A long-time running joke heard by just about everybody is the story fishermen talk about the “one that got away,” a fish story that grows with the telling.
It should go without saying that East Texas, which is known for its many fishing waters, has had its share of those stories, but for Chris Wallace, it’s a true story.
Chris, like many fishermen in East Texas, fishes mainly for largemouth bass and crappie on various lakes in the area, including Lake Sam Rayburn, Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston. In October 2025, the one that didn’t get away ended up being a local record for a white bass caught out of Lake Livingston.
“I actually don’t really fish for white bass that much,” he said. “I just like to fish, so when I’m not on the boat, I’ll fish at a pier and just enjoy the peacefulness of it.”
Fishing off a neighborhood pier on All Hallow’s Eve using shad for bait, Chris caught the Lake Livingston all-time record fish, weighing in at 4.70 pounds with a length of 22 ½ inches, less than a pound shy of the current Texas state record of 5.56 pounds, caught in the Colorado River in 1977.
“It was on Halloween and I was fishing down at the pier for whatever I could get to bite,” Wallace said. “When I hooked it, I knew it was big, but I never would have thought it was going to be a white bass that big.”
He explained that he had to look through Texas Parks and Wildlife specifics on fish identification to make sure it was actually a white bass and not a hybrid. As a lifelong fisherman with an eye for detail, he said the fish had to have a single tongue patch as opposed to a double tongue patch. It also had to have just one stripe that extends all the way to the tail.
Once he was convinced of his catch, Wallace found himself driving from Coldspring over to Lake Conroe’s Stow-A-Way Marina for an after dark weigh-in.
“Kids were trick or treating and I walked in with this big fish asking if anyone there could help me certify the catch,” Wallace said. He was able to have two people from the marina help him weigh and certify the catch and from there he just had to fill out the form, send it in and wait.
After more than 2 months and no word from Texas Parks and Wildlife, Wallace opened his mailbox to find an official large white envelope from TPWD addressed to him.
The verdict was in: Texas Parks and Wildlife congratulated Chris on the biggest white bass ever caught on Lake Livingston to date, complete with a Water Body Record Award and a Big Fish Award.
