The largemouth bass is one of America's favorite gamefish, and one of the most widespread. In fact, largemouth 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 earns lunker status in most 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
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
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
Colorado
Weight: 11.38 pounds
Year: 1997
Angler: Jarrett Edwards
Location: Echo Canyon Reservior
Connecticut
Weight: 12 pounds, 14 ounces
Year: 1961
Angler: Frank Domurat
Location: Mashapaug Lake, Union County
Delaware
Weight: 11 pounds, 1.6 ounces
Year: 2016
Angler: Andrew Klein
Location: Wagamons Ponds
Florida
Weight: 17.27 pounds
Year: 1986
Angler: Billy O'Berry
Location: Unnamed Lake
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
Idaho
Weight: 10.94 pounds
Year: 1948
Angler: Mary Alice Hurt Taylor
Location: Anderson Lake
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
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
Louisiana
Weight: 15.97
Year: 1994
Angler: Greg Wiggins
Location: Caney Lake
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
Massachusetts
Weight: 15 pounds, 8 ounces
Year: 1975
Angler: Walter Bolonis
Location: Sampson Pond
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
Mississippi
Weight: 18.15 pounds
Year: 1992
Angler: Anthony Denny
Location: Natchez State Park Lake
Missouri
Weight: 13 pounds, 14 ounces
Year: 1961
Angler: Marvin Russell Bushong
Location: Bull Shoals Lake
Montana
Weight: 9.58 pounds
Year: 2021
Angler: Brandon Wright
Location: Lake Elmo
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
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
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
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
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
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
Tennessee
Weight: 15 pounds, 3 ounces
Year: 2015
Angler: Gabe Keen
Location: Chickamauga Reservoir
Texas
Weight: 18.18 pounds
Year: 1992
Angler: Barry St.Claire
Location: Lake Fork
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
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
Washington
Weight: 12.53 pounds
Year: 2016
Angler: Bill Evans
Location: Lake Bosworth, Snomish County
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
Georgia (IGFA All-Tackle World Record)
Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces
Year: 1932
Angler: George W. Perry
Location: Montgomery Lake
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.
