March East Texas Trip - First Time

Guys - New to the site. Far too much to absorb but making my way through it.

I stumbled onto this site as I am planning my first Spring fishing trip to Texas.

I will have two friends in a separate boat and my dad and I in mine.


We all live in Kansas City, Ks and only fish pretty clear waters here for largemouth and smallmouth.

I am not asking anyone to do a lot of work here and not asking for a miracle, but maybe you are in a position to be a great help.

Obviously we hear East Texas is the place to be for big bass. Driving from KC I wouldn't want to go any further than Fork.

I have heard it is super pressured March and April and wanted to ask if there was a better idea than Fork if we didn't want to drive much further south.

Up for anything as I am just in the planning stages but likely need to plan lodging fairly soon as well.

Any help would be appreciated and returned if possible.

Ryan Surprise

I wouldn’t hesitate to fish Fork then. May be a little crowded but still manageable and lots of other great lakes with an hour of Fork too.

Plan your trip and make reservations at Fork. If you get here and don't like Fork or the pressure. There are several lakes close by that you can fish

Just to calibrate your expectations here... If you are coming down and fishing Fork by yourself for your first time in March you'll have a good chance of getting skunked and damaging your boat. By just about every report I've seen Fork is fishing tough right now and east Texas lakes are no joke for stumps. I'd highly recommend getting a guide for at least your first day. You'll learn what pattern is working and more importantly you'll learn how to keep yourself safe.

If you are from Kansas City and a Chiefs fan, then you may want to take the time to drive through Patrick Mahomes hometown in East Texas (Whitehouse). Not really much to see there, but at least when you go back you can tell all of your buds.

If you don't run willy-nilly around the lake, you shouldn't hurt your boat. I would suggest buying Boatlanes and loading it on your graph. This will make navigation much easier and then use your head when not in a boat lane. Fork is one of the easiest lakes to navigate in E.TX, despite the timber. Just don't go thinking it's wide open because you don't see anything poking above the water because it's not...……..
By March, if your struggling on Fork, there are a half dozen lakes within easy driving distance where you can get your line stretched and still have the possibility of catching a big one.
Fork is fishing tough right now but March is SEVERAL months away. Lurking around here is a good way to figure out who to PM when you get really close to your trip. They will usually happily help you out with a little direction and some tips.

Mid late March is prime on fork. You can't miss unless we get a crazy bad cold front. Chatterbait and swimbaits up shallow

I'd come on to Rayburn! Haha kidding. Kinda. Not really.

But very serious: if you guys have any boat trouble and are in this area, know you've got some guys to help ya out. Call anytime.

In March it would be hard to pass up Caddo Lake and probably would like the scenery. Senko is about all you will need and have a pretty good chance at a DD.

Despite the crowds, Fork can be awesome in March. Especially if you are here during a warming trend. There are a number of good lakes close if fork is fishing tough. You are welcome to pm me as it gets closer, I've lived at Fork for 25yrs and fish it regularly and would be glad to help.

The main difference you are going to deal with in Texas is shallower lakes with murkier water. My home lake used to be Tablerock until I got to Texas so believe it. In March, April and May fish will be shallower than you are used to and they spawn shallower. You can use heavier line and larger baits. You will want to due to the timber and the larger fish. Another difference as several have mentioned, there are a lot of lakes. If Fork is tough or you just want to try something different you can be to a number of smaller lakes in about 30 minutes and a bunch more within an hour.

Sent you a PM.

SE Kansas grass grower

Hi! Welcome to the site! Lot's of good people on here that are willing to help.

So many choices coming here in the spring!! Wright Patman, Lake O' the Pines, Caddo, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Fork are all great options. Then if you just want to fish different/multiple other lakes and also stay east of Fork - Tyler(east/west), Palestine, Bob Sandlin/Monticello/Cypress Springs, Welsh, Martin Creek, Perky Point, etc.

