Hello all I am posing this question in the Bass section because I think it will be seen by the most folks that can contribute to the anserw here. I am looking to retire to a lake community soon. I am considering Lake Fork. I could use all manner of input here. Is the Lake in severe decline? Are there suggestions for better areas to look for a lot or homes? Do you have a favorite realtor on Lake Fork. How is the crime in the area. Is there a better choice lake? I do fish for other species besides bass on occasion. Please help me not make a mistake. My thinking on Fork is it is close to metro for doctors and my kids. It has multi species to fish for. It is primarily a fishing lake. I do dread the tournaments and spring fishing frenzy, It is large enough I will not be too bored or over fimilar with it i would think. Thanks for input I am sure nervous to make this decision. I don't have time to redo.

P.M. Papa Mark

I have a close friend who is selling his house on Fork. It is a great house with one of the best docks on the lake. PM me and I will give you the details.

I plan on retiring there soon also. Some say it is going downhill. I question that though. Go fish some other place and come back and you will agree it is better than most. The other big thing is you are less than an hour away from a lot of lakes too.

For a realtor J.R.Simpson with Century 21 Lake Country can put you in the right direction.

The wife and I are both disabled and will be retiring back in TX next year also. We're both originally from the Palestine area. I thought long and hard about Fork. If lot's of out-of-towners and tournaments bug ya...it may not be your lake. I'm thinking of the small communities between Rayburn and Toledo Bend....close to metro health facilities, low crime rates, plenty of species diversity, and the lakes are huge. Just my thoughts....

We've had a weekend lake house on Palestine for 20 years and like it so much we have decided to retire there now. Very little boat traffic and tournaments as compared to Fork. 20 minutes to Tyler with shopping and medical facilities, under two hours to Dallas, 25,000 acre lake, close to all the other famed east Texas lakes. Best of all as us old time bass fishernmen devolve into crappie fishermen this lake is hard to beat.

Buy a place on Cypress Springs. You are 45 min from Fork, on Cypress, 5 min from Sandlin, 10 min form Monticello, 30 min from Welsh and the crime around here on the lake is about non-existent. I have place there and I fish all of the above mentioned lakes both for fun and for some tourneys. We never have a tourney over 40 boats here so you never notice when they are here yet you can go to Fork whenever you want with a quick drive. There are decent medical services in Mount Vernon (10 min), Mount Pleasant (20 min) and downtown Dallas is about a 2 hour drive or a little less. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM

My wife is a realtor and I'm builder here on Fork. Prices are reasonable but increasing right now. They are much lower than Cypress and Sandlin but I'm not sure about Palestine.

I just retired on Rayburn and I love it. I have fished Fork and it is an awesome lake, so I can't say anything negative about it. What I like about Rayburn is no matter how many boats are fishing it never seems crowded to me. Of course I do most of my fishing on week days now!! As long as your are retired and live at the lake, you can't go wrong.

Have you looked at Holly Lake? They have some good fishing in the lakes there. 2 hrs from Dallas, 10 minutes from Lake Hawkins,30 mins to Lake Quitman and Winnsboro, 40 minutes from Fork, within an hour of Palestine and Lake Tyler. Close to Mineola, Lindale, not that far from Tyler. They have a nice country club with pool, golf course, pretty much everything you could ask for. Homes are pretty reasonable as well. I love staying there at our friend's home when I fish Hawkins. It's definitely worth a look!

http://www.hollylakeresort.com/

Here are some Home Listings in the ranch as well.

http://www.crainerealty.net/featured_listings.asp

Cedar Creek is a great multi-species lake and very affordable.

Just built mine in Lands End at Fork... great gated neighborhood with nice golf course, swimming pool, resturant and it's own Fire Dept.

Heres my view of Little Caney

My wife is a realtor for the Lake Fork area

PM me for contact info if interested

If I could it would be Texoma without a question hands down. Mill Creek area.