Lake Fork Sportsman's Association

12/18/2018

AND THE WINNERS ARE …!
The Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association finalized their 2018 Fall Raffle Fundraiser at the end of the Berkley Tournament on Sunday October 21, 2018. Twenty Two prizes were raffled and a free Drawing Ticket for Registrants for a $100 Visa Card.
Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association thanks all who bought tickets throughout the summer and fall; look for the 2019 Spring Raffle at future tournaments at Lake Fork.
Many vendors donated items to LFSA or assisted us with our purchases and the Association acknowledges their contributions and generosity. They include:
1.Lake Fork Fi****ms & Indoor Gun Range, 2.Costa Sunglasses, 3.Bass Champs, 4.Greg West Guide Service, 5.Custom Angle Rods, 6.Legend Boats, 7.Creme Lures, 8.Lucky Tackle Box, 9.Minnow Bucket Marina, 10.Sportsman's Connection, 11.Jimmie's Fishing Jewelry, 12.Plano Tackle Systems

Winners of the Raffle Items were:

Curtis Daniels .270 Win. Savage Arms AXIS II XP Stainless w/ Scope
Donna Knight Savage Arms 320 Security 20 Gauge
Jeremy Newell Montana West Carry Purse (Brown)
Megan Johnson Montana West Carry Purse (Red/White/Blue)
Jason Smith Bulldog BD1150 Gun Car Safe/Personal Vault
William Bigger Costa Sunglass Certificate
Larry Marler Costa Sunglass Certificate
Rusty Russell Costa Sunglass Certificate
Eric Westfall Costa Sunglass Certificate
Ronnie Franks Abu Garcia Revo X Baitcasting Combo
Koby Kearney Amphibia Sunglass Certificate
Larry Caldwell Berkley Pure Fishing Bait and Line package
Jim Miller 1/2 Day Guide Trip for 2 People
Don Elder Fishdrops Reel & Custom Angle Rod
Creme Lures & Lucky Tackle Box Baits
Mike Haney Fishdrops Reel & Legend Rod
Creme Lures & Lucky Tackle Box Baits
Jessica Heflin Fishdrops Reel & Legend Rod
Creme Lures & Lucky Tackle Box Baits
Jimmy Haynes Okuma Reel & White Bird Rod
Creme Lures & Lucky Tackle Box Baits
LeeO Kid's Table & Bench Set
David Trester Tackle TekTM Nomad - Lighted Backpack
Larry Caldwell Earrings Sets – (1) Bass and (1) Crosses
Carl Linkinhoker Gift Card Basket
Greg McMillan Plano Tackle Systems
Phil Garrett Registration Drawing Visa Card

10/16/2018

During the October 2018 LFSA meeting Mike and Pat Kostial presented tackle and supplies to the Rains ISD (Jolene and Brad Cobb) and Alba-Golden ISD (Debbra Graves and her son Tody). These donation were made possible by the generous support of our LFSA members and private donors. From the pictures you can see that each school can now equip a number of students with some high quality tackle. Thanks to all who support the Tackle Donation Project and a special thank you to Mike and Pat for all their hard work.

10/16/2018

For the past two years the LFSA has sponsored a “Tackle Donation Project. With the advent of High School Fishing Teams, it became apparent that many students who wanted to participate did not have the equipment to do so. LFSA members Mike and Pat Kostial volunteered to take responsibility for getting donations of tackle and accessories to equip any high school student interested in joining their school team. Mike has cleaned, refurbished, rebuilt and otherwise made all donated tackle like new. The support of the LFSA membership as well as private donors has made this project a success. As the pictures show Mike and Pat have accumulated quite a variety of tackle and accessories.

