Ivie still produces that. Falcon too. not everyone tosses the fish in the live well and hauls over to the marina for a certified weight and a picture. Every DD I've caught I turn back right back where I catch them. If I were in a tournament obviously that wouldn't be the case. I would venture over half of 10+ lb fish don't even get reported other than their friends and maybe social media

Still doesn't get us to 2000+ even if Ivie and Falcon produce 100 each. My point is, once you get past the 5 or so lakes that produce 10+ fish consistently, it drops dramatically. Conroe doesn't anymore, Austin no more, fork at a reduced rate. Hard for me to believe 2000+ from Texas public lakes.

I would venture a guess that Falcon produced 500+ a year when it was going good. Hell, Gary from the Tackle Trap caught 5 in one day. I would also guess that for all the ones that are turned into that program on Toledo, just as many don't get turned in because people are unaware and match that number again for the ones that hit a filet table.

Well I think a hefty number of those come out of the Brazos and trinity rivers. Even if just a few lakes produce 2-3 over 10lb fish a year that number goes up quick. It's more than you think

Lots of 10+ from the Trinity river? Sign me up where this place is lol

I meant Devils river. But was reading an article about the trinity lol

I don't think there's any use in guessing, because no matter how much you know, there's no way to make a real educated guess.

That said, I bet the number of 10lbers caught is WAY WAY higher than most of us think. I've told the story before of an old guy I know who trotlines Ivie. I've been in the boat with him when he caught TWO 10 lb bass on one trotline on one trip. He cusses at every one of them for stealing his perch and throws them back in the lake. . .I had to ask him to let me put them on a scale, because he was literally just going to unhook them and chunk them back in.

I guarantee that same situation plays out multitudes of times every year in this state.

You have to remember, it's not just bass fishermen catching bass. Crappie guys catch huge bass. Catfish guys catch huge ones on live perch and shad. Then you have the illegal netters, which are everywhere. And tons more not accounted for.

Who knows what the number is, but I bet if we ever found out, it would blow some minds on here.

A little just for the record too - I've seen 8 bass over 10lbs caught in Spring Creek in West Texas. I'm willing to bet the majority of you have never even heard of it. It's tiny, runs from Mertzon to Twin Buttes in San Angelo. It's one of the feeders for Ivie and all of those healthy genetics. But my point is, if I've seen that many, others have definitely seen more. And these are coming from a small spring fed creek, no lake needed. This same setup could be occurring in hundreds of places in the state and the majority of us would never know about it.

Bottom line - Texas is big and there are huge bass in every nook and cranny in the state. It's easy to underestimate the total number, because as bass fishermen, a 10lber is the holy grail. It sounds like the ultimate. But for guys like the old man on Ivie, it happens all the time.

Just some food for thought.

One thing you guys are forgetting is that the vast majority of 10lb+ fish are caught in a relatively short 90 day window around the spawn. Just because 5 "10's" were caught on a particular day does not mean that occurrence has any significant probability of playing out again on any random day of the year. Some lakes turn on, others off. If you average it out and include unreported fish, I think 100 per year is probably not far off for the big producing lakes of which there is only a handful. Toledo Bend is our best yard stick here as there is a strong incentive to report legitimate 10lbers. The rest of the public waters no doubt produce 10's periodically, but at a much reduced rate. Mostly likely just a couple per year on average. I struggle seeing how the number gets much north of 1000.

How many 10+ lb fish does california catch annually? haha

I'm far from an expert, but I would guess CA produces fewer 10lbers than Texas annually. Yes, they produce some truly giant fish, but there are fewer, smaller, and much more pressured lakes in CA.

That's very true. Almost every decent bass lake in Cali is in the southern third of the state - and they get pounded.

How many 10+ fish will be weighed at Mega Bass on Fork on Sunday. There should be 1800 boats on the water, and if they catch a 10+ they will weigh it.

this is a good questions, from some guide accounts the big fish are everywhere, but true 10+ is still rare. I wouldnt be surprised if 3-4 were weighed in, 1800+ boats can cover a lot of water.

There is one well known guide at Fork that claims he had 25 DD's in his boat last year alone. LOL

Don't forget to count those!