The Biggest Largemouth Bass from Every State

From George W. Perry's longstanding Georgia world record to Aaron Mardis' 15-pound Arkansas giant, these are some of the country's most famous largemouth bass, broken down by official state records
Anglers pose with state record bass.
Five of the biggest largemouth bass ever caught in the country.

The Biggest Largemouth Bass from Every State

The largemouth bass is one of America's favorite gamefish, and one of the most widespread. In fact, largemouths can be found in lakes and farm ponds in all 50 U.S. states. And every state, minus Alaska, maintains records of the biggest bass ever landed by an angler.

One of the oldest records came out of Georgia in the 1930s, and that 22-pound, 4-ounce fish still holds the top spot in the International Gamefish Association's world record books, where it's tied with another 22-pound, 4-ounce fish caught in Japan in 2009.

Angler Michael Arujo caught the second-biggest largemouth (21 pounds, 12 ounces) in 1991 while fishing by a public boat ramp at California's Castaic Lake, and the number three bass came out of Texas's Lake Fork in the 1990's—topping scales at more than 18 pounds.

Most state-record largemouth bass don't come anywhere near the 20 pound benchmark, but the vast majority of them weigh 10 pounds or more, which is a lunker in anyone's book. Read on for details on all of the country's 49 state-record largemouth bass, including the weight, date, and location where they were caught.

Alabama

Weight: 16 pounds, 8 ounces

Year: 1987

Angler: Thomas Burgin

Location: Mountain View Lake, Shelby County

An angler poses with the Alabama record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Alabama Game & Fish Division)

Arizona

Weight: 16 pounds, 7.6 ounces

Year: 1996

Angler: Dale Uden

Location: Colorado River

Arkansas

Weight: 16 pounds, 8 ounces

Year: 1976

Angler: Aaron Mardis

Location: Mallard Lake

An angler poses with the Arkansas state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Arkansas Game & Fish)

Aaron Mardis' giant Arkansas bass has been a record for nearly five decades, and it topped the state's number one fish by more than three pounds when he caught it in 1976. In 2012, news broke of a bigger largemouth, weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces. But officials soon discovered that the fish was caught illegally by a man who didn't have a valid fishing license, so Mardis' record still stands.

California

Weight: 21 pounds, 12 ounces

Year: 1991

Angler: Michael Arujo

Location: Castaic Lake, Main Boat Ramp

An angler poses with the California state record largemouth bass.
Photo / Michael Arujo)

Colorado

Weight: 11.38 pounds

Year: 1997

Angler: Jarrett Edwards

Location: Echo Canyon Reservior

An angler poses with the Colorado record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Jarret Edwards)

Connecticut

Weight: 12 pounds, 14 ounces

Year: 1961

Angler: Frank Domurat

Location: Mashapaug Lake, Union County

An angler poses with the Connecticut state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Connecticut Fish and Wildlife)

Delaware

Weight: 11 pounds, 1.6 ounces

Year: 2016

Angler: Andrew Klein

Location: Wagamons Ponds

An angler poses with the Delaware record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / DNREC)

Florida

Weight: 17.27 pounds

Year: 1986

Angler: Billy O'Berry

Location: Unnamed Lake

An angler poses with the Florida record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission)

Bill O'Berry caught the standing Florida record in an unnamed lake in Polk County that has since dried up. According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, a bigger bass—weighing just over 20 pounds—was caught in 1923, but it was never recorded by a state biologist and remains unofficial.

Hawaii

Weight: 9 pounds, 9.4 ounces

Year: 1992

Angler: Dickie Broyles

Location: Waitia Reservoir

An angler poses with the Hawaiian state-record largemouth.
(Photo / Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources)

Idaho

Weight: 10.94 pounds

Year: 1948

Angler: Mary Alice Hurt Taylor

Location: Anderson Lake

An entry in the March 1949 issue of Field & Stream lists Mary Taylor's Idaho state record largemouth.
An entry in the March 1949 issue of Field & Stream lists Mary Taylor's Idaho state record largemouth. (Photo / IDFG)

According to a 1949 issue of Field & Stream recently unearthed by the Idaho Department of Fish & Game Mary Hurt Taylor caught her record-breaking bass on a South Bend rod using a Shakespeare reel, Ashaway line, and a metal-billed wooden crankbait.

