NO
No California conditions = no 20 lb lmb
Trout stocking in clear water a big factor
Many good fisherman with advanced technology fishing many hours catching fewer and fewer 15+ lmb

one of the best posts of the year !
Back in the mid seventies and eighties , SoCal bass fisherman that targeted just big bass NEVER fished shallow . They used those old hummingbird flashers ( 0-60 feet) and looked for submerged rock plies and humps in 30-40 feet . They would spend whatever they needed to get the biggest crawdads that money could buy and drop those baits in just those area's . They didn't care about getting 5 or 10 bites , they just wanted 1 or 2 big bites and they were willing to spend all day doing it . Most of them fished at night on full moons ---and they caught big bass . It wasn't until Dave Zimmerlee caught that 20+ pounder in shallow water in San Diego for bass fisherman to start hunting for big bass in shallow water during the spawn . The big bass in SoCal were killed off in the mid eighties and early nineties due to two severe droughts and those lakes never really fully recovered . Also , how often are big bass really active ? If a really big bass eats a couple 1 lb bluegill , crappie or a 12" trout , my guess is they aren't active again for weeks , possibly longer ---so again odds go way down that a big bass chases our 6" senko , 1/2oz spinnerbait or 6XD.

Incorrect,California is not the only place in the world with 20 pound fish,Florida,Georgia,and Japan all have fish caught in that size,yes many years ago.Mexico,Cuba,and Texas also probably have such fish they just haven't been caught.

The advanced technology may be one reason we are not catching such fish also,I believe most bass are becoming wary of sonar ping.

You got it right Skeeter, everything needed for a 20lb'er is here in Texas just not enough anglers trying and fishing the right area. I stick with my theory that not all bass spawn or come to shallow water. Like humans once bass get used to a certain diet they stay with it. You don't see many 300 lb. football players eating yogurt and you want see 18-20 lb. bass eating threadfin shad.

Exactly gig em,everyone thinks because they are not catching them in 4 foot of water on their kvd squarebills it doesn't exist

If I want to keep catching 14-16 b fish I'll stay here, but if I want one over 18 I'll need to go to another place geographically speaking- just saying. I'm talking odds here, not impossibilities.

I agree the odds are definitely stacked against us encountering the fish here Jl,but I still think there has to at least be a few out there,but yes your odds are much better catching one out of a deep farm pond out in California where they pretty much get hand feed trout.

Yes and as negative as I seem I would really love it if someone (even a TFFer)!),
caught a 20 or even a new State record here in Texas.
I guess since at least one over 20 was found that gives us all hope. It is a big state with
many large and small bodies of water that may go unmolested. And it is true that the temp zone that seems to be the sweet spot goes through part of our state. Skeeterbbq I suppose it is possible even now for a Texas 20lber to be out there. So maybe I do agree with you! I'm getting more positive even as I type!!-lol! Deeper water does offer protection and possibly allow for a longer lifespan. I suppose it's also possible that some very large females don't go shallow to spawn or spawn in treetops- making them essentially impossible to catch. I guess we just have to keep the lines wet and hope we will get one.

The chances of a 20+ in Texas is not like finding a needle in a haystack. It would be like finding a needle in a thousand haystacks. It's not impossible but looking at reality it's almost as unlikely. Texas' best and most outstanding producer of huge bass has given up a single 18 lber. That was in her absolute prime years. A handful of 17 and a good number of 16+ with numerous 15+ were being caught in those years. There is likely no difference in the behavior and likelihood of being caught between a 17 and a 20 lb bass, If they are there to be caught.
The two huge bass found dead on Fork, 19 and 20 lbs may have weighed several pounds less when live. There have been studies done that show a bass will gain weight from water bloat during the first couple of days after death.

20 lb bass have been caught in other places because they exist in those places.

And they exist here.

Can there be a bass weighing 20 here? Sure, but I think the window of opportunity to find that fish is very narrow. I don't think a LMB can sustain those weights constantly. Dottie (Cali) was caught and weighed several times and her weight would fluctuate 4-5 lbs. One group claimed she lost 2-3 lbs waiting on Fish&Game to arrive which cost them a world record. At her heaviest recorded she was 25 and when they found her dead she was at 19. I think if a 20 is caught it is going to be more like a 15 that has fattened up for whatever reason. 20lb bass could be very common but that has not been proved. The data suggests that it is a very rare occurence. For me I think it's because there just isn't that many of them and the ones that are out there are freaks of nature. So you are looking for that needle in a haystack. I do hope one of us finds it though.

The huge Bass are there in many of our lakes. We just are not fishing for them in deep water and using the baits that mimic and swim exactly like the food source they are praying upon which can be several species of fish. Doug Hannon has dove and made pictures of the 20 + Bass on Lake Amistad and I have seen two of them up close taking stunned pray. I have searched all of the internet articles on his research and cannot find the article or the pictures that was mentioned earlier. I know he was there and saw the equipment being loaded but did not take the time to talk to him as I had guest to take care of.

Vertical ledges reaching the depths of 100 ft. or more is where they like to be. A Shads life is swimming that wall out to the river channel then back into the canyons day and night. They are constantly on the move in big schools hugging that wall back and forth. You can mark them on your depth finder on Amistad in at least 3 wonderful spots that I know. The schools of big Bass are unbelievable against those walls just suspended. Getting them to bite, and having the wind to cooperate to keep that bait dead still against the wall is another story.

There are many Bass that live in all depths of the lake. I want guess at those percentages; but many researchers have said that only 10% of them live in 10 ft or less of water. It is my belief that once a big fish is caught many things change in its life for it to survive; like becoming acclimated to artificial baits, motor sounds, especially trolling motors and sonar pings. I also believe that these pressures move big fish at some point, that live shallow, to deeper water for the rest of their lives.

I would love to spend a week looking for those right spots with someone that has the right equipment on the boat. We would look for all the irregular features protruding out from these walls. Many of these secondary protruding ledges at 20 to 30 ft. have heavy hard wood on them and it is my belief that these are the spots to lay into one of the biggest fish of your life. I have never run across anyone that is willing to put in that kind of time away from catching fish to find these spots. My whole life has been about tournament fish and not about getting that one big bite.

Dang it epicoutdoors! I was just starting to feel positive!
Idk, you guys are all making good points for and against. Very interesting topic.
Those spots do sound good Mr Harper.
For me I guess it's unlikely but never say never.

I agree with mr.harper fishing for a limit and fishing for a giant are two totally different things.