Caney Lake, LA

Since the beginning, state biologists intensively managed Caney Lake near Chatham, La., to produce big largemouth bass. Impounded in 1987 when the state dammed Caney Creek, the 5,000-acre reservoir set the Louisiana bass world ablaze in the early 1990s. With liberal stockings of Florida bass, Caney Lake set new state records for largemouths almost as fast as record-keepers could make updates. Since 1992, the lake produced 16 of the top 20 bass ever caught in Louisiana. This includes the top four fish and seven of the current top 10 lunkers!