QUITMAN, Texas — In this edition on Hooked On East Texas, we take a look back at what turned out to be a historic weekend.
It all starts when 19-year-old Trey McKinney from Carbondale, Illinois hoisted the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork Championship trophy above his head.
McKinney is the youngest angler to win a Bassmaster Elite event in the tournament's history. Is it an exaggeration to say we may never see this again? Probably not!
A champion, not even 20-years-old beating the best of the best at bass fishing. McKinney was also a part of another piece of history. Every angler that made it to the final day earned a century belt.
That means every angler that made it to Sunday all caught 100-pounds of fish! Many caught giants like Justin Hamner’s 11-pound 7 ounce lunker. That was the biggest fish caught over the four-day tournament.
Anglers earn a coveted century belt when they catch 100-pounds or more of fish in a single tournament. The record going into last weekend was eight pounds - now the record is 10!
Longview pro Lee Livesay says there could’ve been more, “Only 10 got to fish the final day so now if they would have let the top 25 fish the final day, then there probably would have been 20 to 25 century belts."
BassMasters event coordinator Eric Lopez calls what happened at the Lake Fork tournament amazing, “We knew that the fishing was going to be good. I think if anyone were to tell you that they predicted what is actually happening they they'd be a fisherman who tells tall tales, no one saw to this level. So, we were all pleasantly surprised."
But this lake holds that potential, 36 out of the top biggest 50 bass ever caught in the state of Texas were caught at Lake Fork
Popular pro angler Ben Milliken said his practice rounds confirmed what was possible, “you had a hard time catching one under six, seven pounds when you cast. It was insane and it really showed out. Historic week here at Lake Fork. I think everyone ended up over 100-pounds in the top 10. Unreal."
East Texas pro Keith Combs calls it the right time of year to hold this tournament, “Most times when we come to Fork we’re here in May and it’s post-spawn and a lot of the fish are lean Now those female fish are pre-spawn and you know say like a 7-pound fish in May, he’ll weight eight or nine pounds right now."
Remember these guys are pros - they have a better chance than the rest of us finding and catching these hawgzillas. But if ever there was a time, what Lee Livesay says gives us all some hope.
"It's Lake Fork. It's the goat lake you can look in the list of sharelunkers donated over the years and Lake Fork has always been the king and always will be. It is super healthy right now. There's a ton of fish shallow, a ton of fish deep. You saw the weights that these guys caught this week. It's amazing. It's full of just gigantic bass," Livesay said.
This year's tournament was held at the newly built Caney Point recreation area. There are new boat ramps, a new pavilion and a lot more modern conveniences.
Add that to Lake Fork's legacy and more historic weekends may be in the future for Lake Fork.