09/16/2018

Words such as “amazing”, “super”, “honored” and “wonderful” were heard at the Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association meeting in Athens, Texas on September 11, 2018. There to celebrate the awarding of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Hall of Fame Award and to view the award and documentary in the Hall of Fame Gallery, forty (40) members and friends were greeted by Mandy Scott, Inland Fisheries Division, Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center Director, Dave Terre, Chief of Research, Inland Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Kyle Brookshear, ShareLunker Coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Members and guests toured the Fisheries Center, viewed the award on display, and enjoyed a dinner catered by Tilo’s Cuisine in Athens.
Dave Terre spoke about the qualifications Friends of the Reservoirs used to select LFSA as the 2018 Hall of Fame recipient. LFSA’s aquatic plant restoration, fish attractors, Live Release Boat, and youth assistance programs were touted as strong evidence of meeting the criteria.
Kyle Brookshear presented the revised ShareLunker Program designed to help make bass fishing bigger and better by getting fishermen to participate in Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Toyota ShareLunker Program. Anglers catching a bass 8 pounds or 24 inches are eligible to enter and become recognized for their contribution to the program. The four ShareLunker categories are Legacy, Legend, Elite and Lunker. Kyle suggested those wanting to learn more about the program should download the new ShareLunker mobile app or visit the ShareLunker Facebook account, https://www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram.
LFSA members accept the award of the 2018 Hall of Fame Award as a further challenge to continue Preserving the Legend of Lake Fork.

06/13/2018

LFSA Spring Raffle

And the winners are . . .!

The lake Fork Sportsman’s Association finalized their 2018 Spring Raffle Fundraiser at the end of the Skeeter Owners Tournament on Sunday, September 10, 2018. Twenty items were raffled, including a free raffle ticket for registrants for $100 at Academy Sports.

Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association thanks all who bought tickets throughout the Spring; Look for the Fall Raffle at the future tournaments at lake Fork.

Many vendors donated items to LFSA or assisted us with our purchases and we acknowledge their contributions and generosity.

1. Bass Champs, 2. Lake Fork Fi****ms and Indoor Gun Range, 3. Hooten’s Hardware, 4. Fisherman’s One Stop, 5. Sportsman’s Connection, 6. Custom Angle Rods, 7. Lake Fork Marina and motel, 7. J&M Guide Service, 8. Lake Fork Trophy Lures, 9. Lew’s

To see a list of the lucky winners go to www.lakeforksa.com and click on the Raffle Results.

06/13/2018

LFSA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
LAKE FORK SPORTSMAN’S ASSOCIATION
CAROLYN WEST, PRESIDENT
MAY/JUNE 2018

LFSA officially was inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest at Lake Travis in Jonestown, Texas on May 19, 2018. To call it an honor is an understatement for the Association. A documentary noting our projects, history and membership was shown prior to the awarding of the trophies. One trophy will be kept by LFSA and the bronze plaque will be mounted at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Hall of Fame in Athens. Attending the ceremony were Bruce and Cheryl Allen, Arlan and Cathy Jaeger, Larry and Landon Marler, Al and Carole Seeley and Ken and Carolyn West.
The Spring Raffle ended on June 10 at the Skeeter Tournament. This major fundraiser supports about one half of the annual budget. Winners are posted on our Facebook account. The Fall Raffle starts soon and LFSA members will be attending tournaments with new items to be raffled.
Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs Kid’s Fish Event hosted over 400 youngsters on Saturday, June 2 at the Sabine River Authority. Sponsoring the day were the Wood County Sheriff Department, Sabine River Authority and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Nine LFSA volunteers kept records of the catches by category of fish, weights of the catches and anglers’ names. A day away from electronics spent with parents, grandparents and friends made the day a great one for the young anglers.
Texas Parks and Wildlife and Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association coordinated a Florida Bass Fingerling Release into Lake Fork. Over 300,000 fingerlings were delivered in two consecutive days. The Live Release Boat spread a mass delivery on Wednesday and on Thursday, the association and local volunteers bagged and delivered fingerlings and dispersed them in areas of cover throughout the lake. LFSA will post coordinates of all releases, both by individuals and the live release boat before the end of June. This was a huge effort from LFSA, TPWD and the public. Special thanks to all the volunteers who made it successful.
Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:45 pm at Tiffany’s Restaurant at Lake Fork Marina. We invite the Lake Fork community and surrounding area to join this Hall of Fame group of involved members who work hard to PRESERVE THE LEGEND OF LAKE FORK.

Pictured below is Ken Jones local resident hand releasing fingerlings

05/23/2018

This past weekend the LFSA was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Go to www.lakeforksa.com to view the documentory video highlighting the history of the LFSA and its special relationship with Lake Fork.

05/19/2018

The LFSA Live Release Boat has returned this 13.78 beauty safely to the lake to be caught another day. Caught during the Legend tournament Saturday morning.

