Largemouth Bass
Micropterus salmoides · also called Black Bass, Bucketmouth, Green Trout
The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is the primary gamefish on all 16 lakes Texas Hawgs guides in Central Texas. Fish here average 1–3 pounds with a real shot at 4–8, and Florida-strain giants top 13. Spring is prime, but they bite year-round on plastics, crankbaits and topwater.
Why: The main event — Central Texas's number-one bass.
Evidence: Verified knowledge from Bryan Cotter, 26+ years guiding all 16 Central Texas lakes.
Related: Guadalupe Bass · Smallmouth Bass · All Central Texas bass species
Verified Answered by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs guide · Updated Jul 12, 2026
The largemouth is the bass everyone comes to catch, and it lives in every lake we fish. A typical Central Texas day is 1–3 pound fish that keep a rod bent, with a genuine shot at a 4–8 pounder on the better lakes and a true giant on the trophy waters. Decades of Florida-strain stocking are why lakes like O.H. Ivie and Falcon give up double-digit fish. It is aggressive, hits a wide range of lures, and jumps and headshakes hard — the perfect fish for first-timers and diehards alike.
Largemouth Bass at a glance
- Scientific name
- Micropterus salmoides
- Family
- Centrarchidae
- Type
- Black Bass
- Typical size
- 1.5 lbs average
- Trophy size
- 8 lbs+
- Texas record
- 18.18 lbs — Lake Fork (1992)
- World record
- 22 lbs 4 oz — Montgomery Lake, Georgia (1932) — tied at Lake Biwa, Japan (2009)
How to identify a Largemouth Bass
Olive to dark green back, lighter green sides and a white belly, with a dark (often broken) horizontal stripe down the flank.
- Upper jaw extends well past the rear of the eye
- Deep notch nearly separating the spiny and soft dorsal fins
- No tooth patch on the tongue
- Dark, often blotchy horizontal band along the side
Quick tell: The jaw hinge reaching behind the eye and the near-separated dorsal fins are the quickest tells against a Guadalupe or smallmouth.
Similar species: Guadalupe Bass · Smallmouth Bass · Spotted Bass
Where to catch Largemouth Bass in Central Texas
The dominant bass in all 16 lakes Texas Hawgs guides.
Lake Travis · Lake Austin · Lake Buchanan · Lake LBJ · Inks Lake · Lake Marble Falls · Stillhouse Hollow · Lake Bastrop · Fayette County · Lake Falcon · Canyon Lake · Lady Bird Lake · Lake Belton · Lake O.H. Ivie · Decker Lake · Choke Canyon
How we catch them
An ambush predator that relates to cover and structure and crushes anything that looks like an easy, injured meal.
Spawn: February–April in Central Texas (around 58–65°F). Males fan beds in shallow, protected cover; in clear lakes like Travis the pre-spawn and spawn are prime for sight-fishing the biggest fish of the year.
Go-to techniques: Texas Rig, Crankbait Fishing, Walking Topwater, Flipping & Pitching, Frog Fishing, Shaky Head, Jerkbait.
Best lures: Senko / Stickbait, Ribbon-Tail Worm, Squarebill Crankbait, Spinnerbait, Walking Topwater (Spook), Hollow-Body Frog, Fluke / Soft Jerkbait.
Best seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.
The fight: Strong and showy — hard first run, headshakes and jumps.
Eating & regulations
Not the best eating anyway - largemouth and smallmouth are the bass we usually release to help the fishery, though you're welcome to keep a few within the limits if you'd like.
Most lakes carry a statewide 14-inch minimum; several have slot limits (for example 14–24 inches). Check the individual lake page for its rule.
Conservation
Abundant and actively managed; Florida-strain stockings drive the trophy potential.
Largemouth Bass FAQs
What size largemouth bass will we catch in Central Texas?
A typical day runs 1–3 pounds with a real chance at a 4–8 pound fish, and the trophy lakes like O.H. Ivie and Falcon can produce double-digit giants.
What is the Texas record largemouth bass?
18.18 pounds, caught at Lake Fork in 1992 — still the state record.
When is the best time to catch a big largemouth?
The late-winter pre-spawn through the spring spawn (February–April) is your best shot at the biggest fish of the year.
From Bryan's logbook
Based on Bryan Cotter's on-the-water observations.
Lake Travis is the lake I've put more first-timers and kids on than any other. It's easy to fish, it's loaded with bass, and almost everybody catches.
Travis long had a reputation for numbers over size, but starting in 2011 it's been the best for quality I've ever seen here - plenty of 4-5 pound fish, and some even bigger, on a lake that usually produces 1-3 pound bass.
When Travis is rising and flooding fresh bushes, the shallow bite around that new cover can be outstanding. When it's low and clear, we lean on deeper structure and electronics - either way there's a pattern that works.
The deep, clear water keeps Travis fishing through the heat better than most lakes - as the sun climbs, the bigger fish just slide out to deeper structure.
On Lake Austin it almost always comes back to the grass. Find the grass, you'll find the bass - that cover is what grows and holds the big fish.
In the summer the recreational traffic is heavy, so I run night trips - quiet, cool, and the big bass are on the prowl away from the daytime crowds.
Some of the largest bass anywhere around here have come out of Lake Austin - the lake record is north of 16 pounds. If you're chasing a lifetime fish, this is a great place to do it.
The number one thing I look for on Buchanan is rock - the largemouth love it, partly because it lets them tuck away from the striper, and the best rock holds the best fish. In cold water, when you think you're fishing slow enough, slow down more; that's how the giants come.
LBJ is probably the best lake in the area for flipping docks, and a lot of the time that's exactly where the biggest bass are sitting. Jigs and flukes are my go-to.
In spring on Marble Falls I've seen best-five limits weigh over 30 pounds - a lot of big fish for a lake this small and this quiet.
In summer on Bastrop the bass school up in the middle of the lake, and there are spots where you can sit and catch lots of fish - some days over 100.
Because Fayette is a power-plant lake, the bass spawn early here - before the other lakes in the region - so it produces well even when it's still cold out. It's the best average-quality lake I know of in Texas.
The hydrilla on Canyon is the thickest I've ever seen it and the largemouth are in it good. It's also one of the best places to catch a 'mean mouth' - a hybrid between two black bass species - and I've put clients on some of the biggest in the lake.
Lady Bird Lake is the best jig lake around, right in the center of Austin. I've won plenty of bass club tournaments here and know where the big ones live.
You should see how these big Falcon bass blow up on a frog when that bite is on - it's like a bomb going off. You haven't caught a real largemouth until you've caught one here.
On O.H. Ivie, any cast could be a giant. A few years ago it produced the most big bass entered into the Texas ShareLunker program, and every year it puts out some giants.
Keep exploring
All Central Texas bass species · Guadalupe bass — the Texas state fish · Central Texas bass fishing guide · All 16 lakes we fish
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