With all this extra free time on my hands, I went down a rabbit hole of looking at lake record fish and stumbled upon the Texas' Top 50 Largemouth Bass list.

I couldn't help but notice that all the top 10 fish were caught from 1986 through 1993, excluding the Rayburn fish caught in 1997. It has been over 20 years since we have busted the top ten and it looks as though the golden years were a short 6 year span in the late 80's and early 90's.

I was just a youngster back in those days so I do not really know how the fishing world was back then. I know TWPD does an excellent job of maintaining the fisheries in our state in the present so where does the drop off come from? More fisherman on the water that do not protect the species? Or added pressure those fisherman put on those fish that put stress on the fish?

These are just some of my thoughts. I would love to hear your input and hear stories from the fishing during those "golden years".

Fish kill in Fork 2001, and the grass spraying has really hurt Fork

Them rabbit holes can be bad news.

There are lots of reasons for those statics, but I believe the main reason is fishing pressure, especially from tournaments. Most of the time, a bass lives its entire live with spinner baits, plastic worms, and crankbaits running by. The chances are that a fish will be foul hooked before it reaches 15 pounds. The sad part is that most anglers do not handle big fish correctly (by lifting them by the jaw, dropping them on the deck, etc.) and this almost always kills a fish that size, even if it swims off. Make sure if you catch one over 10 pounds to lift it with both hands and hold it horizontally.

That being said, there are 15 pound and bigger fish out there. Most of them will not be caught the way that most bass anglers fish.

More people fishing now than ever. We don't even have tournaments now and Rayburn is as crowded as it ever has been. Older lakes combined with everyone having a boat, better tackle, better electronics, social media, more people keeping fish, etc it all adds up. The next top 10 fish outta Texas will be from a private lake in my opinion. Are there 17+ out there in a public lake? Maybe, but it hasn't happened in a very long time.

lakes cycle. the biggest fish come early. Monticello was a good example.