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This picture is of Lake Fork
Guide Barry Yeatts and his 14.18 lb largemouth bass he caught on
March 14, 1998. This Lake Fork largemouth bass
was donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife's Share Lunker program. The Share Lunker
program is a wonderful program because MONSTER BASS like Barry's will be taken care of by biologists that specialize in
breeding bigger largemouth bass. This Lake Fork largemouth bass will live out the
rest of it's life in a special spawning tank, and this bass will be used for breeding
purposes. The Share Lunker program has dedicated the time and resources to ensure that
Lake Fork and other Texas lakes always have genetically superior largemouth bass...the
best and biggest BASS possible....this will ensure the future of trophy bass
fishin' and all the largemouth bass at Lake Fork.
Lake Fork and Barry Yeatts:
Lake Fork is one of the premier trophy bass lakes of the United
States, which is located in northeastern Texas. The Texas State record bass
that weighed 18.18 lbs., was caught at Lake Fork on January 24, 1993
in 42 feet of water by Mr. Barry St. Clair.
Barry Yeatts witnessed the STATE RECORD bass
being caught that day, and ol' Barry is the man who had to bring in the new state record
of 18.18 lbs. for Mr. Barry St. Clair.
Because Mr. St. Clair did not have a livewell on his boat,
he had nowhere to put this big Lake Fork bass, so St. Clair was going to put his new Texas
State Record of 18.18 pounds, on ice in a cooler...this would have killed this big Lake
Fork bass within minutes. Barry Yeatts, being next to Mr. St. Clair on Lake Fork that day,
quickly talked him out of this bad idea of putting it on ice.....and generously offered to
put it in his own livewell for St. Clair and bring it in for him.
Lake Fork has produced 36 of the top 50 bass in Texas weighing over 15 pounds. It
is approximately 27,756 acres of surface water, located between the towns of Yantis,
Emory, and Alba, and is about a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex,
and around a 45 minute drive from Tyler, Texas. Lake Fork has much sunken timber, brush,
hydrilla, lillypads, and other natural water structures, which makes prime habitat for the
big bass at Lake Fork.
Some years ago, The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocked Lake Fork with
pure Florida Strain bass, and today they continue to stock the lake to insure a trophy
bass lake well into the future. To keep Lake Fork abundant, a slot measurement and a catch
limitation was devised to nurture and to preserve the larger bass of Lake Fork.
A limit of 5 bass can be kept daily, with only one measuring over 21 inches, and all bass
between 14 inches and 21 inches have to be released back into Lake Fork. This system of
"Catch and Release" has really contributed to the healthy size of Lake Fork's
largemouth monster bass.
Barry would like everyone who comes fishing with him
at Lake Fork to enjoy hours of PRIME-TIME trophy bass fishing and especially.........to
catch one of them big ol' largemouth bass.....
Barry Yeatts is a full time Professional
Instructional Guide at Lake Fork. Barry takes guiding to a whole new level through
personal instruction while using the latest bass fishing techniques, equipment, and
methods. Barry tells amusing stories that are filled with local color, trivia, and fact.
Barry Yeatts insures whether you are a beginner angler or an expert, you will enjoy fishing on AMERICA'S PREMIER TROPHY BASS FISHERY..........
- Give ol' Barry Yeatts a call at:
- (903) 383-2070
- and let him show you what Lake Fork trophy bass fishin' is all about!
- Postal address:
- P.O. Box 1573
Quitman, Texas 75783