BFBASS FACTS
Records • Methodology

How Bass Facts Verifies State-Record Largemouth Bass

The state-record database should be authoritative without pretending every historical field is equally well documented.

Bass Facts Editorial Reviewed September 2026 Primary and authoritative sources below
The short answer

Bass Facts starts with the responsible state authority, checks each record field independently, prefers authoritative evidence when sources conflict, and leaves unresolved fields visibly unresolved rather than guessing. The current results are published in the 50-state largemouth bass record database.

The methodology belongs on the database page

The state-record table should never look more certain than the evidence actually is. All 50 rows have been reviewed; 45 are fully verified and five retain documented source gaps.

How Bass Facts verifies a state-record bass The table should reflect the strongest available source — not whichever number is repeated most often online. 1Responsible authority Start with the state wildlife agency or the program responsible for the record. 2Record fields Check weight, angler, date, waterbody and species/rule context separately. 3Conflict handling Agency evidence outranks repeated secondary claims and inherited copy. 4Honest gaps If a source omits a field, label it unresolved rather than guessing. When sources conflict ✓ Prefer the responsible authority over repeated secondary claims. ✓ Correct the inherited value and document what changed. ✓ If the source omits angler, date or waterbody, keep that uncertainty visible. ✓ Recheck records periodically because state records can change. Authority beats repetition. A clean-looking table is less important than an honest one.
Original Bass Facts methodology visual summarizing the sourcing rules used throughout the state-record database.

Why this matters

The database makes authoritative sourcing visible while keeping unresolved fields honest. When an agency record conflicts with a value that has been repeated for years on secondary sites, the agency source wins. If the agency does not publish the angler, date or waterbody, Bass Facts does not fill the blank from a weaker source without clearly labeling that decision.

Reviewed

All 50 state rows have a source-backed disposition.

Fully verified

The current review has 45 fully verified state rows; five retain documented source gaps.

Documented gaps

Five rows still carry explicit source gaps instead of manufactured completeness.

Publication rule: the database distinguishes fully verified rows from rows with documented source gaps, and it does not fill missing fields from weaker sources without labeling that decision.

Authoritative record references

Texas Parks & Wildlife — official freshwater state records
IGFA — world-record database and record categories

These are examples of the primary/authoritative record systems Bass Facts prefers over copied secondary lists. Each state row in the 50-state database links to its own source.

Related Bass Facts

50-state largemouth bass records World record largemouth bass How Bass Facts is built