Lake Fork Glory Days

After the events at Ivie over the last week and the social media frenzy that came with it, I started thinking about Fork. How nuts would social media have gotten then. Three Sharelunkers in less than a week is impressive no doubt. But for comparison, in ‘91 there was a week at Fork that produced seven, and I believe 21 for the year. I was pretty young at the time and fished farm ponds and creeks, so I have no idea what kind of pressure Fork got at that time, but I would think there was quite a few boats out there in those days. And with all those Sharelunkers, how many 8-12 pound fish were regularly caught? Just thought maybe some of you guys that witnessed that could compare it to what’s going on now.

No matter how busy it is in the spring these days, it was epically more so then. There would be trucks and trailers lining both sides of the road for a 1/2mile from just about any ramp.
8 pound fish were not-brag worthy back then. I can remember (and I'm sure Ken A can attest to this) getting into schools of solid 5-6 pound fish on a spook and fishing for an hour before going to find "better" fish.
With that said, I have only pulled 2 over 10lbs out of the lake in all my years of fishing it and only one was in the "glory days". My wife has a 10+ that she caught out of there on a bed about 5 years ago so they are still around.
Mother Fork is still full of good fish, she is just more grudging of giving them up now.

3 a week happened often. There were times Fork was averaging 10-17 a year. Word would still get spread but nothing like today with Social Media.

My fondness memory on Fork in 92 We caught 4-5 overs that mourning up the Chaney Best friend set the hook and knocked me off the front off the boat Everybody in the cut Hollered Get the Net Prob 30 boats Man I miss them days Sure nuff Cold

Yessir!
My buddies and I were talking about a school we had blow up on us years ago that all looked like twins...we caught 8 fish in about 10min that were schooling between 6-7lbs each

I’m depressed now....thanks guys, LOL

The new is wore off Fork a bit

No doubt!

She’s not putting out the 13+ like she used too. But still a ton of 7-10 lbs. fish in there.

She didn't put out this afternoon. Tough!

If the timing is right she will put out like a prom queen on prom night

There are a lot of big fish caught in Fork that most people never see, or hear about....

For sure bud. I wish they’d just leave the grass alone out there.

I can remember big groups of schoolers. Grass so thick in Birch there was paths through it. Punching jigs in the hydrilla holes, Red slugos in the rain, AC Plugs, Axtons night tournaments and Rainswood burgers!
Damn it was fun then!

Who is this Sinkey guy .....

Loved the night tournaments.

Those were the good old days!

My first ever trip to Lake Fork was in March or 1989. I can't remember for sure; but, I think they still had a bass they called Valentine in the tank at Lake Fork Marina. We made a trip every year up through the late 1990's. I can remember years when we stayed at the Mustang Resort and never had to leave the area. The grass in Big Mustang, Little Mustang, and Williams was incredible. One year we ended up going later than we wanted; early April. There was a huge post spawn bite on that year and we caught 50 plus fish a day working top waters and spinnerbaits over the inside weed line and over the grass out to about 8 feet. We did not catch anything over 8 lbs. that year; but, I can't remember catching more 4-7 lb. bass. Even with all the changes with the lake, I still love going and giving it a shot.

We'll be there for a week starting the 27th of March; can't wait.

Miss those days!
We had a house there from 1990 to 2006 and caught a lot of good fish😀🥃

If fork didnt get 10 times the stocking all the other lakes get it would be a fishless mud hole. And it nearly is.

Should've known you'd have something to say!

That right there are some great memories, Sinkey...

Isolate Fork for many years with light to no pressure and watch what happens......we have seen the enemy, and he is us

I've never heard of a huge fish kill at Ivie like what has happened at ole' mutha forker. That lake has not been the same since 1995 when the first bass virus hit. That's 26 years! And we're still holding on...kinda like the Dallas Cowboys.

The pressure never stopped.....not one minute

Beginning this Saturday it will continue to get stomped on for the next several Months with no relief in sight.

I can remember one day spring break week of March where I beached my boat at Lake Fork Marina to walk up to lunch. I counted 21 different states represented that day according to license plates in the parking area.

I also recall one Specialty Bass event at Minnow Bucket where a guy caught a 13.08 and got second place Big Bass!!

