingly.

As far as I'm concerned the lake has made a "comeback" in the last 2-3 years. It ain't what it once was, and never will be, but it's back to the point that I don't dread the trip any more.