Where in Texas Would You Have the BEST Chance to Catch a 10 Pounder??

Hey all,

I'm kinda new to Texas and haven't been fishing much at all. I don't have a boat and have to go to lakes I can walk around. I have been wondering about catching a bass of a lifetime and here in Texas it would be one of the best places to give it a shot. So, I thought I'd pose this question to you guys and gals.

OK, lets say you had 3 days and could use any LURE you wanted, but NO LIVE bait, and you had to catch a bass that weighed at least 10 pounds. You also have to stay within the Texas state lines.

What lake would you choose to go to and why?

Thanks

and you have to fish from the bank???
Probably Fork or T-Bend, although I did hear of a SAL caught off the bank on Conroe in the spring a few years back.

I should've made my proposition clearer.

NO....in my scenario you can fish from a boat or the bank, your choice.


What does "SAL" mean?

Toledo Bend or Ivie would be my choice.

Toledo

SAL= Sharelunker, A bass weighing 13 pounds or more. Reference Texas sharelunker program.

O.H.Ivie
Alan Henry

T Bend Ray Roberts Fork

Private water. It will be expensive.

Camelot Bell 100%, nothing comes even close.

FORK hands down!

Camelot Bell, but it will come with a price. Ask Ken, he sends me pics of mega bass all the time. That place must be amazing.

Camelot Bell, then Falcon/Toledo/Fork

Not quite clear on what this place "Camelot Bell" is.

They talk about having bass in their aquarium for sale. A 14 pound bass is $16,000! A bred doe is $10,000! Is it just a guy that made a 40 acre lake and flew in Florida largemouth and feeds them to get them to grow and then sells them to places that want to jump start their own private lakes or something? I don't see any stuff on their site about being a "member" or "joining" their "club" or anything like that. Strange.

If a world record would come out of that place, I don't think it should be a legit record. It's not a wild bass. All those bass are essentially pets that live in a giant, 40 acre aquarium. If I'm wrong, please someone correct me.

Yes you can pay to legally catch them and they are wild, dont think otherwise. It's not as easy as just going out there and 10lbers are every cast. And yes it should count if a world or state record is caught. No different than Cali where they stock trout every week in some lakes. The fish are conditioned to the trout but you still have to catch them.

Read the book, Sowbelly and it will give you a clearer picture of what's in play at places like Camelot Bell. He stocks a lot of trout for the bass to eat and has a separate lake that from what I understand is off limits and he has only put 12# or bigger bass in it.

Great book btw.

The new lake at CB has received fish caught from the original lake. They are all between 10 to 16 pounds. He plans to open it up for fishing this Fall.

Private- Camelot Bell
Public- Ivie

He no longer keeps any fish in his aquarium. He will sell fish to you if you want to buy them.

JD is right. No place that I know of even comes close to CB for giant bass. There is not a club membership. All you have to do is call, book a fishing date and show up. The owner, Mike Frazier provides an older 20' bass rig for you and will even go out and guide you if you want.

The state of Texas keeps two sets of records. One for public water and one for private. Mike has no interest in the current public water STATE record. That is 15.74 currently. There have been several fish larger than that caught here already. He is interested in one thing and only one thing. To grow the absolute largest bass he can.

The demonstrate his commitment to this task he does a few things I have never heard of for a private lake owner.

1. He removes EVERY fish of 7 pounds and down. He either sells them or puts them in his brother's lake down the road.

2. He pumps the forage to the lake like crazy. Tilapia in the summer, rainbow trout in the winter, rio grande prawns in the spring.

There is no lake above his lake that can rise and flood into it. There is no lake below it that can rise and back up into it. There is virtually no way for the genes of his fish to be diluted from any native fish.

He put coppernose bluegill, & shad in one year before the planted the first bass. After he was certain the bait had taken hold he put 250 Florida fingerlings in the lake. Let's say half of them were females. That is 125 female bass in a 50 acre lake, extremely low bass population. His intent from Day One was to raise Giant bass, not numbers of fish but simply Giant fish.

