BALLINGER, TX — On Monday, June 26, Bassmaster Magazine named O.H. Ivie Reservoir as the best place in the country for bass fishing. This year, multiple fishermen already hauled in one monster fish after another, and people are taking notice.
“For the second consecutive year, O.H. Ivie is an easy choice as the best bass lake in the Central Region, and for the first time ever, the easy choice for best lake in the nation,” Bassmaster Magazine said. “As of late April, a total of 38 of the 214 bass entered in this year’s Toyota ShareLunker program, operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, were caught in this gem of a fishery.”
Along with the multiple qualifiers by other fishermen, Angler Lea Anne Powell confirmed on Tuesday, June 27, that she caught she now has a world record for the largest fish caught in the 12-pound line class in the women's category. The International Game Fish Association recently verified the bass she pulled out of O.H. Ivie at the end of February.
Lea Anne Powell and her World Record Bass
(Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)
O.H. Ivie is known for reeling many notable bass in the state's Toyota ShareLunker program. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department runs the program to collect large bass, 13 pounds or over, from Texas anglers to use for spawning from January to March.
The full Top 10 in the Bassmaster article included:
- O.H. Ivie Reservoir, Texas
- St. Lawrence River, New York
- Clear Lake, California
- Lake Murray, South Carolina
- Toledo Bend, Louisiana/Texas
- Fellsmere Reservoir/Stick Marsh/Kenansville Lake, Florida
- Lake St. Clair, Michigan
- Orange Lake, Florida
- Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, New York
- Lake Okeechobee, Florida
O.H. Ivie Reservoir
(Credit: bassmaster.com)
“Bassmaster contacts the fisheries departments in every state to get feedback on the current state of their bass lakes,” the magazine said in regard to its research.
“We survey the B.A.S.S. Nation presidents and conservation directors in every state to get their feedback on the best fisheries they’ve experienced in the past 12 months. Then, we dig into tournament results and fish-catch surveys from every lake mentioned, as well as some we come across independently, to create a master list. Numbers are crunched, and a blue-ribbon panel of industry insiders vote on the rankings.”
So, if anyone wants to have the best water-cooler story for the office in the future, head out to O.H. Ivie. It’s not guaranteed that the biggest fish will jump up for anyone to catch, but Bassmaster agrees that good fishing persists at the Reservoir 55 miles east of San Angelo.
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