Everything is bigger in Texas… and that includes the largemouth bass.
The Lone Star State is a largemouth angler’s dream, with dozens of fisheries that regularly produce absolutely massive bass. We’re talking about places like Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Falcon Lake… but perhaps no lake has produced giants recently like O.H. Ivie. At nearly 20,000 acres, this reservoir has produced some of the biggest fish in America over the past few years, and has bass anglers from all over the country flocking to its shores in search of a new personal best.
Of course, part of the reason that Texas has such big fish is that the warmer climate allows for them to keep eating and keep growing, unlike these Wisconsin bass that I’m used to fishing for. Hell, the in the lake that I live on, which is frozen right now, catching a 4 or 5 pound bucketmouth is a great day on the water. A 15-pound bag is guaranteed to win you just most derbs in southern Wisconsin. But in Texas, one fish might be that size… it’s pretty wild. Texas also has Florida strain bass which are genetically just bigger fish.
Another reason Texas is a premiere bass fishing state is that the Parks and Wildlife Department for the State of Texas has launched their ShareLunker program, which since the ’80s, has incentivized anglers to take these lake monsters and turn them over to the state for a breeding program to keep the lakes full of these genetically gifted behemoths. Beginning on January 1st and running through March (the spawning period), any bass angler who hauls in a 13-plus pound bass can turn it over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the Toyota ShareLunker breeding program. These “Legacy Class” fish are carefully bred and returned to the lake, and the angler is treated to a massive swag bag that includes all kinds of stuff like a catch kit of merch, decals for their vehicle or boat, VIP access to the Toyota ShareLunker Annual Awards event, a replica mount of their fish, AFTCO gear, and a Bass University subscription. Anglers also receive entries into two separate drawings for a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree.
It’s a pretty cool program, and even outside the spawning window, Texas recognizes big fish over 13, 10, and 8 pounds with their Legend, Elite, and Lunker classes, respectively. Anglers who catch fish in those classes are also eligible for prizes.
And recently, a Texas angler and guide named Brady Stanford weighed in 2025’s first Legacy Class bass, a 13.13 pound beast out of… you guessed it… O.H. Ivie. Just two days into the season, Brady hooked into this hog in the afternoon, after he spent the morning fishing with his father.
“I pulled up to one of the spots and within five minutes I had the fish on. As soon as I got her in the boat, I knew she was going to be at least 13-pounds. I weighed her and the fish was a little over 13-pounds on my scale, so I called Concho Marina and let them know I needed to use their certified scale. We weighed the fish and then called TPWD to collect her.”
He also added that the fish would’ve been even bigger had she been full of eggs.
If this isn’t your sign to get down to Texas for some bass fishing, I don’t know what is…
