Bass heads, it’s Artificial Lure here, and if you’ve been glued to the riverbank lately or just itching to sling a fly at something feisty, you’re in for a treat. Stateside bass fishing this summer is absolutely off the hook—from East Texas giants to wily smallies in northern rivers, big stories are rolling in like a haul of tournament keepers.
Let’s cast right into the headlines. Over in Texas, Lake O.H. Ivie’s still the stuff of legend. According to the Beaumont Enterprise, a junior angler—16-year-old Owen Harmon of Abilene—landed a monster 14.52-pound largemouth just last month. That fish is now pending as a new record with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and let’s be real, that kind of catch turns any pond-dweller’s knees to jelly. Texas isn’t tapping out on the bass radar, either. Bassmaster just dropped their 2025 lake rankings, putting an East Texas lake at third-best in the entire country. If you want a shot at a personal best, East Texas is begging for you to tie on a popper and drag it past the timber.
Now if you’re chasing hot spots with a wild streak, don’t sleep on New York’s St. Lawrence River. Major League Fishing just wrapped their Tackle Warehouse Invitational up there—a full 435 bass hit the scales during the pro event, tipping the total to over 1,700 pounds in a single day. Tennessee’s John Murray wowed the crowd with a chunky 6-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth, earning him the Day 1 “Berkley Big Bass” award. If you love clear water, fast currents, and aggressive bites on light tackle, you might want to make the pilgrimage east before the bite slows down.
For our fellow fly-flingers and topwater junkies, it gets better. Over in Arkansas, Saline River News is hyped about the state’s new Legacy Lunker Program. Thanks to upgrades at the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery, any angler who latches onto a public-waters largemouth north of 10 pounds can now donate her for breeding. That means more genetically substantial fish and more shots at double-digit bass for everybody. Circle Arkansas on the map for the years ahead.
Tournament action? It was youth at the top this week, with Parker Smith and Carson Randan of Tennessee hauling in over 20 pounds in two days to grab the Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Georgia’s Clarks Hill Lake. And on Day 1, Memphis Johnson and Bryson Seal from Alabama’s Good Hope Fishing Team set the mark with a jaw-dropping 7-pound, 13-ounce largemouth. The next generation is coming in strong and they’re not afraid to work the brush piles or throw wild colors.
Not to leave our West Coast anglers out—Northern California fish reports still show bass limits coming in fast on half-day charters, with hot action across the region. From Nor Cal Fish Reports, it’s clear the bite is on in both fresh and salt, so pack the gear and get out early.
For those who like bragging rights, over in Maryland, Dorman just shattered the state bass record with a 26.0-pound stringer—that’s a trophy chase that’ll have even seasoned fly anglers thinking about rigging up heavy.
That wraps up this wiggle and twitch through America’s wild world of bass. Whether you’re drifting a Clouser on the St. Lawrence, twitching a frog in East Texas timber, or hunting Arkansas lunkers, it’s prime time to go hunting for tails and tight lines.
Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure, your front-row cast into the week’s best in American bass fishing. Come back next week for more big fish news and local buzz. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for more, cast your browser over to Quiet Please Dot A I. See you on the water!
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