Now that's funny!

Doesn't seem like they have much of a reason to eat an artifical bait these days. We did manage a minor shad kill when temps dipped in the teens. All the fish we are seeing are footballs lol.

Another factor that I saw in the 90's when I first started fishing Fork was the water level difference. I hit it for the first time in 91 and it was 3+ feet low then If I remember right. Folks were complaining that they couldn't catch the numbers of fish they were used to getting back then too. Since I had never seen it before I just basically had to take my general knowledge of bass fishing and start locating fish. At first I wasn't getting bit either but as soon as I started connecting I realized I was fishing a lot different than most folks on the lake, I wasn't fishing the known holes but rather areas adjacent to them because the fish had adjusted for the depth change.
Like was said earlier, this lake is changing because of its age so we have to adjust for that too.
I think your best bet is to try and clear your mind of what it used to be and come to it as if you've never fished it before fishing areas you have never been......My two cents

Mutha Fork hasn't been the same since the bass virus in '95.

I think it shows just how much we are creatures of habit.lol we like the age of the lake, have changed with time, but we as creature of habit sometime chase those old good times on the water the same way we used to. I cant think of many impoundments that haven't changed over the long haul. Fork is still a super great fishery. A good wet weather cycle for few yrs and things will change again.

This too, I fished it through this period in Forks existence and can remember seeing schools of shad everywhere and absolutely nothing disturbing them. I went several months without boating a single fish as well as many of my friends. It got so bad for me I'd come to Fork and unload and just go drive my boat around a while and bring it back to the ramp and never open my rod box..........The one thing I see that is going to be a game changer for me when I'm back is Bill Wilcox and Honey Hole All Outdoors. I really hadn't realized how many lakes I had overlooked since living in Texas that were with in an hours drive from where I live that can produce quality Florida strain LMB's. Watch him and explore.........

It's definitely tough to catch em when you do that.

NOW you're talking! Had one on there in that grass ~1993 that was ripping 25 lb big game off like it was nothing, had to thumb the spool to keep it from the lone tree top out there and the line sounded like a .22 when it broke.

Last fall I had the opportunity to go with TPWD on their electroshock boat to do a survey at Fork. We idled down a short stretch of shoreline in the back of Boardtree Creek. Bear in mind the electric shock doesn't work well in water deeper than about 8 feet. In about a 400 yard stretch of bank we shocked up probably 150 bass between a half pound and 8 pounds. This does not count a Zillion shad, both threadfin and gizzard and a million bluegill and catfish.

Also this was not spring time when you would expect fish to be on the bank. It was a nice fall day with water temps of about 68 degrees. I cannot imagine how many bass would have come to the top if it had been April...

The fish are there fellas..

You bring up something that I think gets overlooked. We blame the lake when in essence a lot of the times its ourselves that should get the blame for a bad day. Now for the next couple of months you can go into Tiffany's at lunch and see the long faces and guys talking about how tough its been. You ask them where they are fishing and what they are throwing and you usually get "Birch, throwing a trap" in reply. Sometimes you just want to politely ask them if they noticed the other 75-100 boats in Birch throwing a trap. But they will say its spring, we have to be in Birch..... .
Also people repeatedly fish it the same way over and over throwing the same baits they always have. There are areas of the lake that don't get the pressure of Birch or Glade as examples but still hold fish. I also think people truly think the only way to catch fish out there after the spawn is in deep water. Granted the bigger schools are out there but there are plenty of shallow fish year round. It amazes me how little pressure the docks get there and yet my PB at over 11lbs came on a dock. Too many other big fish to recall on them as well.
A good map and a couple of hours will pay off if a person will sit down and find areas that have the same type cover/structure as traditionally good spots. often those areas see less boats and less baits chunked at them. I call it fishing ugly. it might not always be the prettiest water but the fish live there so I keep finding places like that.
I truly think we blame that lake way too much when sometimes we are all just being stubborn. That being said I am no expert on Fork nor do I have the history and time on it like a lot of guys here do.

The fishermen haven't become dumber since the 80s to early 90s. The fishing is simply not as good or as easy as it used to be. The Sharelunker numbers tell you that even if you haven't been out there to experience it over a 20-25 year period yourself.

We used to drive up a few times every year and stay for several days...and catch fish consistently every time. By the late 90s I actually left and went home with two prepaid nights at a lodge one time because the fishing was so terrible. Another time in the spring my wife and I stayed at Fork but after a couple of days of lousy fishing we started driving to nearby lakes and hammered them. I didn't become any more intelligent or fish savvy during the time it took to drive 20-30 miles to another lake so I don't really think it was me.

That said, I think the fishing on Fork has improved the last several years. It will never be what it was back in the good ol' days, but it's light years better than it was in the years immediately after the largemouth virus...and in my opinion even more important the die off of most of the hydrilla...back in the late 90s.

Back then I would drive over Fork to get to Cooper 11 days out of 10. Of course Cooper is another story all to itself...

I agree with Ken, there are still a lot of bass and tons of bait fish in Fork. You can see this by observing fish around underwater lights (not going to say where). One clue I've learned in these observations is how the bigger fish go about attacking their quarry.

I'll see a big bass show up and cruise the perimeter getting the lay of the land for a while. Suddenly, they will disappear, but I've concluded that they hunker down to the bottom on the edge of the lit area. You'll see either threadfin, perch or sand bass hover in the area, with the key being how the attack happens.

The bait being attacked will be completely stationary, suspended just under the surface. Then, you will see them make a "dart/glide" motion, where they make a quick move with their tail to one side or the other, followed by a few feet of glide with no tail or fin movement. At the end of this glide, before going stationary again, is when you see the shadow coming and all $#@! breaks loose.

So, my tip is that you need to work baits such as a fluke in this manner. Let them stay motionless as long as you can stand it. Afterwards, give a 12" pull followed by a wrist flick. This mimmicks the "dart/glide" motion I've observed many times, which triggers an attack for some reason. It works often enough to spend the time perfecting, believe me.

Its not a matter of being dumber at all. Its more stubborness and often not wanting to change the way someone has always done something. If you have caught a ton of fish in a certain area or on a certain technique it can be heck to change your mindset. we all do it to some degree. Just in the 5 years or so I have fished a ton there I have seen things change in terms of how the fish relate to certain areas. I also think as a lake ages the fish in that lake change as well. Lots of factors besides the fishing sucks as the answer.

Mark there are no dock fish at Fork, zero!

SHHHHHH!!!!