I have posted many times about my trips to CB. There are a handful of guys on here that have been there more than a dozen times. I am very fortunate to be one of those guys. The guys that have been there will tell you that you can get skunked there just as easily as any other lake, maybe more so. This is not a lake where you go and catch 50-100 bass a day. It is a true trophy lake for true trophy hunters that are very serious about their commitment to catching the largest bass of their lives.

I have met a half dozen guys and shown them what to take for their trip to CB. I will offer to do the same for you or anyone else that is serious about going. If you think it is a guaranteed thing that you will go and smash them just because of the smaller size body of water you may want to reconsider. The fish at CB are big, mean, cautious, spooky, and finicky.

But to answer your original question about where in Texas would you have the best chance to catch a ten pounder, like the Yankee said, No other place comes close.

Fork

That sums it up Ken-I can just quote you it's awesome -less typing!
For public- idk but smaller less mentioned waters with a lot of Florida stockings 6-10yr ago should be considered.

Isn't the State record 18.18 out of Lake Fork?

Yes JimmyP it is. But the state record for Private Water is 15.74

I'd say:
Falcon (this lake is on fire right now)
Toledo Bend
Fork
Sam Rayburn
Amistad
OH Ivie

In that order.

If you want the greatest chance, I'd go to La Perla or Camelot Bell. But as mentioned before, that'll cost ya.

if you don't own a boat and don't want to pay the $ for Bell or la perla. i would join the private waters club and get a water spider. cost monthly would me the same as buying a bass boat and hiting the big bass lake looking for the DD, plus the water is all yours for the day

That's a good idea as well wetduck

Right now? Public? Falcon!

You need to add Allen Henry to your list

I am working on a survey for our club which have been fishing every other Thursday daytime since January 2014 at Lake Fork only. We have caught a whole bunch or little lunkers. That is 6-7-8-and 9's but only one ten.

Now we are not guides. Just regular everyday Joe's, of whom most are seniors and are able to be available on Thursdays to fish.

If you are retired this might be a way for you to access a lake that has the potential of a 10 lb bass any day.

Members in our club fishing not in tournaments have 18 over ten with 2 -12's and a 13 1/2, another said he has caught 12 over ten. It goes on and on not in a tournament situation. Although at our last tournament the lunker was a 9.03 and the time before it was an 8.18 so we catch good hard fighting bass. But ten's. Not so much. However every tournament there are the stories of the ten + that broke the back hook off of the yellow magic, or the big bass the got away.

As a matter of fact every bass that gets away is the "big one". We are all fishermen doncha know.

We are looking for both boaters and co-anglers in our friendly club where fishing costs $13 and annual dues is $5.

E-mail me at sjbasser@aol.com We are capped at 50 but have a few openings right now.

Sugar Lake and call Tommy Law at Outlaw Guide service If you don't mind 30 minutes across the boarder from Texas It's safe and amazing !!!!!

How much is a CB trip cost? Really interested!!

Falcon.
(Fork is beat to death!) Unless you take a guide.

Toledo Bend!

I'd say the tank at Bass Pro Shops!! Seriously what has happened to the 13+ bass in this state, you don't seem to hear of too many people catching them these days.

I think the several years of drought and low water levels played a big part. Hopefully we will start seeing the benefits of all this rain in healthy fish populations

When I first started fishing Fork in late 1986 there was healthy green hydrilla on the point in the mouth of Little Caney in 20ft. of water. There was hydrilla everywhere. You couldn't get close to the shoreline in Glade because of the hydrilla. You would find 3-4 lb. bass schooling all over the lake. The shad were so plentiful I would catch them while fishing for bass. Back then I could launch at the 515 public ramp in my little 15' Kingfisher boat and 50hp Johnson ( no trolling motor) putt putt across to White Oak creek and my son and I could catch bass until the world looked level on black/blue worms. This same scenario happened to me on Rayburn and T. Bend. Now it's hard to find healthy hydrilla in 5ft. of water. The sand bass are eating up the baitfish at Fork, T.Bend has an enormous population of stripers that have been caught all the way up to N.S. 6 and the water fluctuation on Rayburn, in my opinion, has decimated the hydrilla. The recent Skeeters Owner tournament could only produce a 9 pounder. I'm not saying there aren't any 10 lb. bass left, there are, I'm just saying because of the reasons listed above they are getting harder and harder to catch. Oh, and I failed to mention pressure. Since Mark Stevenson caught "Ethyl" the amount of bass anglers and bass tournaments have increased 1000 fold. My PB is a 14.19 caught labor day 1993. I hope you do catch your 10 pounder but expect to spend many many hours on the water using all the technology you can afford and most of all GOOD LUCK. Enjoy your time outdoors because in the end that's more important.

