Lake Fork is full of big bass and with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocking thousands of Florida-strain largemouth fingerlings since 1979, every cast holds legitimate giant potential. The leaderboard is currently stacked with heavy hitters, all capable of winning this tournament by consistently boating quality fish.
But deep inside, every one of these anglers would love to bring a double-digit Lake Fork meat wagon to the weigh-ins.
With Fork’s 16- to 24-inch slot, anglers may keep one fish over 24 inches each day. We’ve seen a lot of impressive fish so far and, while yesterday afternoon brought a flurry of big bites ahead of the approaching storm, the tournament has yet to see the elusive 10-plus.
Notably, at last fall’s Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Seth Feider’s 9-9 won the Toyota Tundra Big Bass award of a Toyota Tundra.
Yesterday, Cliff Pirch edged closer to that prestigious 10-pound mark with a 9:13 that ate a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog around 1. As the Arizona pro explained, capitalizing on key moments of opportunity is the key to tapping into Fork’s potential.
“I’d been looking for that fish all week,” Pirch said. “The sun came out for about 20 minutes and I got a chance to see and things really changed. I was really blessed to get that big one and it was even bigger than I thought it was.”
Pirch said he had caught a morning limit on a jerkbait, but found the day’s cloudy skies and increasing wind impeding his sight fishing hopes. Being on the right stretch of bank during that brief period of increased visibility was key.
Prior to his big catch, Pirch had experienced a frustrating 45-minute period during which he struggled to find an area that was not already being fished. He finally located what he considered a promising zone devoid of boats.
“It had to be northwest facing because we had a southeast wind,” Pirch explained. “Then you had to have some grass and brush on an inside bank and it had to have enough depth to hold (spawners). Not everywhere is like that, so there was limited space today.”
No doubt, every angler in today’s Semifinal Saturday field will be closely monitoring key variables — wind, water temperature, bait movement — and doing their best to put themselves in the optimal position to capitalize on those often fleeting moments of giant opportunity.
A tournament requires hundreds of casts, but it only takes one to catch a Lake Fork giant.
Maybe something that starts with a 1?