Opening up a debate about Texas' best fishing lake is a real can of worms, pun intended. Every serious angler has a fave hot spot to promote, but all pale in comparison with Lake Zebco.

Earlier this spring, 16-year-old Steven Fineran of Flower Mound was casting a live earthworm in Lake Zebco when he caught a largemouth bass that weighed nearly nine pounds. Hundreds of Texas lakes have produced bigger bass, but 8.98 pounds is a monster of a fish from the most heavily fished two-acre body of water in the state.

About 30,000 anglers a year fish there.

"That bass had us all scratching our heads," said Allen Forshage, Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center director. TFFC is home to Lake Zebco, named for the Oklahoma fishing company that invented spincast reels and made fishing easy for novices. "I mean, how does a bass get that big in such a small, heavily fished lake without being caught before now?"

Lake Zebco has also yielded a 2.8-pound rainbow trout and, in the last 12 months, three blue catfish bigger than 18 pounds. The lake's biggest catfish catch was 30.20 pounds. The 18-pounder was caught by a 7-year-old.

In fact, the majority of anglers at this unheralded hot spot are children (an estimated 60 to 70 percent), and that's just the way Forshage likes it.

TFFC opened in 1996. It is primarily a Texas Parks and Wildlife fish hatchery, but its 106 wooded acres include a 23,000-square-foot visitors' center with the state's best native fish displays, hiking trails, nature interpretive displays and, of course, fishing ponds and streams. There are 4.3 total acres of fishing ponds, all full of fish, and 500 feet of fishable streams.

About half the people who visit TFFC take time to wet a line. It's hard not to get pumped up about fishing after viewing the 300,000 gallons of aquaria, home to the most extensive collection of giant largemouth bass in captivity.

"When fishing became the number one item in our surveys of what visitors liked about TFFC, we increased our emphasis on fishing and started documenting how many visitors actually fish and also the number of 'First Fish Certificates' that we issue each year," Forshage said. He called the emphasis on fishing "the best accomplishment that we've made."

Janice Arnsdorff oversees the fishing pavilion at Lake Zebco. Fishing tackle and bait are provided at no charge, and TFFC staff or volunteers are on hand to answer questions and provide assistance as needed.

There are so many fish crammed into two acres that it's impossible to make a cast without a fish seeing your bait. According to Forshage, it's anybody's guess how many fish are in the lake at any time, but the number may be approaching 10,000.

"Almost everyone catches at least one fish," Arnsdorff said. "The fishing is good all day, every day. The catfish are voracious and almost always biting."

Arnsdorff recommends that anglers hoping to land a big cat bring their own gear – heavy rods and reels with 20-pound line.

Just know that you have to release any catfish bigger than 10 pounds. Anglers can keep five channel cats daily but must pay a $10 fee to do so. Rainbow trout, which die when the water gets too warm, may also be harvested. All other fishing is catch-and-release.

What: Two-acre fishing lake at the Texas Freshwater Fishing Center near Athens, about 75 miles southeast of Dallas.

Fish species available: Largemouth bass, rainbow trout, channel catfish, blue catfish, bluegill, other sunfish.

Fishing pressure: 30,477 anglers tried their luck at Lake Zebco in 2008.

First Fish Awards issued in 2008: 322

Age of anglers who caught their first fish at Lake Zebco: 2 to 92

Anglers who are children: 60 to 70 percent

Admission: $5.50 adults, $4.50 seniors 65 and older, $3.50 children 4-12

Fishing license requirement: None

Address: 5550 FM 2495, Athens

Details: Call 903-676-2277 or www.tpwd.state.tx.us