Conroe
Ray Roberts
Toledo Bend
Rayburn

Best way to break 10lbs off bank in Texas from a lake is luck

$1500 a day for two anglers.

Simple... catch a 5lb and pull a Robby Rose

Camelot Bell is no guarantee of a 10lber. During certain times of the year, and if you go with someone who knows the ropes out there, I think your odds might approach or slightly exceed 50% on any given outing. I was very fortunate to find a couple of guys including Ken A. who coached me on the best approaches out there. Camelot Bell is a different beast from anything else I've ever fished. All that said, unless you get lucky or happen to live on a lake like Toledo Bend, it's still the cheapest way to get into the DD club.

I hope one day you catch a big fish Aggie..


Jeez.. That is a MULE!!!

This...but landing it is another story!

Rayburn producers a few but not like Fork,
Sad to say because I live on Big Sam Rayburn.

Falcon, Toledo Bend, Alan Henry, OH Ivie and Fork would be the ones in my list. Last Friday night, a guy caught a 9.25 out of AH in the Working Man's T on LAH. Ivie caught some water and ought to be feeling and doing pretty well, too. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Fork or Falcon, I would take a guide.

I was all by myself Ken when I caught her. This was the week before McDonalds tournament and I didn't want to put her back until after the tournament. Took her immediately to Lunker Lodge (still there but a different name) where they had a certified scale. They put her in a minnow vat to watch her until TP&W could get there. While we waited I noticed something sticking out her mouth. A guide who was watching her with me pulled a crappie from her mouth that was only half eaten. The crappie weighed almost half pound. She had just eaten and still wanted my jig. TP&W said if I had caught her in Feb. she probably would have weighed another 2 pounds. Lunker Lodge wanted to keep her in their aquarium which was fine for me. Tragically she jumped out of the aquarium one night and died. She is now living at home with me now beautiful as ever. Hope I didn't bore you with my story, got millions of'em, lol.

I would take Big Sam or T.Bend over Fork any day. Fork has seen it's best days. No hydrilla, creeks are silted in, too many tournaments and now inundated with sandies. Plus SR and TB are much prettier lakes. My 2 cents.

Yes, this one.

I am a Lake Fork guy but I guided down on Lake Falcon and I have seen more pigs pulled out of Falcon than Fork. Esp these days Falcon is on FIRE!!!

I am pretty sure I remember when that happened. Was Scott Wishart the owner at Lunker Lodge then?

Messed up Ken and answered you in a previous post, old timers disease.

Not sure Ken, remember this was 1993. I do remember the guides name was Brian Duplechain (probably misspelled.) Check out previous post for more about it, I answered in wrong spot.

I know Brian well and you spelled his name right!

Make sure you introduce yourself to me next Sat. I'd like to shake your hand.

Deal, wear black slacks and a cardigan sweater so I'll know who you are. I'll be wearing my camo insulateds and a Texas Ranger cap backwards.

Kidding but now you know what you're up against.

Im gonna go with public Falcon

No doubt if you have the scratch go to CB.

Oh you'll know me. I'll be the only 6' 1" Korean dude there that talks like an East Texas Hick!!

Ken Addington, OK I gotcha now. One time you carried your boat in an enclosed trailer and came to Jones ramp at Hubbard to change to a new boat, a Bass Cat I think. I was launching at the same time and met you. That was 1938 I believe Met you again up north in Lake Fork Creek. You were throwing a magnum DD22 or something. Said hi again. I quit fishing for awhile and started touring the country on a Harley. Back fishing again but not tournaments. Too damn old. Hope to see you Sat.
One quickie, can I/we register Friday ? Still don't have a partner yet but have emailed Bill Dance. Told him we would be fishing in a stock tank.

