Lake Fork Reservoir is one of the premier trophy bass fishing

Bass fishing

Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , Spotted bass or Kentucky bass , Guadalupe bass Bass fishing is...

 lakes in the world

World

World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

, and serves as a reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 for Dallas and its suburbs.

It holds 15 of the top 20 Texas State Record Largemouth Bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

. 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

Wood County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,752 people, 14,583 households, and 10,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 17,939 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

 and Rains

Rains County, Texas

*Alba*East Tawakoni*Emory*Point*Dougherty-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Rains County, Texas-External links:*...

 County in Northeast Texas, between the towns of Quitman

Quitman, Texas

Quitman is a city in Wood County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,030 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wood County. It is most notable for being the birthplace of American Academy Award winning actress Sissy Spacek. The city's slogan is "Come grow with us." It was...

, Alba

Alba, Texas

Alba is a town in Texas, United States. Located mostly in Wood County, a small portion of the town extends into Rains County. The population was 430 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Alba is located at ....

, Emory

Emory, Texas

Emory is a city in Rains County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rains County. Previously known as Springville, the city is named after Emory Rains who was a legislator from the area. Rains was the author of the Homestead Law of Texas...

, and Yantis, Texas

Yantis, Texas

Yantis is a town in Wood County, Texas, United States. The population was 321 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Yantis is located at ....

. 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

Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)

The Sabine River is a river, long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during...

, and other major creeks are Big Caney and Little Caney.

Fishing

Lake Fork Reservoir was created as a textbook fishery, including initial stockings before the lake filled. Lake Fork Reservoir was established, by the Texas Parks and Wildlife, as a premier bass fishing lake, with 732,514 Florida Black Bass

Black bass

Micropterus , is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is M. dolomieu, the smallmouth bass...

 being stocked from 1979 through 1987. Lake Fork Reservoir 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

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

, Black and White Crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

, Sunfish

Centrarchidae

The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...

, and Bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

. The predominant food source for the larger fish is Shad

Shad

The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea....

, Minnows, and Crawfish.

To preserve the great Lake Fork Reservoir 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).

Resources

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

Lake Fork Reservoir page at the Sabine River Authority