Illinois

Weight: 13 pounds, 1 ounce

Year: 1976

Angler: Edward Walbel

Location: Stone Quarry Lake

Indiana

Weight: 14 pounds, 12 ounces

Year: 1991

Angler: Jenifer Schultz

Location: Harrison County

An angler poses with the Indiana record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Jennifer Schulz)

Iowa

Weight: 10.75 pounds

Year: 1984

Angler: Patricia Zaerr

Location: Lake Fisher

Kansas

Weight: 11.8 pounds

Year: 2008

Angler: Tyson Hallam

Location: Cherokee County

Kentucky

Weight: 14.59 pounds

Year: 2019

Angler: Mark Ward Evarts

Location: Highsplint Lake

An angler poses with the Kentucky state-record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife)

Louisiana

Weight: 15.97

Year: 1994

Angler: Greg Wiggins

Location: Caney Lake

An angler poses with the Louisiana state record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Greg Wiggins)

Maine

Weight: 11 pounds, 10 ounces

Year: 1968

Angler: Robert Kamp

Location: Moose Ponds

Maryland

Weight: 11.4 pounds

Year: 2013

Angler: Colton Lambert

Location: Huntingtown Farm Pond

An angler poses with the Maryland state recored largemouth bass.
Photo / Maryland Department of Natural Resources)

Massachusetts

Weight: 15 pounds, 8 ounces

Year: 1975

Angler: Walter Bolonis

Location: Sampson Pond

An angler poses with the Massachusetts state record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Mass Wildlife)

Michigan (TIE)

Weight : 11.94 pounds

Year: 1934—1959

Angler: William Maloney—Jack Rorex

Location: Big Pine Island Lake—Alcona Dam Pond

Minnesota

Weight: 8 pounds, 15 ounces

Year: 2005

Angler: Mark Raveling

Location: Unnamed Lake near the Twin Cities

An angler poses with the Minnesota state record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Mark Raveling)

Mississippi

Weight: 18.15 pounds

Year: 1992

Angler: Anthony Denny

Location: Natchez State Park Lake

An angler poses with the Mississippi record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks)

Missouri

Weight: 13 pounds, 14 ounces

Year: 1961

Angler: Marvin Russell Bushong

Location: Bull Shoals Lake

An angler poses with the Missouri state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / MDC)

Montana

Weight: 9.58 pounds

Year: 2021

Angler: Brandon Wright

Location: Lake Elmo

An angler poses with the Montana state record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks)

Nebraska

Weight: 10 pounds, 11 ounces

Year: 1965

Angler: Paul Abegglen

Location: Sand Pit Near Columbus

Nevada

Weight: 12 pounds

Year: 1999

Angler: Michael Geary

Location: Lake Mead

Oregon

Weight: 12 pounds, 1.6 ounces

Year: 2002

Angler: B. Adam Hastings

Location: Ballengar Pond

Hastings caught Oregon's record bass on blue senko and put it in a Tupperware container before taking it to a certified scale at a nearby Albertsons grocery store. He reportedly kept the fish alive in his garage until an ODFW biologist could record the measurements, then released it back into Ballengar Pond.

New Hampshire

Weight: 10 pounds, 8 onces

Year: 1967

Angler: G. Bullpitt

Location: Potanipo Lake

New Jersey

Weight: 10 pounds, 14 ounces

Year: 1980

Angler: Robert Eisele

Location: Menantico Sand Wash Pond

An angler poses with the New Jersey state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife)

According to the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, Robert Eisele caught the state's record largemouth on a homemade bucktail with a yellow Mr. Twister. Eisele said the fish broke his line before he hooked it again on a reel spooled with 12-pound test.

New Mexico

Weight: 15 pounds, 13 ounces

Year: 1995

Angler: Steve Estrada

Location: Bill Evans Lake

New York

Weight: 12 pounds, 6 ounces

Year: 2024

Angler: James Britenbaugh

Location: Cayuga Lake

An angler poses with the New York state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / NYDEC)

Pennsylvanian James Britenbaugh was preparing for an upcoming bass fishing tournament when he caught the Empire State's current record largemouth. It broke the state's 37-year-old record by more than a pound.

North Carolina

Weight: 15 pounds, 14 ounces

Year: 1991

Angler: William Wofford

Location: Union County Farm Pond

An angler poses with a North Carolina state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission)

According to a 1992 article the Greensboro News & Record, William Wofford of Charlotte landed the reigning North Carolina state record largemouth after a quick five-minute fight. He kept it on a stringer for the remainder of his outing before finding a certified scale and claiming the record.