The day Larry Barnes caught Valentine 17.29 there were two more SAL's over 13 landed!!

I can go on & on...

To be completely honest the lake never recovered. The sheer numbers of 5-8 pound fish was astounding. I posted this a few weeks ago but I will share again. Me and a buddy fished a team event in May and caught over 100# of fish off one spot. Anchored down and never moved. 100# of bass without moving the boat on C-rig, DD22's, and big spoons.

Then we went to weigh in with one single 1 pound bass!!

I agree,OHI has been a river channel for several years mostly locals fishing. Fork has been hammered for years nonstop . Fork in the hay day had some unbelievable fishing but has always been a little fickle for me . I caught my largest bass in a 30 degree cold front with 30 +mph winds. Wonder if these kids could pull it off with a flasher or a paper-graph and 6' pistol grip glass rod. Not bitter by no means glad that technology has come so far and happy for anyone who catches a DD bass. I just wonder what would have been caught out of Fork 30 years ago with today's advancements .

The Minnow Bucket wouldn’t waste film on fish under 8.

Must have been crazy times. While it is impressive what’s happening at Ivie, I feel it’s pretty much technology driven. To catch the fish like that 30 years ago without today’s electronics and tackle must have been unbelievable.

When you consider that 35 of the Top 50 biggest bass in Texas came from Fork it is very impressive!

It’s gonna be more like “30 of the top 50 biggest” after this week at OHI.

I have some unbelievable good memories from the 90's at Fork. I also don't remember alot from the 90's at Fork after spending all night drinking at Fisherman's Cove

I remember one trip me and my buddy visited with Brian Duplechain at breakfast at Lake Fork Lunker Motel ( I think that was the name, just south of 515 bridge on HW17) . He told us to get up real early and idle to the farthest reaches at the back of birch and throw a black buzzbait before the sun comes up. We got out there about an hour before sunup and yes it was spooky getting back there while pitch black but we did it. All we heard was toilet bowls flushing when a fish would hit the bait. We caught prolly 8 fish or so that went from 4-7 lbs before sunup and right went it got a little light where you could see, my partner caught a mule that he knew was over 10. We didn’t have a good scale in the boat so we took the fish in and had it weighed. He had finally caught his first double digit. WRONG! That dude looked at the fish and looked back at my buddy and said, sorry partner. That fish won’t go over 9. He weighed it and it weighed a whopping 8lb 15oz. I’ve never seen a more dejected look on a person’s face in all of my life!!

Yep. No doubt Fork is not what she used to be. Since the fish kill in '95 it has sucked. After that she has only put 9 fish in the top 50. Here they are.

15.48, 15.50, 15.61, 15.64, 15.65, 16.04, 16.12, 16.44, 16.63.

What a mud hole.

Here's the rest since '95

Rayburn 16.80
Caddo 16.17 & 15.70
Ivie 16.08
Austin 16.03
Conroe 15.93
OC Fisher 15.69
Amistad 15.68
Falcon 15.63
Choke Canyon 15.45

What was the slot limit in 92', 14-21 or 14-22 inches? I remember those days long ago. Catching an "over" was not that hard to do.

She's not what she used to be. 2013 was the last year of the giants. Since then a few have been caught, but nowhere near what it was 10 years ago.

Think it was 21”

Had my best days on Fork during the 80's. We would bring rods with us to fish after the ducks stopped flying.

Bring back the dairies so the run off can fertilize the lake again.

Three of the best memories for me on Fork:

1) Took the first 8 pounder I ever caught up to Rainswood to get Bill to weigh it and get a Polaroid made. He snarled at me and told me I'd have to buy the Polariod for a fish "that small!" I thought he was kidding...he wasn't! Good ol Bill! (R.I.P,)

2) Fishing in Williams in the cut between Williams and Little Mustang one spring and hear a guy about 50 yards away on the Little Mustang side holler, "get the net"! My fishin buddy and I were giggling when his partner dipped a 2 pounder. I yelled, "nice one" being kinda of a smart arse. He said, "I just caught a 16 pounder about an hour ago"! Me: "yeah...ok". He was a pretty geeky dude and me and my partner both were thinking...probably about a 6 pounder. Went to dinner that night and there he was on the board...16+ pounds! Dang!!!

