THE WORLD OF BASS • EXPLAINED
There’s more to bass than catching them.
Records, science, unusual biology, fishing history and useful knowledge about one of the world’s most popular sportfish.
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Essential Bass Facts
50-State Largemouth Bass Records
All 50 states source-reviewed, with conflicts and incomplete agency fields labeled rather than guessed.
Largemouth Bass Species Profile
Taxonomy, biology, distribution, growth, diet and related reference links. See 24 sourced largemouth bass facts.
ORIGINAL BASS FACTS DATA
Texas giant bass, connected.
The Texas records layer connects the current Top 50 with ShareLunker history and TPWD-confirmed recaptures, so an individual giant bass can be followed across multiple catches.
25/50
Current Texas Top-50 entries from Lake Fork
7
Current Top-50 entries from O.H. Ivie
63
O.H. Ivie Legacy ShareLunkers since 2020, per TPWD
6
Confirmed individual giant bass modeled through recaptures
SCIENCE & BIOLOGY
What the research actually says
Golden, Albino, Red & Blotchy Bass
Pigment biology, gene editing, unusual phenotypes and disease-associated lesions.
FROM THE BASS FACTS ARCHIVE
Original Bass Facts photography
Blotchy Bass Syndrome
What the newest research says about the dark blotches seen on some largemouth bass.
Catch, Photo & Release
Practical fish-care guidance for handling, photographing and releasing bass.
How to Fish a Jig
Jig fundamentals, presentation choices and when this versatile lure shines.
FISHING
Fishing knowledge that explains the why
Glide Baits
Retrieve, angle, depth and followers, illustrated with an original Bass Facts Chad Shad photograph.
HISTORY
The fish, people and ideas that changed bass fishing
Bassmaster Classic History
From the first secret-location championship to the modern arena event. See every Classic champion.
Dottie: The 25-Pound Largemouth Bass
The documented 25-pound giant that became bass fishing’s most famous almost-world-record.
From Flashers to Forward-Facing Sonar
A sourced timeline of electronics, boats and fishing technology.
SEE THE DATA • SEE THE BIOLOGY
Visual guides for records, biology and fishing technology
Original Bass Facts visuals turn records, fish biology and fishing technology into reference material readers can understand at a glance.
The Heaviest State Records
A visual derived from the source-reviewed state-record database.
Inside a Bass Nest
Nest building, egg placement and male parental care in one diagram.
From Flashers to Live Sonar
How the electronics and boat-control stack evolved around bass anglers.
NEW REFERENCE PAGES
New research-backed Bass Facts
How Old Can Largemouth Bass Get?
What otolith aging tells us about documented longevity—and why size alone cannot reveal age.
Can Largemouth Bass Hear?
Inner ears, the lateral line and the different ways bass detect sound and nearby water movement.
Barotrauma & Deep-Water Release
Pressure change, symptoms, deep-release concepts and what the evidence says about fizzing.
Florida Bass vs. Largemouth Bass
Why the scientific names changed and what the revision means for records, genetics and older literature.
TOOLS
Tools & databases
Bass Weight by Length
TPWD’s 3,178-fish Texas table plus a relative-weight calculator.
ShareLunker Program Reference
Classes, history, breeding, DNA and archive context.
Known Individual Giant Bass
Only TPWD-confirmed same-fish/recapture relationships.
SOURCED • VERIFIED • USEFUL
Useful enough to bookmark. Sourced enough to cite.
Records are checked against official sources, science pages lean on primary research, and uncertainty is labeled instead of smoothed over. The goal is simple: useful bass information worth bookmarking and citing.