Lake Fork Anglers response to small fish criticism




Lately, there has been some criticism about the Major League Fishing trail fishing for small fish. And since we fish that format at us as well.

At the Lake Fork Anglers MLF format, we also fish for small bass and big ones as well. When you are fishing down a bank or on a main-lake point until you catch a fish there is generally no way of knowing how big it may be.

Perhaps you catch a 12” bass and then another. While they both count will the next one be 12” or 5 pounds? Probably 12” but really unknown. Leave or stay? 

A guy, from Iowa, who fished with us once commented that we only catch small fish and therefore are un-worthly as a bass club. I took offense to that and sent him the following :

  

Jeff you are right I did take offense from your little fish comments.

So I looked back to the standings sheets to see if we did pull in any lunkers this year (2019). I know there were 2-10's caught last year for sure.

And to compare let's look at both the 5 fish limit LFA's as opposed to Hard Core (MFL format).

You may question why there are so any fish with the same weight (ie 6.89) . Because we paper the fish. We measure, record the length and release on the spot using 1/8" increment check it sticks.
Length verified by co angler and boater. 6.89 is a 22 3/8” bass, an 8.52 is 23 7/8”.

LFA- Jan 6.64,Mar 8.52, 7.68, 6.40, 7.02, 7.28, 6.28. Apr 6.89, 7.41, 6.89, 6.89, 6.89, 6.64, 7.41, 6.89, 6.89, 9.12 May 6.64, 7.95, 6.40, 6.28, 6.17, 8.67, 7.41, 6.87, 8.23, 6.03,7.29,7.70, 6.64,
Jun-6.17, Jul 6.64. Aug 6.68, 6.17. Sep- 6.17, 6.52. Oct 8.52

HC-Jan. 6.85, 7.95,6.89,7.41. Feb. 6.89. Mar 6.17 Apr 8.76 May 6.98, 8.52, 10.4, 9.12. Jun 6.64, 7.68. Jul 7.15. Aug 9.91, 8.52 Oct 8.38, 8.52 Nov 8.52

LFA on average has three more boats fishing than HC. Without a doubt Mar, April and May were the lunker months for us. I didn't count the large number of 5+'s caught either. And despite what some will say co-anglers caught their fair share.

This is with an average of eleven boats, 22 anglers, fishing in each tournament.

The Lake Fork Anglers fishes every Thursday except T-Day and Christmas. Most of our members are seniors. WE always have two in a boat for safety, measuring of the fish and learning from each other. We only fish at Lake Fork.

Dues is $5 a year. Tournaments are $15. Plus the co-anglers have to contribute $20 to the boater for gas. Right now we have openings for co-anglers.

For info e-mail me at [email protected].




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Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Jul. 9)

GOOD. Water Stained; 82 degrees; 0.23 feet above pool. Fork : Top waters early around pond weed and grass with frogs and poppers still working . Mid morning chatter baits on the outside edge of grass in 3-5 ft is good as well as shaky heads . Best bite is Carolina rigs off shore on points , road beds and humps in 12-25 ft . Big worms and flukes are good . Deep Cranks are good over the same area when the fish are suspending 19-23 ft . Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Lily fields are filling in, hydrilla and milfoil are reaching for the surface. Fish this type of cover at mid day when bass are seeking cover. Frog patterns are working in the shallow vegetation early and late. Small fish patterns like a dock knocker are producing bass and crappie shallow near grass. Large bream have moved shallow, wooly buggers are producing good fish. Channel catfish are cruising 2-4 feet biting clousers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing has been super up and down this past week. The fish are stacked up on brush piles, lay downs, tire reefs and some trees. The bite is the tricky part. Some days the bite is good and the bigger fish show up. Some days the bite is just off and the short fish show up. Seems like the bite may be better on days we have a little breeze. If the winds are calm the bite is very slow. Minnows will get some bites but small 1/32nd ounce hand tied jigs with small bodies and tails are working well on fish that don’t want to bite. Best depths have been 18-13ft with most fish suspended on trees and loaded in the brush. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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