Fannin County, Texas -- 175,000 crappie. 58,000 bass. 10,000 catfish. Following a year-long angler survey, that is what Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates was caught during the first year that Bois d'Arc Lake was open to the public.
This was the first major reservoir in Texas to open in almost 30 years and the first lake to be stocked exclusively with largemouth bass from the ShareLunker Program. That means these fish all have the genetic lineage capable of reaching 13 pounds or larger.
"Indeed, Bois d'Arc is looking good since it opened for fishing and some of the bass are pushing nearer the 12 lb. mark lately!" exclaimed Dan Bennett, District Supervisor and fisheries biologist for the Inland Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife. "I don't know if we will see a 13 lb. Sharelunker by the time the next season starts, but it is certainly possible if some of these 11's and 12's start putting on egg mass."
As spectacular as fishing reports from Bois d'Arc Lake have been recently, this lake is only beginning to gain momentum. Beneath the surface, years of genetics research and habitat planning are hard at work in this 16,641-acre lake.
"It takes a number of years, and spawns, for a new lake to reach its 'carrying capacity', which is an ecological term referring to the maximum number of individuals the population will support," Bennett explains. "During the time the population is building, the growth rate of the fish is not limited by food availability. Primary production is also unlimited due to all the nutrients entering the lake from the decay of organic matter and trees recently flooded, so the base of the food chain supports tremendous forage fish production. We sought to take full advantage of this phenomenon by stocking all offspring from our ShareLunker Program, so unlike stocking just Flordia bass, these fish all have the genetic lineage capable of reaching 13 pounds or larger. Since these fish live upwards of 15 to 20 years, I suspect the benefits of the 'new lake' effect will last a few decades."
As Bennett detailed, almost all new lakes enjoy a thriving period when newly flooded habitat fuels explosive growth in fish populations. However, even older lakes can experience a boom in fishing when an extended drought is followed by a rainy period that significantly raises the water level, flooding brush and weeds that had been growing in the dry lake bed.
That explains what happened in recent years at the hottest largemouth lake in Texas. If you are a dedicated bass fisherman in search of a wallhanger, odds are that O.H. Ivie Lake is on your radar after the lake produced a remarkable number of Legacy Lunkers in 2023 and 2024. Big bass is big business and the giant bass coming out of this modestly sized 20,000-acre impoundment turned the relatively obscure O.H. Ivie Lake into an international destination for serious bass fishermen.
That can happen in Fannin County, too.
"I suspect in the next few years there will be an Ivie-style big bass craze at Bois d' Arc for sure," predicts Bennett. "With the protective 16-inch max regulation and growth so far, I think Bois d' Arc Lake will be the place to go if you want a good shot at a double-digit bass and maybe some that either rival or hopefully beat the state record."