What kind of fishing do ya'll like to do? Some of these lakes have good deep water options if the normal spring patterns aren't working. Some are fairly shallow bodies of water(Caddo!) that your options are cypress trees or more cypress trees!! I would try to get lodging for Fork at Oak Ridge Marina as if the wind is bad you can stay up in that big arm and not be too bad. Rooms are nice and the food and tackle shop are great!!

Wow - Did not expect so many replies and certainly didn't expect the amount of help so quickly.

I will likely reply to some as we get closer to March.

Again - Thank YOU.

Hire a guide to show you around and put you on some fish the first day, then you’ll have a better grasp of what the lake is doing! Great time to be on Fork.

Make reservations now.

Second on Caddo! You won't regret it!!!

...and fish during the week.

I’d stay at Fork and try Welsh,Sandlin,Holbrook,Winnsboro, orCypress if fishing is tough. Book rooms now, might even be too late.

Come south start at Lake Naconiche or Lake Nacogdoches for a day or two and then onto Sam Rayburn for the duration.


I do not get why anyone wants to fish Fork anymore, especially if you have to drive more than an hour to get there. Hell Ray Hubbard and Lavon both fish better than Fork these days...

Billy Lawson, Lake Fork fishing guide does a weekly Q&A on YouTube about 8:30 p.m. "Top Five Baits" and how he is catching fish, or not catching fish. Really good. Hear is the link. subscribe to it
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwGCQbMQHpjFDhvTsQfkwSwHBbW

Regards, Bart Armstrong

That is on Thursday nights

Been going down since 06, can give you info on driving directions and whatever else you need.

Go back and watch the MLF footage on Lake Nacogdoches and Lake Naconiche on March 6-11, 2017. Small lakes, easy to fish for a newcomer. Plus, you are just a few miles from Sam Rayburn. You really can’t go wrong coming to East Texas in the spring. Good luck.

When Lake Fork gets tough just hang some live bream on good spot.

this ^^^^^^^, and will add, watch water level, right now we are about 2' low and stumpage changes drastically from here on down. I highly recommend and strongly suggest you get lance vicks boatlanes (has guide lanes that are not buoyed). there are a few places that being just 15' or so out of the lane puts a large stump in your reach, even in 50' of water.

lots of good guides, lance vick, eddie garrett, billy lawson and others. I would recommend any of those 3 if they have a day open, call NOW.

depending on when in march there will likely be a tournament going on and mlf is here mid march. don't let that bother ya, I regularly fish the big bass with up to 2000 people entered and still have a ton of options that time of yr.

for rooms if you still need them, call the number at the bottom and see if scott has any available. clean, ramp right there, plug ins at the parking area for charging.

Bring some big spinnerbaits and hit the north end of Palestine.

HasBen, how do you find past episodes of MLF?

It’s Texas and you’re in the Bass Fishing Section. Just don’t expect the same friendliness blown in the Off Topic Section.

Come to Fork. I like to stay on the east side of the lake (Oak Ridge side). Any whereever you stay, you better make your reservations now. The east side has more open water if you’re concerned about stumps. There are a thousand great places to fish within a 10 minute run. Hopalong’s suggestion is a good one too. You could spend a week in Little Caney and still not see it all. Good luck, and welcome to Texas.

wait till we send him the bill for "consultation". lol

No way you should base how Fork will fish in March by how it is currently fishing. By March you will have fish in all 3 stages of the spawn. You can fish it so many ways then.
Don't stress over the crowds. Fork fish are used to it. During the week in March can be realky, really good.

+1 on calibrating your expectations & hiring a good guide for a day.

I will add this.... If you don't have motel accommodations already made it will be very difficult to get one. Motels book up for the two mid weeks of March a year in advance on Fork.

Have you fished any lakes in southeast Oklahoma? Lake Tenkiller and Broken Bow are awesome. You might consider fishing one of those on your way.

I’ll second getting a boatlanes chip. If you’re familiar with smithville and Truman you’ll find fork is like them on steroids.