The other GIANT found floating dead at Fork - 19.62 pounds!!

Well, I had the day right but the year wrong. It was April Fool's Day 1988 when Doc Pounds found this one floating dead near Val's Landing. Between 1988 and 1991 there were at least two other fish larger than Mark's 17.67 found floating dead. I don't have pics for those yet. This pic and the replica is at Oak Ridge Marina.

Lord have mercy, again.

Makes you wonder about all the Sals! Such a precious life! One of Gods greatest creations! All Fish Big or Little!

It really makes you think about what might be lurking out there that never even consider biting the ends of our lines. Plus pairing that with the science that says fish are getting harder to catch it makes you wonder what giants might really be lurking in areas they KNOW we wont bother them at! I know I talk to someone who fishes Ivie, and fished after the big flurries of giants.....and he didnt seem too worried about the lake record having been pulled out by the zark....but catching them bigs is a whole nother thing!

"Was" lurking.....19+ fish and some 15's are two different worlds

If only SAL was around back then. We would have 20 pounders swimming around everywhere!

True and I fear we may not see another 19+ in Texas in my lifetime

what about comparing a 19+ dead fish to an 18+ pounder that was caught? 🤔

its amazing how good some people are at omitting facts when they dont really like what they see 🤷‍♂️

In doing my amistad research I came across posts and even some video where Denny Brauer talked about giant bass....being deep in places no one can catch them. IN MY OPINION....there are huge amounts of hubris amoung bass anglers in that they think if they dont catch them that just means they arent there to be caught. Well these 19+ pound fish werent caught.....why cant there be giant bass that lurk in places where none of us fish at right now as we type?

Ivie locals can say whatever the hell they want....that 18+ has been there for years...and sure it wasnt 18+ its whole life, but figure it was 17+ last fall, summer, spring....and none of the locals could catch them. Why? Im of the opinon its because big fish are big for a reason....they know how to not end up at the end of someones line. That goes for falling for our baits....but even more so they know where to hang out where we wont even have a chance at them.......and I think a perfect example of this is Zark pulling out his 18 pounder.

If zark hadnt caught an 18 pounder at Ivie, and you posted a thread "are there any fish over 15, 16, 17 pounds in OH Ivie" I can almost guarantee eveyone would say no....because they never caught them. So yea, I feel there is a lot of hubris amoungst bass anglers.....and really we kinda gotta be over confident to go out there and think we can take a 3-5 inch piece of plastic or wood and be able to track down fish in hundreds of acres of water with just that little bait. But...the downfall is some of the type of opinions you see in regards to big fish and some of the animosity some have against the SAL program.

Like I said...i talk to someone from Ivie and they made it seem like that 18 might not be the only giant in that lake. Fish are a lot trickier than we think...yea they are stupid and pea brained....but what animal do you know that grows big for its species that doesnt have a killer instinct to eat, and also the right instincts on how to survive. Figure its tough making it to 7+ years old as a bass 🤔🤷‍♂️

Didn’t Zark catch a 16 pounder at Ivie?

In doing my amistad research I came across posts and even some video where Denny Brauer talked about giant bass....being deep in places no one can catch them. IN MY OPINION....there are huge amounts of hubris amoung bass anglers in that they think if they dont catch them that just means they arent there to be caught. Well these 19+ pound fish werent caught.....why cant there be giant bass that lurk in places where none of us fish at right now as we type?

Ivie locals can say whatever the hell they want....that 18+ has been there for years...and sure it wasnt 18+ its whole life, but figure it was 17+ last fall, summer, spring....and none of the locals could catch them. Why? Im of the opinon its because big fish are big for a reason....they know how to not end up at the end of someones line. That goes for falling for our baits....but even more so they know where to hang out where we wont even have a chance at them.......and I think a perfect example of this is Zark pulling out his 18 pounder.

If zark hadnt caught an 18 pounder at Ivie, and you posted a thread "are there any fish over 15, 16, 17 pounds in OH Ivie" I can almost guarantee eveyone would say no....because they never caught them. So yea, I feel there is a lot of hubris amoungst bass anglers.....and really we kinda gotta be over confident to go out there and think we can take a 3-5 inch piece of plastic or wood and be able to track down fish in hundreds of acres of water with just that little bait. But...the downfall is some of the type of opinions you see in regards to big fish and some of the animosity some have against the SAL program.

