Is it cold deep water, old age, not a lot of pressure, or what? I am looking to find a treasure from my past bass fishing days when I fished literrally every lake in TX. If I can get some of the finer points I my know where the next emma long is.

If it makes one kind of fish big it will usually make lots of other fish big too. Some lakes are known for numbers and some for size, I would go with the ones that are known for size. Age is not as big a deal, I tend to think that with age most lakes will decline as far as fisheries are concerned. I think Cooper is worth looking into, as well as fork and Toledo bend. Tawak would also be on that list.

Carp is what makes A great carp lake.

I'm just sayin...

well the hill country lakes IE Austin and the others are known for carp fishing if it is deep clear cool water and some age to it I know a real hidden gem. Been thinking about it for a while. When I was younger bass fishing there I'd see lets just call them carpmarines huge unnatural looking carp swimming deep. They looked like submarines cruising the ocean just huge. but I was a kid then too.

good brood stock, clear cold water, lots of predators

OK cool. Predators? Like flatheads and bass?

yup, stripers and hybrids too.

I got a new spot to try I need to try it soon.....Hops up and down and dances I have a new spot, deep, cold, spring fed, old as the hills, lots of flatheads, almost zeroe pressure, and a beautiful spot no less with a no wake throughout the entire lake. PM. me I will let ya'll know and someone has to catch a giant outta there.

fork,tawakoni,hawkins, and a couple more that the Sabine river runs thru are great lakes. maybe Jason will chime in.

This is a completely different area.

1. Clear water
2. Good Predator Base
3. Cool Summer temps
4. Fish having time to grow, without being killed.
5. Rich food supplies

To grow fish really large you need all these.

Then I also feel pH comes into the equation too, alkali lakes being my 1st choice.

add to Richards list:
Gene Pool
vegetation
some water movement,,inlet, outlet something that turns the water
some depths over 18 feet, with features

I'm certainly not disagreeing with any of you as the best known carp lakes are most or all of the things listed, but what makes a shallow, very warm, muddy, no catfish or gar having, tiny bass having, mostly weedless pond one of the best places for carp size in DFW? I've always been puzzled by this. Total lack of competition from cats? The fact that it was almost totally drained several years ago?

The fact that several hundred adult koi were released years ago to be fed by people who feed the ducks.