Florida's next record largemouth bass will come out of central Florida between Lake Tarpon and the Stick Marsh area near Vero Beach, the Miami Herald reports.

The prediction comes from Paul Thomas, a fisheries biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The article goes on to say that the FWC is proposing copying Texas' "Share Lunker" program to grow record-size bass in the state and fix the problem of shrinking average bass sizes.

The average size of the largest bass weighed in tournaments has dropped from 8 pounds to 6 pounds.

Under the proposal, anglers who catch bass over 13 pounds would call state officials, who would take the fish to a hatchery to be spawned.

Florida's unofficial state-record largemouth was a 19.6-pounder caught by Riley Witt on the south end of Lake Tarpon in Tarpon Springs. The official record is a 17.27-pounder caught by Billy O'Berry in Polk County lake in 1986. These are "Florida largemouth bass," a larger, distinct species from other black bass found in Florida, which has been bred by other states like Texas and California to increase the size of their fish.

The proposed FWC program would enlist the public to help restore the Florida bass to its former size and glory in its home state.