The fact that the lagoon still produces trophies like the 19lbr is a testament to the resiliency of the bass and the "locals" who care and make every attempt to release them unharmed. The lake regularly endures poachers, those who fish in restricted areas like the spillway and/or floattube the spillway at night, the casual shore fisherman who every now and then gets lucky and gets one on a nightcrawler or power bait and doesn't consider catch and release, or the experienced shore fisherman who gets that fish of a lifetime but mishandles the catch and yes, even the trophy hunter with the livewell who does not take proper care of the fish and releases them only to see them "belly up" the next day! I have personally had this happen to me in 1996 when I was on a trophy bite in late July. I did not "chill" the livewell water and was merely recirculating warm surface water. I invested hundreds of $$$ since for state of the art livewell systems for both my boats. The same thing happened in August 97' with a professional guide (not Pat Buckly) who lost at least 15 pigs for the same reason. How such a small lake keeps producing I do not know. I had actually "lost faith" in the lakes potential to give up the beast in 03' and fished Casitas hard only to come back in April that year and get a 17.1! Probally the same fish that was caught a month earlier by a shore fisherman and was on the cover of Western Outdoors. (the reason I came back!) This fish was a young post spawn cinder block with fins! (see attachment) I have not seen the photo of the 19lbr yet and wonder if it might be the same fish two years later.

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/3705.jpg