Like I said...i talk to someone from Ivie and they made it seem like that 18 might not be the only giant in that lake. Fish are a lot trickier than we think...yea they are stupid and pea brained....but what animal do you know that grows big for its species that doesnt have a killer instinct to eat, and also the right instincts on how to survive. Figure its tough making it to 7+ years old as a bass 🤔🤷‍♂️[/quo

WTH are you talking about. No one caught a 18 at Ivie. This is just a bunch of rambling that makes no sense

damn...i got caught exaggerating. In my defense im 3 shiners deep....

my opinion/point still applies...i feel there are giants out there that we will never even get our baits close too.

OK. i said 18. it was 16 and change. JL said "some 15s" we were both off with our accuracy. my point remains the same, but glad you can find something to invalidate it.

I can find stuff with everything you post.

Im sure you can and just choose not to. you dont seem to like to reply often and do more lurking 🤷‍♂️

Lol-good answer!

I wonder though, Have we all written off the true source that could produce a 17 plus again?
I had written her off, but now I think I may have been wrong.
Any other place besides Fork produce a 17plus in Texas-public/private?——no.
Maybe, even with all the time that has passed and all the change that has occurred, Fork hides somewhere, somehow, a record bass.

Well lets see. On another post you stated Rackley worked with LFT in their early days. Just how old was he in their early days. Lmao

Im not a bioligist but i would think as animals just like humans as they get older they are more worried with survival than mating so at a certain age their reproduction diminishes greatly and with todays fishing pressure maybe why we will never see a 17+fish again ever.

do you want to bet a couple baits on that? Ill have to dig but I promise there is a video where he explicitly states this. How old is Justin Rackley?

How old is Justin Rackley again, since you seem to know that kinda info?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vJEwmulUiU&ab_channel=LakeForkGuy

EDIT:
This isnt even the video im talking about....but id say that qualifies as working with them. im sure youll nitpick something since im always wrong. Let me know if you want to bet some baits and ill spend the time digging for the video....might take me a while cuz it was a basic Vlog post years ago, even before googan baits where he went to lake fork tackle and mentioned working with them in his younger days.

Send senkos GYCB ones only tho....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dos_ywRj6ls&ab_channel=LakeForkGuy

I ain't watching any YouTube videos. You said he worked closely with LFT in their early days. So I looked him up. He was born in 85. LFT was started in the late 80's or early 90's I believe.

August 8, 1985

I’m just thinking,- If you say, I want to catch a 17 plus lb bass in Texas or die trying, where would you go?
Where would you go?
WHERE would you go?
I know where I would go- history tells me exactly where to go.

Yea, I wouldnt expect you to accept any facts that go against your opinion/beliefs....and thats why im wrong so often in your eyes. I prefer actual facts to alternative facts...but hey, theres that nit picking I knew would come. Im sorry that my definition of "early days" isnt up to snuff for you. Ill work on that.

I know it doesnt matter since im wrong and dont know what qualifies as "early days" but he literally said he lived in the Lake Fork Tackle store at one point....not sure how much closer you can get than that....but again it doesnt really matter since you dont watch youtube vids but will google rackleys birth year, and I have no idea what "early days" means, at least in the correct sense 🤷‍♂️

Im just drinking beers....so feel free to keep pointing out how im wrong. I love bringing facts to an alternative facts/omitted facts discussion...fun times.

Dude, you are the one ignoring facts. He was probably in kindergarten when LFT was in its early days as you put it. I never said he didn't have anything to do with them.

Whatever you say bub. i have a feeling you are never wrong 🤔

Camelot Bell???

