Illinois fishermen begin 2025 the same way they begin most years – confident this will be the year someone finally catches a largemouth bass that tops the most coveted state record.
Alas, 2024 began with similar confidence. And last year ended with typical results: nobody came close to breaking the largemouth bass record. So, come next February – Feb. 15, 2026, to be exact – it will be 50 years since the 13-pound, 1-ounce largemouth was hooked at Stone Quarry in Lake County.
This content is restricted to subscribers of OutdoorNews.com. If you are already an OutdoorNews.com subscriber, you can log in here. If you are not and would like to read this and all the other great content OutdoorNews.com has to offer, click here.