North Dakota

Weight: 8 pounds, 8 ounces

Year: 1983

Angler: Leon Rixen

Location: Nelson Lake

Ohio

Weight: 13.13 pounds

Year: 1976

Angler: Roy Landsberger

Location: Farm Pond

An angler poses with the state record largemouth bass in Ohio.
(Photo / Roy Landsberger)

Roy Landsberger had just returned from serving in the Vietnam War when he caught Ohio's biggest bass while fishing a jitterbug in a small farm pond in the northeastern part of the Buckeye State. He was casting a black-and-yellow spotted jitterbug when the record bass hit.

Oklahoma

Weight: 13 pounds, 14.7 ounces

Year: 2013

Angler: Dale Miller

Location: Cedar Lake

An angler poses with the Oklahoma state record largemouth bass.
(Photo / KPW)

Dale Miller caught his massive record-breaking bass on a swimbait in the 78-acre Cedar Lake, inside the Ouachita National Forest. Miller's 2013 catch broke a record set just one year earlier by an angler fishing the very same lake.

South Carolina

Weight: 16 pounds, 2 ounces

Year: 1949

Angler: P. H. Flanagan

Location: Lake Marion

South Dakota

Weight: 9 pounds, 5 ounces

Year: 2020

Angler: Matthew Dunham

Location: Scout Lake

Biologists measure a state-record largemouth bass in South Dakota.
(Photo / South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks)

Tennessee

Weight: 15 pounds, 3 ounces

Year: 2015

Angler: Gabe Keen

Location: Chickamauga Reservoir

An angler poses with the Tennessee state-record largemouth bass.
(Photo / Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency)

Texas

Weight: 18.18 pounds

Year: 1992

Angler: Barry St.Claire

Location: Lake Fork

An angler poses with the Texas state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / TPWD)

Utah

Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces

Year: 1974

Angler: Sam LaManna

Location: Lake Powell

Rhode Island

Weight: 11 pounds, 3 ounces

Year: 2016

Angler: Brandon Migliori

Location: Johnsons Pond

An angler poses with the Rhode Island state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife)

Brandon Migliori caught Rhode Island's biggest largemouth after a years-long quest to break the standing state record. He finally got it done in 2016, while fishing a top water lure on 30-pound test.

Vermont

Weight: 10 pounds, 4 ounces

Year: 1988

Angler: Tony Gale

Location: Lake Dunmore

Pennsylvania

Weight: 11 pounds, 3 ounces

Year: 1983

Angler: Donald Shade

Location: Birch Run Reservoir

Donald Shade told a local newspaper that he battled the Keystone State's record largemouth for more than a half hour before landing it way back in 1983. To this day, it's one of the state's longest-standing records for any species.

Virginia

Weight: 16 pounds, 4 ounces

Year: 1985

Angler: Richard Tate

Location: Connor Lake

An angler poses with the Virginia record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources)

Washington

Weight: 12.53 pounds

Year: 2016

Angler: Bill Evans

Location: Lake Bosworth, Snomish County

An angler poses with the Washington State record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / WDFW)

West Virginia

Weight: 12.28 pounds

Year: 1994

Angler: David Heeter

Location:

Wisconsin

Weight: 11 pounds, 3 ounces

Year: 1940

Angler: Unkown

Location: Lake Ripley

Wyoming

Weight: 11.51 pounds

Year: 2018

Angler: Caleb Salzman

Location: Kleenburn Ponds, Sheridan County

An angler poses with the Wyoming record largemouth bass.
(Photo / WGFD)

Georgia (IGFA All-Tackle World Record)

Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces

Year: 1932

Angler: George W. Perry

Location: Montgomery Lake

An angler poses with the al-tackle world record and Georgia state record for largemouth bass.
(Photo / IGFA)

George Perry entered his now world-famous largemouth into Field & Stream‘s big-fish contest when he caught it in 1932. He won the contest, along with $75 worth of sporting gear. Today, it still stands as the IGFA all-tackle world record, tied with another 22-pound, 4-ounce monster caught by Manabu Kurita in Shiga, Japan in 2009. Perry is said to have cleaned the giant bass and fed it to his family of six.