Good choice no doubt.
I have been there as much as anybody from 2012-now.
I have fished many public lakes as well, targeting only dd bass.
To me, I stand by my answer-Fork.
However, a friend of mine who has caught so many giant bass that it is ridiculous says to never get married to one lake. I agree.
Who really knows though?
That’s the fun part.

are you a swimbait guy? I think if I had the patience id do that a ton....i think the big one is gonna come on something big. Kinda like all the A rig success at Ivie

I ain't watching any YouTube videos. You said he worked closely with LFT in their early days. So I looked him up. He was born in 85. LFT was started in the late 80's or early 90's I believe.[/quote]

Yea, I wouldnt expect you to accept any facts that go against your opinion/beliefs....and thats why im wrong so often in your eyes. I prefer actual facts to alternative facts...but hey, theres that nit picking I knew would come. Im sorry that my definition of "early days" isnt up to snuff for you. Ill work on that.

I know it doesnt matter since im wrong and dont know what qualifies as "early days" but he literally said he lived in the Lake Fork Tackle store at one point....not sure how much closer you can get than that....but again it doesnt really matter since you dont watch youtube vids but will google rackleys birth year, and I have no idea what "early days" means, at least in the correct sense 🤷‍♂️

Im just drinking beers....so feel free to keep pointing out how im wrong. I love bringing facts to an alternative facts/omitted facts discussion...fun times.[/quote]

Dude, you are the one ignoring facts. He was probably in kindergarten when LFT was in its early days as you put it. I never said he didn't have anything to do with them. [/quote]

Whatever you say bub. i have a feeling you are never wrong 🤔[/quote]
I'm wrong all the time and have no problem admitting when I am. So prove me wrong and I'll admit it. Show me where he was heavily involved with LFT in their early days. Lets define their early days as their 1st 5 years of existence

you sure its not the first 4 years that counts as "early days"? I wanna be sure I get it right since it seems like semantics is more important than substance and the facts of the matter. the more I think about it, if we are drawing arbitrary lines in the sand to insure that we are on the right side of the argument maybe we should go with 1-2 years as the "early days" since many businesses fail in their first year.

but ill admit it. I was 100% wrong and you were right about whatever you were right about. Feel free to keep pointing out my wrongs tho...this was pretty entertaining to see how far youd stretch to be right.

the cherry on top....



you dont even know when LFT was started! I love how imprecise you allow yourself to be...while demanding absolute accuracy from everyone else. Must be nice to just have that truthiness factor to all you speak. kinda jealous to be honest...must be nice.

You have issues

Not really, I’m not sure. Big baits or a-rig stuff often do the trick though.
I like fishing whatever tech is needed.
The live scope/360 stuff is a new ballgame. Seriously obsessed anglers using that tech may catch a new record or break multiple lake records. Deep fish especially in the winter that have never been targeted and deep spawning fish that have never been seen are now at risk.
Big fish weigh more in the winter leading up to and during the spawn. Live scope is a great winter deal. 360 can see deep spawning bass. You can learn to target only big ones so it’s getting to be like target practice out there. Things are changing, but history tends to repeat itself.

yea, its called being right despite some guy on the internet trying to tell you you are wrong. I wish you knew what these issues were like and could know what pains im going through 🤷‍♂️

Ive actually heard some of the swimbait guys in the facebook groups mention big baits as being able to "find big fish" because I guess the big baits call the bigs and they follow...dont always commit but ive heard that multiple times that some guys use swimbaits to locate the bigs. of course they arent gonna admit to following up with a senko LOL....but I have for sure heard them mention big baits making the bigs show themselves.

Look up Oliver Ngy on Youtube...he might give you the itch like he gave Iaconelli!

True yes. I’m a sight fisherman at heart, but now sight fishing is not just my eyes but my tech., so why not embrace all that.
I’m willing to learn from anybody! Whatever it takes.

if youre on facebook swimbait nation is a pretty good group to ask swimbait stuff. lots of drama....but if you post asking for tips youll always get some good responses from some dudes that really know what they are doing. Lots of [censored] there...but its easy to weed through! LOL

I used to post on SB Nation and gopt tired of all the back-biting and little girl drama. It was worse than BBC.

I agree the Live Scope technology will change bass fishing and potentially show us new lake records on multiple lakes. However, just my opinion but I feel a fish over 18.18 is a Unicorn. It is in a whole different universe from even a 15 pound fish.