3) The December early 90's gizzard shad/bass extravaganza in Big Mustang along the bridge. Unbelievable for about 3 years! AC Plugs just came out and they were whacking em!

Wow, didn't know that Bill Kells had died. He was a mean ole' codger to most, but him and I got along great. I sure miss staying at Rainswood "no frills" Marina and experiencing the greatness of Lake Fork. We did it consistently from '88 up until '95. Then, the lake started it's slow, gradual down turn after the bass virus.

The ole gal still has her moments.. wondering what we’re fixing to see out there with bass champs and TTO back to back weekends. Both draw the best anglers in the area... Fork may have a little something to say about Ivie taking the early lead. We’ll see!

Hope you're right buddy. There is nothing I would like more than to see Fork produce another fish over 17 pounds!

Yes, Bill was a grumpy old guy. I was fishing a club tournament on Fork out of the Rainswood ramp. After weigh-in several of us decided to go to Rainswood for a burger. It was maybe 3:30. He saw us walking up from the parking lot. Just as we got close he came up and locked the door on us. He said through the door he was closed and he turned around the open sign to say closed. As we got in our trucks to leave, we saw that he had turned the sign around again and he was now open. Guess he did not want to cook up some burgers.

Bill and I spent many days on the lake together both Fork & Monty. He was a rough ole cuss but he would give you the shirt off his back if he liked you. The list of folks he liked was very short however.

Sure miss walking into Rainswood and seeing him behind the cash register. He would look up over his glasses and say, "What tha hell do you want?"

I grew up fishing Fork in the late 80's while in high school and college. This thread is bringing back memories. I still have a boat there, but dang I leave there frustrated a lot and I would think 30 years of bass fishing would have made me a better fisherman. The lake has definitely changed, but still have the belief that every cast could be a "fish of a lifetime".

That was about the time I started fishing it to Top Waters. First boat I ever had and the first lake had ever fished. Whole lot different than pool fishing that i was used to. Still bout the only lake i fish cause i go for one big fish when i am there. More times than not i dont get a biggun but i keep goin back cause it could be the next cast Lot tougher than it used to be for sure.

Buda, I sure hope you’re right. There’s nothing more than what I’d like to see than a big ole’ 14-15lber come outta there this weekend. I would bet there will be some light line deep structure small swimbait action going on tomorrow. Good luck to all!

Definitely the good ole’ days. And that husky little black headed chick could cook the best burgers this side of the Mississippi, and never miss one drag off her cig at the same time!

This is like a longhorn football thread droning on about 20 years ago. It's kinda sad really.

it's the title of the thread Mr. Positive ...

That would be Millie. Pretty sure most of my burgers had her cigarette ashes mixed in with the lettuce..

Here's a couple of $5.00 Polaroids courtesy of King Grumpy...Bill Kells. Actually once Bill found out I bought a Champion he started being pretty cool to meI guess my time frame was a little off on those fish in Big Mustang on AC plugs. Looks like it was aroun '92- '95 or so.

I’m happy coming down and catching slot fish. Where I’m from they get your blood pumping.

Another pic from Bill from March 1, 2001. She weighed 11lbs 10 oz caught in Birch. My first big fish was back in the early 90’s when the slot was 21” she weighed 9 lbs 14 oz weighed at Rainswood. Like most people fishing Fork my biggest I got to see 3 times before she got off. I had 3 witnesses that told me it was 15lbs plus but only the memories of her. Hooked her in the far back of Birch in the 90’s.

Yep x2 I have priorties

Cool pics Randy

Thx Ken. They ain't O.H. Ivie giants, but they were a blast. That middle one was the one I caught on public hump when our "favorite" guide (RM) pulled up with a client and said loud enough for me and my buddy to hear, "Aww...there ain't no good fish on that spot. Everybody knows about it"! About that time I set the hook and yanked that one out! I yelled back at him, "too small for your guy there Mr. ____? LOL!

[quote=Sinkey

I pretty much lived at Val’s Landing through the 90’s and true the slot was different but one thing I remember about those Axtons night tournaments is that you had a weigh in at midnight and one the next morning. You could weigh in 2 overs each weigh in. Me and partner Bill would weigh in a total of 4 overs in the tournament and not even get a check thanks to Dreabon Joiner and others.