The largemouth Bass is the best known and most popular game fish in the World and is Florida’s state freshwater fish. The title “Largemouth Bass Capital of the World” is a testament to the king of the Polk County waters, the largemouth black bass. The temperate climate of Central Florida not only allows for our waters to produce and abundance of largemouth bass, but also nurtures them to grow into very impressive sizes. Polk County is home to the state’s certified record Florida Largemouth Bass, which weighed in at 17.27 pounds, and of the top 15 bass lakes ranked by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, five of them are located in Polk County. Fisheries such as the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Teneroc Fish Management Area, Mosaic Fish Management Area and the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes regularly produce catches of 10+ pound bass. TheKissimmee Chain of Lakes produced two B.A.S.S. all-time records: Dean Rojas’ record five bass limit weight of 45 pounds, 2 ounces (which still stands today) and the then-record four-day catch of 108 pounds and 12 ounces. While the lakes listed above generally receive the most recognition, other Polk County lakes such as Crooked Lake and Lake Weohyakapka (known as Lake Walk-in-Water) are not as widely known, but they are well known by many local anglers for producing some high quality Largemouth Bass.