State Record Largemouth Bass
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50 Biggest Bass Records for All 50 States

There's arguably no fish record more coveted than that of a largemouth bass. Whether it be a record for a particular fishery, a state, a country, or the entire planet, the possibility of etching a name into stone for breaking a number that's stood for years is something that motivates every angler. In fact, there are plenty of fisherman out there who have done their fair share of leisure fishing and now exclusively chase records, hoping to one day secure their name in angling history.

Considering how far fishing technique and technology has come, you have to wonder how some of these records have held up as long as they have. Have we pressured fish to the point of adaptation? Are fish just not growing as big as they used to? Or, is it possible that it has as much to do with luck as it does skill? Were these record holders just at the right place at the right time? Longstanding records aren't exclusive to largemouth bass, but the truth is rainbow trout, walleye, catfish, and even smallmouth bass just don't hold the same panache. Some of it has to do with how prevalent largemouth bass are across the country, and there's also probably an added allure with the popularity of tournament bass fishing.

Largemouth bass and other species of the bass family can reach more than generous sizes for freshwater fish. The current IGFA world record for the biggest largemouth bass was set by Manabu Kurita with a 22-pound, 5-ounce, 29-inch monster caught on Lake Biwa in Japan. The previous bass fishing record had been standing since 1932 when George Perry caught a 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass from Montgomery Lake in Georgia.

Every State Record Fish in America

State Weight Location Angler Year
 Alaska  N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A
 Alabama 16 lbs, 8 oz Mountain View Lake Thomas Burgin  1987
 Arizona 16 lbs, 7 oz Canyon Lake Randall White  1997
 Arkansas 16 lbs, 8 oz Mallard Lake Ann Mardis  1976
 California 21 lbs, 12 oz Lake Castaic Micheal Arujo  1991
 Colorado 11 lbs, 6 oz Echo Canyon Reservoir Jarrett Edwards  1997
 Connecticut 12 lbs, 14 oz Mashapaug Pond Frank Domurat  1961
 Delaware 11 lbs, 1.6 oz Wagamons Pond AJ Klein  2016
 Florida 17 lbs, 27 oz Unnamed Lake Billy  O'Berry  1986
 Georgia 22 lbs, 4 oz Montgomery Lake George Perry  1932
 Hawaii 9 lbs, 9.4 oz Waita Reservoir Dickie Broyles  1992
 Idaho 10 lbs, 15 oz Anderson Lake Mrs. M.W. Taylor   N/A
 Illinois 13 lbs, 1 oz Stone Quarry
Lake
Edward Walbel  1976
 Indiana 14 lbs, 12 oz Unnamed Lake Jenifer Schultz  1991
 Iowa 10 lbs, 14 oz Lake Fisher Patricia Zaerr  1984
Largemouth Bass Record

YouTube:KYA Afield

State Weight Location Angler Year
Kansas 11 lbs, 12.8 oz Private Pit Lake Tyson Hallam  2008
Kentucky 14 lbs, 9.5 oz Highsplint Lake Mark Ward  2019
Louisiana 15.97 lbs Caney Lake Greg Wiggins  1994
Maine 11 lbs, 10 oz Moose Pond Rodney Cockrell  1968
Maryland 11 lbs, 6 oz Huntington Farm Pond Colton Lambert 2013
Massachusetts 15 lbs, 8 oz Sampson Pond Walter Bolonis  1975
Michigan 11 lbs, 15.04 oz Big Pine Island Lake William Maloney  1934
Minnesota 8 lbs, 15 oz Auburn Lake N/A  2005
Mississippi 18 lbs, 2.4 oz Natchez State Park Lake Anthony Denny  1992
Missouri 13 lbs, 14 oz Bull Shoals Lake Marvin Bushong  1961
Montana 9 lbs, 5.8 oz Lake Elmo Brandon Wright  2021
Nebraska 10 lbs, 11 oz Sandpit Near Columbus Paul Abegglen Sr.  1965
Nevada 12 lbs even Lake Mead Micheal R. Geary  1999
New Hampshire 10 lbs, 8 oz Lake Potanipo G. Bullpit  1967
New Jersey 10 lbs, 14 oz Menantico Sand Wash Pond Robert Eisele  1980
New Mexico 15 lbs, 13 oz Bill Evans Lake Steve Estrada  1995
New York 11 lbs, 4 oz Buckhorn Lake John L. Higbie  1987
North Carolina 15 lbs, 14 oz Private Pond William H. Wofford  1991
North Dakota 8 lbs, 7.5 oz Nelson Lake Leon Rixen  1983

The above picture shows Robert Eisele with a bass weighing 10 pounds, 14-ounces in Meanatico 1980.

State Weight Location Angler Year
Ohio 13 lbs, 2 oz Private Pond Roy Landsberger 1976
Oklahoma 14 lbs, 13.7 oz Cedar Lake Dale Miller 2013
Oregon 12 lbs, 1.6 oz Ballenger Pond B. Adam Hastings 2002
Pennsylvania 11 lbs, 3 oz Birch Run Reservoir Donald Shade 1983
Rhode Island 11 lbs, 3.2 oz Johnson's Pond Brandon Migliore 2016
South Carolina 16 lbs, 2 oz Lake Marion P.H. Flanagan 1949
South Dakota 9 lbs, 5 oz Indian Scout Lake Matthew Dunham 2020
Tennessee 15 lbs, 3 oz Chickamauga Lake Gabe Keen 2015
Texas 18 lbs, 2.8 oz Lake Fork Barry St.Clair 1992
Utah 10 lbs, 2 oz Powell Lake Sam Lamanna 1974
Vermont 10 lbs, 4 oz Lake Dunmore Tony Gale 1988
Virginia 16 lbs, 4 oz Connor Lake Richard Tate 1985
Washington 12 lbs, 9 oz Lake Bosworth Bill Evans 2016
West Virginia 9 lbs, 9.9 oz Dog Run Lake Eli Gain 2001
Wisconsin 11 lbs, 3 oz Ripley Lake N/A 1940
Wyoming 11 lbs, 9 oz Kleenburn Ponds Caleb Salzman 2018

I know one thing, I would love to travel around and try to find some of these fisheries that are producing these largemouth bass records. It would be interesting to see how much they differed.

All I can say is, good luck to everyone angling this season and may the fish gods shine upon us to possibly land one big enough to rewrite the record books.

READ MORE: WORLD RECORD SPOTTED BASS MAY HAVE JUST BEEN QUIETLY CAUGHT IN CALIFORNIA