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Lake Fork
Lakes in the East Texas Area
In East Texas, there are over 50 lakes offering a variety of outdoor sports for vacations or weekends. These lakes provide fishing, swimming, water skiing, houseboats, jet skis, sailing and other outdoor and hiking activities.
 Map showing the location of Lake Fork |
Within easy driving distance are lakes such as Toledo Bend Reservoir, Wright Patman, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Lake Tawakoni, Caddo Lake and many others..
Lake Fork in East Texas
Another popular destination is Lake Fork, impounded in 1980. At 27,264 acres and 315 miles of shoreline, Lake Fork was designed to be a premier bass fishing lake and currently holds records for 34 out of the Top 50 largemouth bass caught in Texas.
This popular lake located on the Sabine River in Hopkins, Rains and Wood Counties, 5 miles northwest of Quitman, and north of Mineola. It was impounded in 1980, and today reaches a depth of 70 feet. The earthen dam consists of a rolled-earth fill about 12,410 feet long with a crown width of 20 feet at elevation 419.5 m.s.l.
Fishing Lake Fork
Largemouth bass is the most popular sportfish in this reservoir. A combination of restrictive harvest regulations, stocking of Florida strain largemouth, and abundant habitat has contributed to Lake Fork's development as one of the country's premier trophy bass lakes.
David Roulston of Frisco became an early star contender on the current Toyota ShareLunker season with his catch of a 13.88-pound largemouth bass from Lake Fork November 20, 2014.
Crappie fishing is generally good, especially in standing timber and under the lake's numerous bridges. Channel catfish provide an excellent sport fishery, which has increased in popularity and notoriety in recent years.
White bass have been slowly increasing in abundance and provide an additional sportfish species in the reservoir. Yellow bass or “barfish” are often caught during the winter months, often associated with largemouth bass. Sunfish, primarily bluegill, offer additional opportunities for anglers during spring and summer.
Toyota Texas Bass Classic
 Lake Fork crappie catch ... summer of 2024 (East-Texas.com Staff photo) |
The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is a world-class bass fishing tournament held each year at Lake Fork. It features the top tournament bass anglers in the world, along with a festival to include exceptional entertainment and a variety of family and industry activities.
For details visit the Toyota Texas Bass Classic website.
Other Lake Fork Tournaments
A number of other high visibility fishing tournaments are also held at Lake Fork through the year, such as Berkley Big Bass, the Bud Light Tournament, Texas Trails Bassmasters, the Lake Fork Classic, Media Bass Team Tournament and many others.
Lake Fork is Not Just about Bass!
Crappie is another popular species in Lake Fork ... see recent catch below from the summer of 2019.
Lake Fork Resources
Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce
Lake Fork Information by Texas Parks and Wildlife
Lake Fork Project ... Sabine River Authority
Texas Freshwater Lakes provided by Texas Parks and Wildlife
Lake Fork Water Level: Conservation Pool Elevation is 403.00'
Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey