Lake Fork (Texas)

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Lake Fork
Location	Northeast Texas
Primary inflows	Lake Fork Creek, Big Caney, Little Caney
Catchment area	493 square miles (1277 km²)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	27,690 acres (112 km²)
Surface elevation	403.0 feet (123 m)

Lake Fork is one of the premier trophy bass fishing lakes in Texas.

It holds 15 of the top 20 Texas State Record Largemouth Bass. It was impounded in 1980, and reached is normal pool surface elevation of 403.0 feet (123 m) above mean sea level in 1985. It consists of 27,690 acres (112 km²), situated in Wood and Rains County in Northeast Texas, between the towns of Quitman, Alba, Emory, and Yantis, Texas. It offers 315 miles (507 km) of shoreline, and has a drainage area of 493 square miles (1,277 km²). The dam is 12,410 feet (3,783 m) in length and impounds Lake Fork Creek, a tributary of the Sabine River, and other major creeks are Big Caney and Little Caney.

[edit] Fishing

Lake Fork was created as a textbook fishery, including initial stockings before the lake filled. Lake Fork was established, by the Texas Parks and Wildlife, as a premier bass fishing lake, with 732,514 Florida Black Bass being stocked from 1979 through 1987. Lake Fork offers excellent fish habitat with 80% standing timber left intact, and hydrilla, milfoil, and duckweed being the predominant vegetation. Other species of fish include Catfish, Black and White Crappie, Sunfish, and Bluegill. The predominant food source for the larger fish is Shad, Minnows, and Crawfish.

To preserve the great Lake Fork bass fisheries, the Texas Parks and Wildlife implemented a protected slot limit of no bass between 16 and 24 inches will be kept, and will be returned back into the waters of Lake Fork immediately. A 5 bass per day limit can be kept, consisting of 5 under 16 inches (406 mm), or 1 over 24 inches (609 mm), and 4 under 16 inches (406 mm).

Recently, Lake Fork suffered from the largemouth bass disease. This disease wiped out many of the largemouth on the lake but it is presently making a comeback.

source: Texas Parks and Wildlife, Army Corps of Engineers, and USGS