By Steve Graf
No one is more blessed than the bass fishermen in this part of the country. By this I mean the Ark-La-Tex region. Nowhere in the great USA do you have access to better bass fishing than we do. Every year Bassmaster Magazine publishes it’s “Best Bass Lakes in America” publication and it always has three or four lakes from our region as an angler destination. Most of the time, they base their rankings off tournament results. While this is a great barometer, it doesn’t always tell the whole story. Some anglers base their own personal rankings off how many fish they catch or maybe the lake’s potential for huge largemouth bass in the 10 pound plus range.
Over the next two weeks, I’ll attempt to break down the two of the best. Let’s start with the legendary Lake Fork located in the heart of East Texas just south of Sulphur Springs. It can best be described as “Wow” and just might be the number one fishery in the country. If you’re looking to catch that fish of a lifetime, Lake Fork would be right at the top of the list. No lake in the state of Texas has more entries into the state record books than Lake Fork. Ever since it opened in the early 80’s, this impoundment has been on the bucket list for anglers all across America. If you don’t believe me, just look up the number of bass fishing guides for Lake Fork and you’ll realize there must be something to it. I actually remember my first trip to Lake Fork back in the early 90’s. We literally had to wait in line to launch our boat for over an hour and this was ten years after the lake had officially opened!
To give you an idea of how good this lake can be, I took a trip with 4 Time Lake Fork Guide of the Year Johnny Guice, with my daughter and two of her college basketball teammates. On day one we caught 35 bass in 4 hours and all were between 5 and 9 pounds apiece! Day two was pretty much the same with 30 bass all over 4 pounds! Lake Fork is also a crappie destination as well but the lake will get a lot of pressure especially this time of year as folks north of the Mason-Dixon line converge on this southern body of water.
Another example of the potential of Lake Fork, is by looking at the results of several B.A.S.S. Pro Tour events like the Texas Bass Fest in which anglers shattered records for the most pounds caught with one pro angler catching over 100 pounds of fish during the four day event. Even with so many tournaments taking place and with all the fishing pressure, Lake Fork continues to produce both quality and quantity.
The lake has several great resorts but none better than Lake Fork Marina and Motel just outside of Alba, Texas. They have everything an angler is looking for from a super nice motel to lake house rentals along with an awesome RV park. They offer a great restaurant, gas, ice, outerwear and a nice selection of bait and tackle to catch those huge Lake Fork bass. So if you’re looking for a great fishing trip with the potential to catch the biggest bass of your life, book a trip to Lake Fork Texas! Next week we’ll take a look at another great Texas fishery in Sam Rayburn. Till next time, don’t forget to set the hook!
Steve Graf
Owner/Co-host
Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show
And Tackle Talk Live
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