Bass, Catfish Populations Surveyed at O.H. Ivie

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division surveyed the white bass and catfish populations this week at O.H. Ivie Reservoir.

The lake about 55 miles east of San Angelo is renowned as one of the state’s best bass fishing destinations — leading Texas in recent years in Legacy Class ShareLunkers (13 pounds or heavier) — and it had encouraging results from the survey.

White bass numbers were higher than the last survey in 2022 with the fish sampled ranging from 8 to 15 inches in length. The majority were 13 to 15 inches and were “in decent shape,” the TPWD reporter.

Blue Catfish numbers were down slightly from the 2022 survey. The fish ranged from 18 to 32 inches, and the weights for most fish were reported to be excellent. 

Channel catfish numbers were also down from 2022. The TPWD crew didn’t encounter many channel catfish, but the ones collected ranged from 16 to 25 inches and were healthy.

They said they collected more flathead catfish than previous surveys and sampled flathead ranging from 18 to 29 inches, all of which were in great shape.