The Lake Fork Carp and Buffalo Challenge has been held on Lake Fork (near Quitman, TX) annually since 2012, with plans to continue holding the event there for some time from now.

There have been reports that each year after this annual event, there is an increase in bowhunting activity for carp and buffalo on Lake Fork because bowhunters become aware via news articles and forum posts of the carp we've caught and released in excess of 30 pounds and smallmouth buffalo in excess of 60 pounds.

The result is that when our tournament and "Wild Carp Club" anglers have returned to Lake Fork for recreational fishing, they are finding dozens of carp and buffalo dead along the shores of Lake Fork--most of which are fish in excess of 20 pounds that are considered to be very valuable to this annual tournament (anglers come to Texas from all over the country because this is where the biggest fish on the Wild Carp Companies tournament circuit are to be caught).

This unnecessary killing of carp and smallmouth buffalo is a significant problem because as the resident fish are depopulated along the pegged areas that we compete from, that will continue to yield a diminishing return year after year.  Without a sstrong population of large fish to target, our tournament and Wild Carp Club anglers will no longer wish to return to Lake Fork (and subsequently spend those valuable dollars that aide economic development in such a scarcely populated area).

Essentially, this unnecessarily leaving dead carp and buffalo on the bank is akin to throwing prefectly good currency into a fire pit. The bowhunters are throwing away a valuable resource just for the sake of killing something!

This petition is meant to be a starting point toward legislation to protect carp and smallmouth buffalo in Lake Fork (and hopefully Statewide... and eventually nationwide). If we are able to garner hundreds of signatures to support size and/or catch limits on carp and buffalo, it will require TPWD to issue a formal response, which in turn may lead TPWD to conduct scientific studies that can then be used as a factual basis for real legislative change.

If you support rough species angling and want to see the common carp and smallmouth buffalo of Lake Fork protect, please sign this petition!