Texas’ Best for Bass

Bassmaster Magazine recently unveiled its annual list of America’s 100 Best Bass Lakes. It’s no surprise that a number of Texas lakes made the cut.

Compiling the list was a team effort that took roughly two months to complete, according Bassmaster Magazine Editor in Chief, James Hall. Hall claims he and his staff surveyed every state fisheries department on the country as well as B.A.S.S. Nation members who fished in all 50 states. They also looked at supporting tournament results and verified trophy bass submissions.

“The Top 100 rose to the surface very quickly,” Hall wrote on bassmaster.com. “The actual rankings are a bit more subjective. If an angler can go to a lake and catch a ton of bass, that’s good. If an angler can go to a lake and expect to catch a 10-pounder, that’s very good. If an angler can expect both, that’s awesome. The more boxes checked, the higher a lake ranks, period.”

Two Texas lakes checked all the boxes. Lakes O.H. Ivie and Fork are named among the overall Top 10.

Located near San Angelo, O.H. Ivie ranks No. 2 behind the St. Lawrence River, a smallmouth mecca in upstate New York. The West Texas lake has ranked at or near the top of the list for three consecutive years. It was voted No. 1 last year and No. 2 in 2022, again behind the St. Lawrence River.

It is worth noting that Kyle Hall of Granbury caught a 15.82 pounder at ‘Ivie in March that was recently declared the first pure Florida bass all tackle world record under new rules established by the International Game Fish Association.

The IGFA now classifies Florida bass and northern largemouth bass as two separate species based on findings by the American Fisheries Society. Any challengers to Hall’s record must undergo genetics testing first.

Bassmaster.com’s Andrew Canulette called O.H. Ivie a “straight up freak show,” mainly because of its reputation for kicking out tall numbers of bass with serious weight problems.

“What more can you say about a fishery that produced 35 Toyota Share-Lunkers (8 pounds or heavier) in the first four months of 2024?” Canulette wrote. “That haul includes an astonishing 12 Legacy Class bass, meaning they must be 13-plus pounds, caught between January and March and loaned to Texas Parks and Wildlife for its selective breeding program. Another 17 of the ShareLunkers made Strike King Elite Class (10-plus pounds). There’s absolutely no sign of this phenomenal fishery slowing down, either, which should make Ivie among the most popular attractions in the Lone Star State for years to come. Giddy up!”

Lynn Wright has a more pragmatic outlook about ‘Ivie’s immediate future. Wright is the fisheries biologist who oversees the lake for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Wright says ‘Ivie is still holding good numbers of big fish. The bad news is the reservoir continues to shrink in size due to drought. The lake spans about 19,000 acres when full, but is currently at 28 percent capacity or about 7,500 acres. Likewise, the competition for food is steadily increasing.

“Fishing is still good, and with the forward facing sonar technology anglers have they may continue to catch the big fish at low water levels for awhile,” Wright said. “But looking at my data, growth is slowing down and the fish are getting skinny. The pipeline of bass coming up isn’t flowing as fast as it was five years ago. As those teeners start to fade out due to old age, there are just not going to be as many back filling as there was before. History shows us that when the lake gets real low, and competition for forage increases, fish growth rates are going to start slowing down. In the face of ongoing drought, it can’t go on forever.”

Lake Fork is no stranger to Bassmaster’s annual rankings. The 27,000-acre reservoir near Quitman comes in at No. 5 overall this year.

Fork has a rich history for cranking out big bass. The fishery rang the bell during the 2024 Elite Series event held there last spring.

In four days, Fork cranked out 64 fish weighing upwards of eight pounds for the field of 103 anglers. The entire Top 10 cracked the 100-pound mark on 20 bass. Illinois angler Trey McKinney, 19, led the pack with a staggering 130-15. McKinney’s total fell just shy of Paul Elias’ all-time weight record of 132-8 set in 2008 at Lake Falcon.

“Spectacular might not be adjective enough to describe how good Fork was that week (or just about any other stretch in recent memory, really),” according to Bassmaster.com. “A total of 94 ShareLunker bass have been caught there in 2024 alone, the heaviest weighing 11.7 pounds. That’s a huge weight for a largemouth bass, but really, it’s the sheer volume of 8-9 pounders that amazes at Fork. That’s what the Elites tore into.”

In addition to the overall Top 10, Bassmaster drummed up Top 25 lists for four geographical regions across the United States — Central, Western, Southwestern and Northeastern. Hall said the Top 25 rankings are intended to provide weekend and casual anglers alike with a solid bucket list of high quality fishing destinations they can visit and have a good shot at having a banner fishing trip.

“We divide the nations into four regions and rank the lakes in each region to give anglers perspective on the fisheries they can most likely reach,” Hall said.

Texas landed eight lakes among the Central ranking, two of them shared with Louisiana and one with Oklahoma. Lakes O.H. Ivie and Fork rank No. 1 and No. 2, followed by Toledo Bend (No. 6), Sam Rayburn (No.7), Oak Creek (No. 9), Texoma (No. 12), Caddo (No.13) and Nacogdoches (No. 16).

That’s a pretty salty total that reflects just how lucky Texas anglers are compared to those in other states, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Jake Norman.

“Gifted is a great way to put it,” Norman said. “The 2024 BASS rankings help spotlight what we already know— Texas has world class bass fishing in every geographic region of the state, which is a product of generations of passionate fisheries biologists leading the way in bass management. The diversity of our bass fisheries further highlights the exceptional work from TPWD staff around the state. It not just our traditional powerhouse lakes such as Fork, Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend receiving recognition. Advancements in our habitat initiatives, stocking procedures and the ShareLunker program have all aided in maintaining and improving our bass fisheries. These recognitions of our great fisheries always motivate us to keep moving the needle.”

Matt Williams is freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwillwrite4u@ yahoo.com.

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Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 10 Best Bass Lakes of 2024

St. Lawrence River (Thousand Islands), NY O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas Orange Lake, Florida Lake St. Clair, Michigan Lake Fork, Texas Lake Murray, SC Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, NY Clear Lake, California Bussey Brake Reservoir, Louisiana Mille Lacs Lake, MN

Best Bass Lakes — Central Division

O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas Lake Fork, Texas Bussey Brake Reservoir, Louisiana Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota Caney Creek Reservoir, Louisiana

Best Bass Lakes — Western Division

Clear Lake, California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California Roosevelt Lake, Arizona Lake Coeur d’Alene, ID El Capitan Reservoir, California

Best Bass Lakes — Southeastern Division

Orange Lake, Florida

Lake Murray, South Carolina Jordan Lake, North Carolina Santee Cooper Lakes (Marion/Moultrie), SC Lake Guntersville, AL

Best Bass Lakes — Northeastern Division

St. Lawrence River (Thousand Islands), NY Lake St. Clair, Michigan Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, New York Lake Erie, Ohio Burt/Mullettlakes, MI — Source: Bassmaster. com.