Rally@Texas <% =Year(Date()) %>
HOWDY! and Welcome!

The call was put out and a GREAT bunch of people showed up for that first meeting at Maxwell's restaurant on Lake Fork. Most of those that attended that first meeting became members of the Rally@Fork Planning Committee. Currently the majority of those people are still part of the planning committee and we have picked up a few more to replace those that left. One of the best things about the planning meetings is that it provides a set time to get with those that are now considered GOOD FRIENDS!

The first Rally@Fork was held Memorial weekend 1997 at The Minnow Bucket on Lake Fork. Forty-Seven people attended that first Rally and they came from all over the United States including states as far away as AK, AZ & CA. We even had an individual that works in South Africa that made the trip. To make sure that people would fish with the maximum number of people we decided that we would have people change partners at lunch each day. The fishing was pretty good, but the fellowship was what made the Rally such a success.

As soon as the Rally was over we all wanted to have another real soon. Some of those that attended went home and decided to put together a Rally of their own. That was the Rally@Guntersville. From those that attended the Rally@Guntersville a few decided they want to have a Rally of their own and that has and still continues. At this point there are Rallies from Coast to Coast. Each of these Rallies have their own uniqueness.

In 1998 the Rally@Fork was held at Lake View Lodge. Again the fishing was pretty good, but as the first year the fellowship was the main ingredient for success.

Again in 1999 the Rally@Fork was held at Lake View Lodge. This year Mother Nature provided a new twist. On Sunday, the final day, we had severe thunderstorms that were just exploding out of nowhere. While concern was HIGH for a time, we finally located all of the participants and with the exception of some boat damage there weren't any injuries. If was finally decided to cancel the final afternoon session due to the weather. As usual, once the decision was made the storms departed and a beautiful day replaced them. Even with that everyone still had a good time and said they couldn't wait till the following year.

Late Summer of 1999 Lake Fork fell victim to the Large Mouth Bass Virus. There was a major fish kill and it was decided that we would move the Rally to another lake, thus the change of the name to Rally@Texas. After looking at Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Richland Chambers and others it was decided we had another very good lake just North of Lake Fork. It was Cooper Lake. There were some additional benefits from moving to Cooper Lake, since there wasn't a facility large enough to handle our group we used the Best Western in Sulphur Springs as the headquarters. This allowed everyone to stay at the same place and provide for more interaction between those attending. In addition the fishing was pretty good to boot. A 10+ was the Big Fish of the tournament and some other nice fish were caught as well. While we had a little brush with a bad thunder storm it wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous year.

In 2001, after polling past participants from all of the previous Rallies it was decided that we would hold a split tournament. Saturday would be fished at Lake Fork and Sunday would be fished on Cooper Lake. Conveniently the Best Western in Sulphur Springs is about equal distance from both lakes. Another change added is that because of the slot on Lake Fork being 16" - 24" we have decided to have participants measure their fish and the length will be converted to an equivalent weight. Now those 4 and 5 lb. fish that couldn't previously be weighed-in will be counted in the standings.

In 2003, we will return to Lake Fork for the entire Rally.
The “paper” format implemented for the Fork session last year will again be used. We hope that again this year we will have all of our old friends and a bunch of new friends attend to continue our tradition of GOOD FOOD, GOOD FISHING and GREAT PEOPLE that leads to "THE BEST FISHING EXPERIENCE YOU WILL EVER HAVE".