That's me buddy! The old Bass Cat enclosed trailer. I would probably still be running a Cat if Ron's son wasn't such a butt head...

Mark Howard will be on here soon to tell us when we can register. I hope we can Fri eve.

Ivie, Falcon, Fork would be my top 3.

If you can afford it, Camelot Bell hands down. If that is not an option, Sugar Lake if you feel safe going to Mexico. If you want to stay in the country.....Falcon with Jay Greishaw or Tommy Law. If you go to Sugar or Falcon with either of those guides you will have your shot at a DD. It will be up to you to have the proper tackle, skill, and luck to land her.

14 lb. bass sells for $16,000 at Camelot Bell, I'll take half that for mine and it's already mounted. Won't last long at this price, better hurry.

That is if you want to buy fish to stock your own lake. It is $1500/day for 2 anglers. I have taken 3 friends in 2016. 2 of them caught a DD. One was an experienced fisherman the other was not. The 3rd guy got a 9 pounder and had no experience at all. The day I took him I had a 15.5 lber, a 12, and 4 other DD's between 10 and 12 lbs. I also had (6) 9's that I weighed. I was not even putting them on a scale unless I though they would hit 10. I likely threw back a few more 9's. My point is that the young man definitely had his shot at a DD. Just to be honest, that was my best day ever on the Bell. There are no givens. I have had my days there where I struggled just like everyone else. My point is simply if you have $1500 between 2 anglers for a full day there, I do not know of a better lake for odds on a DD. I am simply trying to answer the man's original question.[quote][/quote]

Hmmm, wondered why I haven't got any takers. Well, it was worth a try.

I applaud your efforts!

Going to have to go with Ivie or Falcon

toledo or pines. Pines is on fire right now

It's hard to mistake Ken for anyone else (except maybe Gary Yammamoto) and the voice is the dead ringer. You'll scratch your head at first and then just accept it.

As far as DDs go..... Camelot Bell takes first by a long shot, then a handful of PWF lakes, then TB and Rayburn and Falcon come next.

Welcome to the forum.

A lot of these public fisheries are great lakes for sure, but your odds of a DD are still very long. T-bend, voted the best bass lake in the country only produced 130 or so DD fish in the past year. That might sound like a lot, but when you consider that tens of thousands of people fished the lake over that period the number starts to look a lot smaller.

The Toledo Bend Lunker Club certifies fish over 10lbs. Gleason, a professional guide and a heck of a stick has the most certified fish over 10lbs on the lake, last I looked his number stood at 6.

I won't bore you with the details, but I ran the numbers once and figured the national lifetime odds of catching a DD at roughly 3%. Meaning nationally, only 3 percent of all bass anglers will boat a 10lber over the course of their entire lifetimes. Here in Texas the odds are higher, given our southern waters, but it's still less than 20%. True double digit fish are rare beasts.

Falcon, Toledo, Fork, Alan Henry, Ivie.....maybe even in that order.

This is a kind of a secret so I'll keep real it vague.. Think how can I find a mini 90's California ecosystem in Texas.. Bait: stocker trout swimbait (8"-10")

I reached my goal on my second trip out.

Shipe/Dillard livewell

Never count OH Ivie out

Camelot Bell for sure but bring a lot of money!
Ken will tell you all about it.

I just wonder, what are the odds of getting a 10 or larger at any of the GREAT public lakes mentioned?
How many 10's caught per year at that lake, divided by the amount of fisherman per year fishing there, and the amount of days they've all fished per year? I'm sure it'd be tens of thousands of fishermen per year, at millions of hours fished (to lazy to do the odds, and I'm no mathematician anyways). ;/)

So the odds are slim to none I'd imagine. Does not mean we won't try, and if you're throwing bigger baits your odds will, no doubt, go WAY up.

I once took a poll here asking how many had ever gotten a 10. Not many had overall, with many guys fishing dozens of days per year, for decades.

Better have a BIG God. I do, and have yet to break that barrier. Not that I've not fought a few up to 13, and I even had a chance at the largest bass in the world once, that was on a nest at Dixon Lake, CA. years ago.