I believe there is a 20 lb bass swimming in Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, and Lake Fork. All three of these lakes have everything needed including age. One January or February morning we will all read online or in the paper about some lucky angler catching a 20+ on one of these lakes in the not too distant future! That is my prediction....and hope!

Exactly to think that because we are not catching them they dont exist is crazy,we know for a fact there are 15 and 16 pounders out there but guess what we hardly ever catch one of them.I believe if we had guys like some of the big bass hunters in cali,who spend days anchored up on spots and fishing with large live bait one of them would eventually catch it.

Toledo Bend no doubt in my mind has more than one 20+ on the lower end. Many very large bass on Toledo Bend spawn in the forks of the large oak trees that sit in 60 - 70 ft. of water. Many years ago the DeRidder Bass Club and the Leesville Bass Club use to target these fish and smoked everyone in team tournaments. The problem today is these trees are harder to find and the more open the lake becomes the harder they are to fish. With as many spotted bass, sand bass, yellow bass, and crappie in the open waters there is more than enough forage to never have to go shallow (less than 20 ft.) to feed so they will never see a lure

Phnx22 I to have heard this lake raven story,I personally caught a fish out there at night three years ago that was a little over thirty inches long,no scale so we just measured her and turned her loose,she did not have a massive gut however.My partner and I both believe she was around 15 pounds,but we will never know.That little lake is a mere shadow of itself nowdays,last time I went no pads,no grass,and dirty water.

I subscribe to John Hope's theory of "layers" that suggests a significant portion of fish live almost their whole lives at depths greater than 12 feet which puts them out of range for a large percentage of fisherman. If they spawn in tree tops or offshore as others have suggested, it's entirely possible they might have few if any encounters with fisherman. Big old fish can also develop a strong aversion to noise and depth finders which make them doubly difficult to approach. Add to this the fact that John also believed most fish over 7lbs are almost exclusively nocturnal feeders and you get a recipe for a whole subset of a fish population which are very difficult to catch the way most fisherman fish. They don't live or eat where and when most folks fish. Lastly add in the sheer acreage of water in Texas, and I'd almost be surprised if a fish of that class didn't exist somewhere. So yes, I think she's out there, but maybe not likely to be caught any time soon given the current state of bass fishing.

One final thought here. I'm aware of fish approaching this mark that have been shocked up in comparatively small private waters, yet they've never been hooked with rod and reel. If they aren't getting caught in these small lakes that get fished with some regularity, imagine how long the odds must be to catch one on a behemoth like T-bend.

The big fish in naconiche are brood fish stocked by tpw. They were already big when stocked. There were 10lbers caught soon after the lake opened to the public.

There hasn't been a bass over 16.8 pounds added to the Texas Top 50 in over 24 years. So this talk about how these 20's are out deep or in big lakes. What about the 17's, 18's, 19's??

If there are 20 pounders in Texas, then there has to be thousands of 17's, 18's, and 19's. Why is no one catching these? I suspect that there are far,far fewer of those fish than we all want to believe every time we slide our boats off the trailers.

I understand what you're saying and pretty much agree with you. But, for the sake of accuracy, there was one added in 1993 (23yrs) and one in 1997 (19 years).

I have witnessed and seen two Bass on Lake Amistad in the 20 lb. range. Both fish about 5 miles apart; so not the same fish. Each of them was very near the boat and I am getting a good view as each of them stunned a 1 lb. fish; one a shad and the other a small Bass. As the stunned fish lay quivering and trying to swim in a circle both of these huge Bass circle the bait then lay on their side and inhale them, taking them by the head. Each Bass thrashed themselves against the surface until the pray was swallowed then slowly drifted out of sight.

Needless to say both of these spots get thoroughly fished every time I go to Amistad. Both spots intersect at least 70 ft. of water which makes it very difficult to search out and fish for such fish. My suggestion is to fish as deep as possible in key areas on your lake of choice, especially when the wind will allow you to do so.

I also believe there are not huge populations of bass that size out there,but we know for a fact there are 16+ fish in fork for example and they are hardly ever caught and when they are they almost always fall for live bait.I believe the fish are almost completely night feeders,and have became immune to our tactics.

That is why I said "over 16.8."

I sure would like to think so!

I think naconiche will have potential fish in this class in two or three years,but good luck getting em in,that place is a jungle.

If a 20 lb fish exists in Texas, and no one can catch it, does it matter?

There's one in ray roberts but she swam to Lewisville