Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association earns Hall of Fame nod

Published 1:42 am Saturday, February 3, 2018

If anyone ever wondered just how important Lake Fork has been to bass fishing and the promotion of bass fishing in Texas, they need look no farther than the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

In 2000, the Sabine River Authority became the first organization voted into the hall for its willingness to think outside the box in the design and construction of the 27,000-acre reservoir.

By agreeing to retain much of the lake basin’s timber and allowing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to stock existing farm ponds with Florida bass during the construction phase, the SRA helped create a lake that became the premier bass fishery in Texas and, for many years, the country.

It also helped the local economy because angler success in catching big bass led to fishermen from throughout the U.S. and the world coming to East Texas to fish.

Since TPWD initiated its ShareLunker program in 1986 to obtain brood bass for its hatchery program, the lake has produced a program-most 257 entries of bass weighing 13 pounds and larger, including two state records and the top six largest public water bass ever recorded in the state.

In 2015, guide Mark Stevenson became the second inductee into the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center-based Hall of Fame with Lake Fork ties. Stevenson donated ShareLunker No. 1, a 17.67-pound then-state record that went on to become known worldwide as Ethel — for years the largest bass held in captivity.

Stevenson caught the bass Nov. 26, 1986 before the ShareLunker program had even been officially approved. Housed temporarily in a holding tank in a diminutive storeroom at the old Tyler State Fish Hatchery, the bass unexpectedly attracted almost 10,000 visitors. The fish became a huge promotion for Texas bass fishing, and in particular Lake Fork, as well as an educational tool for catch-and-release bass fishing.

Now Lake Fork has a third inductee, the Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association. LFSA is a community-based organization made up of individuals and businesses that have continued to promote the lake while helping improve it and being a voice for the fishery with TPWD, SRA and Dallas, owners of water rights on the lake.

While not always in agreement because of varying interests, the organization has strong support from those they work with.

“I have nothing but praise for the Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association. They have always been supportive of our work and we have a great working relationship,” said Kevin Storey, TPWD Inland Fisheries district biologist over Lake Fork. “LFSA is very active in the community and they assist with a variety of local projects including scholarships for high school students, support of local high school fishing teams through donation of fishing equipment, financial assistance to SRA to install floating loading docks at public boat ramps, coordination of TPWD public meetings, and display signs showing highway numbers on all bridge crossings to assist boaters with emergency needs in directing personnel to their locations.”

Through the years the organization has created enough goodwill with the state that it has been able to call on department officials to attend public meetings at the lake when issues arise in an effort to clear the air. The group also provided support to the Toyota Texas bass tournaments held on the lake.

More visible efforts include the purchase of a live-release boat that has been used by bass tournaments at the lake as well as using it for a floating laboratory to help the department collect tissue samples for DNA information on above-slot bass.

The purchase of identification signs for bridges on the lake was a safety factor to help wayward fishermen without GPS to find their way back to the marina or give their location in case they become stranded.

LFSA has also worked with TPWD and Yantis High School in a project to establish buttonbush on the lake. Since 2013, the organization has purchased rootstock that has been grown out in greenhouses on the high school campus. LFSA has also constructed and deployed 60 PVC fish attractors around the lake to enhance crappie fishing.

Last year, members of LFSA assisted TPWD biologists by releasing 75,000 Florida bass fingerlings in protective habitat around the lake.

Looking toward the future, LFSA president Carolyn West said the organization has just begun looking into the construction of public fishing piers on the lake that would allow fishermen without boats to fish for crappie, white bass, catfish and even bass.

Vegetation is always an issue at Lake Fork. Today a lot of the talk is either over the lack of it or the discovery of noxious giant salvinia in several locations on Lake Fork. TPWD is using LFSA as spotters to find new locations with giant salvinia, and the organization is working to educate boaters on cleaning their boats and trailers before launching at the lake.

They are also doing what they can to re-introduce native habitat around the lake.

“Now we have started growing aquatic plants to grow those in the lake. They are leaving us because of the age of the lake,” West said.

To fund its various projects, the organization holds raffles and has learned to apply for funding grants.

One of the most active lake associations in the state, the hall of fame nomination is vindication for LFSA work.

“It has been overwhelming for us,” West said of the Hall of Fame honor. “We are a small organization with a lot of impact on the lake, so many projects, and our mission is to protect the legend of Lake Fork. This award tells us we are on the right path.”

LFSA, along with Houston outdoor writer Shannon Tompkins — this year’s other nominee — will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame in May during the 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Travis.