The King of Lake Fork continued his reign last week, as Lee Livesay snuck in a late-day giant to again take the crown at the Bassmaster Elite Series event. Livesay rotated perfectly, combining a number of offshore baits to keep the fish biting. It was old-school structure fishing with the new-age twist. All big, all Texas.

Livesay’s grown up with the lake. Coming to Fork at the age of 12, Livesay went from a young tin-boat bass terrorizer to guide to touring pro. He’s kept tabs on Fork’s bass population and developed an apparently unbeatable approach to making them bite.

This year, we saw Fork at a lower pool than normal, exposing much of the lake’s timber and taking the lake from cool to coolest. Geez, who wouldn’t want to fish there? And I think part of this season’s story is Lake Fork itself and how it continues to pump out giant fish and mega-bags, always ready to toss an 8-pounder in the mix on any cast.

As Livesay himself spoke of Fork: “It’s still awesome. It gets a ton of pressure, and there’s still nothing like it anywhere.”

But why?

Perhaps the secret lies in Lake Fork’s tight regulation. A slot limit protects fish from 16 to 24 inches, every day of the year. And, unlike the “wink-wink” regulations of other states, at Fork there are no local tournament exemptions. If you want to fish there, you play by the rules.

Let’s point out: This is a far cry from many other locales where, despite the best efforts of regulators attempting to protect large fish, tournaments are still allowed to continue with traditional practices. There, bass are kept in livewells and toted to central weigh-in locations.

In fact, regulators at Fork have been vocal that the effectiveness of their slot limit is firmly based on not allowing exceptions to the rule.

Here, the best brood stock of fish are caught and immediately released. And, from what I gather in tournament reports and my time interviewing Livesay, very few bass over 24 inches are actually caught at Fork, overall. It may surprise readers to learn that, during the final day of the recent Elite Series event, none were brought in.

Therefore, the majority of bass that are eligible to be kept and eaten, or carried around in a bass boat, fall into the category of fish that can be thinned out a bit with beneficial results for lunkers.

Does that make a big difference? You be the judge.

Fork has several other things going for it. The lake has been routinely stocked by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the same group involved in breeding giant fish as part of the ShareLunker program. Originally, the area surrounding Lake Fork was stocked in a series of small ponds prior to flooding, assuring successful trophy bass genetics from the get-go.

And Fork has a vast forage base, much of which fits perfectly into the diet of trophy bass. Shad of all types, yellow bass, white bass, crappie, crayfish; all are routinely gobbled up by the pot-bellied pigs that roam the timber.

That habitat must also be given credit. Timber is universally good for bass fishing, and many forests that were left partially intact prior to flooding have been the foundation for world-class bass fisheries. But timber doesn’t last forever.

The key to outlandish fisheries, we continue to learn, is often aquatic vegetation. And, sadly, everywhere there’s grass, there are often reports of a loss of it. The same can be said for Lake Fork.

“Hydrilla is king,” according to Livesay. “The locals aren’t crazy about the loss of grass.”

Yes, it seems even Lake Fork is suffering from die-offs of bass-friendly hydrilla and milfoil, something most anglers credit with even better fishing a decade or so ago. Reports indicate that over 1,000 acres of emergent grasses fell to nearly zero from the period of 2013-17. Today, anglers report much of the same. I’ve heard mixed reasons for the decline in aquatic vegetation, none of which seem to make much sense. Many blame recent low water levels. However, reports indicate water levels have been low before. In fact, low water in 2011 was immediately followed by a vegetation boom in 2012. Perhaps I can continue to investigate this phenomenon and find reasons for the decline.

For the time being, bassers will continue to flock to Fork for a shot at the best fishing of their lives. And why shouldn’t they? Proactive management, placing bass anglers (and their wallets) at the top of the list has resulted in what is arguably the best bass fishery in the history of the sport. Despite all of its challenges, Fork reigns supreme as a destination that’s easy to get to and can still break your 50-pound braid.

Road trip, anyone?

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)