FISHING GUIDE · TEXAS

Lake Fork Reservoir Fishing Guide

Lake Fork is famous for trophy largemouth bass. Many of the biggest bass ever caught in Texas came from this lake. It also has good crappie and catfish fishing.

📍 Northeast Texas, on the Sabine River in Hopkins, Rains and Wood counties. About 5 miles northwest of Quitman. Other nearby towns: Alba, Emory and Yantis.

📅 Texas Fishing Calendar — best months, closed seasons, bait & rigs →

Map: spots, ramps and marinas

★ Fishing hot spot · ● Boat ramp · ● Marina · ▭ Protected area (solid red = no fishing, dashed = fishing with rules)

Open the full Texas & Oklahoma Lakes map →

Quick facts

Surface area: 27,264 acres.
Impounded in 1980.
Maximum depth: about 70 feet.
Texas state record largemouth bass: 18.18 lb, caught by Barry St. Clair on Jan. 24, 1992, at Lake Fork.
TPWD says more than 65% of the Texas Top 50 biggest bass came from Lake Fork.

What you can catch

largemouth bass
The main draw. Trophy fish over 10 lb are caught every year.
crappie
Good fishing near standing timber and bridges.
channel catfish
TPWD calls it an excellent catfish fishery.
blue and flathead catfish
Present; some large blue cats.
white and yellow bass
White bass are increasing; yellow bass are often caught in winter.
bluegill and other sunfish
Good in spring and summer.

Month by month

January	Slower month, but big fish possible. Jigs on creek ledges and lipless crankbaits through hydrilla. Yellow bass and crappie bite in winter.
February	Pre-spawn starts. Big bass stage near stumps, standing timber and shallow laydowns.
March	Busiest season begins. Bass move to shallow beds on points and in pockets that warm first.
April	Spawn and shad spawn. Jerkbaits, squarebills, swim jigs and topwater on points early.
May	Post-spawn. Fish stumps and trees in 2-6 ft and grass in creek arms. Frogs and football jigs.
June	Bass move to ledges and deeper water. Texas-rigged worms and deep crankbaits. Topwater early.
July	Hot. Fish early and late. Deep ledges, shade and brush piles. Worms and deep crankbaits.
August	Same summer pattern. Ledges, deep grass edges, docks. Bluegill and sunfish bite well.
September	Early fall. Bass start following shad into creek arms and off points and humps.
October	Fall feeding. Look for shad. Jerkbaits on standing timber, buzzbaits, shallow crankbaits in creeks.
November	Bass on main-lake points and timbered flats about 8-30 ft, near bait balls.
December	Winter pattern. Jigs on creek ledges, lipless crankbaits along grass edges. Crappie bite (Dec-Feb you must keep all crappie).

Tips

Watch out: submerged timber is a big boating hazard. Run slow in unknown water.
Hydrilla, boat docks, lake points and bridge pilings have been good spots for bass.
Use the TPWD Habitat Structure Viewer to find man-made brush piles.
Remember the slot: bass from 16 to 24 inches must go back in the lake.
Popular lures: Texas-rigged worms, jigs, lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, deep crankbaits, frogs.

Rules and license

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) · Official rules page ↗

Largemouth bass: 16-24 inch slot. You may keep fish 16 inches and under or 24 inches and over.
Only one largemouth bass 24 inches or longer may be kept each day.
Black bass daily bag: 5 in any combination.
Crappie: Dec. 1 through end of February, no minimum length and all crappie caught must be kept. March-November, 10-inch minimum. Daily bag 25.
Channel and blue catfish: 25 per day, only 10 of them 20 inches or longer. Flathead: 18-inch minimum, 5 per day.
Drain all water from your boat when leaving or approaching the lake (zebra mussel rule).

Rules change. Always check the official page before you fish.

Boat ramps and marinas

The map above shows 11 boat ramps and 0 marinas from OpenStreetMap. Tap any dot for directions.

Rains County Ramp
West Fork Landing

Sources

Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every number on this page comes from the sources listed above.