Oh yeah its all drama in the swimbait groups! its funny how theres cliques for builders, people that feel the need to criticize new builders...and general [censored] that always keep the pot stirring there. You do get some good posts and good help from people tho if you can stand that stuff 🤦‍♂️

As a kid, teen and younger adult I did lots more catfishing canals and rivers....so Ive always heard rumors of Volkswagen size catfish that are deep and no one can catch at my local lake. fishermans tale of course....but now with all the new technology....the funky behavior of giants (i hear some Ivie giants were caught "shallow" in deep water which seems counter intuitive)...i think stuff will open up. But you are right....every pound over probably that 13 mark that SAL uses is probably really a blessing and had lots of right happening to get even that big. We will see...but I do honestly believe that there are some really old and really big fish that are in places we either cant get our bait or have been conditioned to know the places where most of us stay away from and what NOT to bite! LOL

It's cute that you think you are right

Brock was over his 3 beer limit last night.

Yep

Ill give it to you. you stick by your guns.

So let me just ask one last time....what am I wrong about? That I called something the "early days" that you dont feel means early days? I never said anything like "rackley worked with them when they started" which is pretty much what you keep circling back to. Its 2020....he was with them in 2010....that was 10 years....my apologies that I call 10 years ago "the early days" i guess I was wrong. But again....never did I say he worked with LFT when they started...but you masterfully twisted that into your definition of what early days means.

Even your own definition of "first 5 years" makes zero sense.....because like the post i quoted earlier, you do not even know when LFT was started. So how can you determine the "first 5 years" so well? Reaching hard 🤷‍♂️

Heres the thread for some context. page 3, 4th post down.

https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/13952397/4

Umm. Are you still buzzing....it’s 2021 bruh.

You are right. No matter how old a company is. If he ever had anything to do with them you can call it their early years.

How bout you guys take it off line?? I posted this to show some big fish history about Fork. We don't need 3 pages of carp about who did what at LFT & when.

I definitely think new technology and new ideas will show there are monsters we never knew about out there, probably a state record somewhere here and a world record somewhere in the country.

I do honestly believe this 100%! Just going off what you read and how it says bass have gotten harder to catch (i think there is science behind this too). How efforts are made to place habitat and create situations suited for growing big bass.....then pair those facts with the rumblings you hear from someone like Denny Brauer who says things like Amistad having giants that are on deep ledges and impossible to catch, it really makes you think. The fact that 2 lake records died and were never caught in their lake record levels should also lend some credence to the idea that they are still out there lurking today.....and that we STILL cant catch them

Ken, do you recall any 16-18’s ever being found floating? These fish found were before LMB virus was discovered, correct? (I don’t remember what year that was found).

I have to agree with Ken on this one. I don’t see the state record being broke in the next 20 years. Just because Denny says there are “giants” in Amistad doesn’t qualify a 19lb bass. I can think of a few other lakes that have a better chance.

I think if there was an 18lb+ fish swimming in any lake in the last 10-15 years then someone would have found one floating dead like before. Most lakes are past their prime and IMO the removal of Hydrilla has hurt more than anything.

The virus first hit Fork in Summer of 1999. I was there one day and we caught 42 fish off one deep ledge in 20' of water, with 20 in the 4-6# class. Four days later the fish were still stacked on the same spot but would hardly bite. The few we did get to bite did not jump when you hooked them. You could tell they were sickly. A week later I start hearing about all the thousands of 4-7 pound bass floating dead all over the lake. It was strange.

It seemed like it just hit the middle class fish the hardest. I do not know of any giants found floating during that period but by '99 I was only at Fork 2 days a week.

Fork never rebounded. There are a bunch of folks around the lake that will tell you it did in the mid-2000's but I would challenge it. Sure there have still been some giants caught since 1999 at Fortk but the sheer numbers of 4-8# fish have never been even close to what it was Pre-LMBV.

I miss the 90's

Me & you both bro

That's Him!

Same thing on Rayburn at that time. I remember it was so hard to even get bit. We fished an Anglers Choice in May and water temps were in the 90's. Every fish was sick looking

so many things to say to that... I'll go with

Most nights I'd rather have a bowl of ice cream than reproduce...so I'd be very catchable

1988 was a long time ago guys lol