Why is that?

I have had the opportunity to fish Fork for the past year and half avg.2weekends per mo.and have been totally blanked more times than not,last weekend fished hard using every bait in the boat did not get a single bite,the last time we caught fish was on a guide trip with Mark Pack and we did wear them out that day,and I guess these other days are just payback????

In addition to pressure as mentioned above, there are two key variables affecting the catch ratio now vs. the 90's that you mentioned. The first is simply the bass "carrying capacity" of the lake. Between the vast amount of horizontal limbs that still existed on flooded tree trunks, plus grass, there was a significant higher percentage of bass per acre then. We all know this as the new lake syndrome of the first 12-15 years of any impoundment.

Back then, the feeding zones were shallower, as the forage base that bass eat utilized this same horizontal brush cover and grass as their home territory. The majority of the bite this first 15 years was generally in water 15' deep and shallower. With the grass die-off and many of the tree trunks now being "telephone poles", meaning they have very few horizonal limbs left, the forage mainly consists of threadfin/gizzard shad, barfish and crappie living in deeper, structure oriented water.

Thus, the second key is that your techniques and patterns should also change to reflect this trend in what they feed on and where the food is located. With the maturing lake and prolonged drought, patterns have drastically shifted the past 8-10 years.

Having said all that, I think the lake is due for a good "re-birth" once weathern patterns change. Much like Toledo and Rayburn (impounded in the 60's), they had a comeback when the hydrilla appeared. The grass has already started its re-appearance in the northern arms like Birch, Running Creek and others. I hit some good deep hydrilla last weekend in 7' of water not far from the dam, a very good sign. If we get good rain and the lake fills to full pool, flooding a lot of grass and brush coupled with the hydrilla return, the old girl just might show what she's capable of again.

As others said, it ain't that bad now compared to other fisheries, but give her 4 1/2 feet of water and keep it there for a year and see what happens. If you see 10' plus deep grass on Dale Ridge again, OMG.......



This seems like a really good answer to your question . It CAN be very tough

The bass might not be the sharpest tack in the box but I'm bettin they have seen every lure ever manufactured or made.