Correct me if I’m wrong..... 30+ years ago, conventional wisdom was if you wanted an opportunity to catch a double digit bass your best bet was east of I 35. What’s changed?

Pressure on the lakes, West had time to grow and new lake syndrome .

All the spraying of grass has taken it's toll on the lakes to the east.

+1

100% lakes have aged which resulted in loss of habitat. Then with hydrilla being wiped out its hurting our fisheries tremendously. Used to be an east Texas lake where I caught one or two over 7 every trip with best 5 always averaging around 25. Nowadays it's hard to even catch 5 quality fish a day.

It's just that E Texas cannot hold all of it's awesomeness, so it spilled westard!

Draught/Flood cycle has helped West side become more fertile. Focused stocking to shore up populations were also helpful.