05/17/2018

MORE FLORIDA BASS FOR LAKE FORK
On Wednesdy May 16 the LFSA provided its Live Release Boat to assist the Inland Fisheries North Tyler District in stocking over 250,000 Florida strain bass in Lake Fork. Thursdsy was another day of stocking. This time 37,000 fingerlings were bagged by volunters from the LFSA, several fishing clubs and other organization. Volunteers picked up the bagged fingerlings and transported them to areas of the lake that will provide cover that will help in the fingerlings survival rate. This is the second year the LFSA has assisted in the stocking. Ed Swenson, Project Leader would like to thank all of the volunteers for making this project a success. You can find more pictures at www.lakeforksa.com click on the photo tab and the click on 2018 Fingerling Release Project.

05/13/2018

LFSA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
LAKE FORK SPORTSMAN’S ASSOCIATION
CAROLYN WEST, PRESIDENT
MAY 2018

Where did the time go?! My regrets are abundant for not posting an LFSA IN THE SPOTLIGHT article in April; however, the main issue was where did the time go?
It was a busy month for members of LFSA. We won the 2018 Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Award and from that point our attention turned to plans to go to Austin to receive the award at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest at Lake Travis in Jonestown, Texas on May 19, 2018. A freelance photographer was sent to Lake Fork to assemble a documentary of our members, projects and people who have benefitted from our work.
Jim Canning interviewed charter members to learn the origination of LFSA; he interviewed current members; he visited Yantis High School to learn more about the FFA students’ involvement in the growing of Button Bushes and Aquatic Grasses. He was present when Pond King delivered the twenty (20) Honey Hole structures and our members delivered them to the lake. Jim visited the Kostials’ home and marveled at the amount of fishing equipment being collected for high school fishing teams. He saw the Live Release Boat in action and learned the value of that boat to the lake. He interviewed a fishing team that told him about our contribution of tackle.
The documentary is complete and will be shown at the Awards’ ceremony on May 19. LFSA members will see it for the first time when the public sees it. For event details, visit https://www.bassmaster.com/tournaments/2018-toyota-bassmaster-texas-fest-benefiting-texas-parks-and-wildlife-department. To say we are proud of our Association is an understatement.
The Spring Raffle will end on June 10 at the Skeeter Tournament. This major fundraiser supports about one half of the annual budget. LFSA members have been seen at the major tournaments selling tickets for a great list of prizes from rods and reels to coolers to Go Pros to patio sets. The Fall Raffle will begin mid-summer and will fund the second half of the annual budget.
May’s LFSA membership meeting featured Game Warden Kurt Kelley sharing information about the annual Kid’s Fish at the Sabine River Authority Facility near the dam. LFSA volunteers help administer the functions. Saturday, June 2, 2018 the Wood County Sheriff Department, Game Wardens and SRA expect to see about 400+ kids up to the age of 16 with their parents as the kids fish for prizes and enjoy hot dogs and drinks.
On Wednesday, May 16 and Thursday, May 17, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Freshwater Fishery in Athens will deliver approximately 800,000 fingerlings to be stocked in Lake Fork. LFSA will have their Live Release Boat ready for mass delivery on Wednesday. On Thursday, association and local volunteers will be ready at 9:00 a.m. to bag fingerlings and disperse them to volunteers who will take them by car and boats to areas of cover throughout the lake. LFSA will keep records of areas of release. This huge project is coordinated by member, Ed Swenson. The Live Release Boat will again be available to make mass deliveries to areas with heavy aquatic coverage.
The aquatic grasses and button bushes continue to grow in the Yantis High School greenhouse and on the campus grounds. The students have given the plants excellent care throughout the school year.
LFSA’s tackle program is flourishing as members, businesses and community individuals donate their rods, reels, lures, bait, line, and equipment. Mike Kostial is a professional at refurbishing these items and the committee, Pat Kostial and Bruce and Cheryl Allen, are working with the schools to get information about the fishing teams needing tackle.
The Association continues to expand in membership and encourages the Lake Fork community to join this Hall of Fame group of involved members who work hard to PRESERVE THE LEGEND OF LAKE FORK.

Thanks for visiting Bassmaster.com

04/01/2018

Congratulations to LFSA member Mike Kostail on this Lake Fork Hog. Mike caught this nice 9.4 lb 25 inch Bucketmouth on a Finch Nasty Chatter Bait in 4 ft of stained water.

03/21/2018

Photos from the Pond King Honey Hole fish attractor deployment. Thank you Pond King for your generous donation. To see more photos follow the link. https://lakeforksa.com/photo-gallery/116-2018-fish-attractors.html