I'd be curious to talk to any local taxidermist who has 25+ years in locally to see what they have encountered -especially any old timer taxidermist back 40+ years.

Anything in the 23-24" range is such a rarity from what I have gathered.

I was born just over 50 years ago and as a kid larger fish than 20" were not very common so no one missed out on too much-perhaps 75 years ago they did. Maybe some lacustrine populations got thinned out early and became extinct in some of the rivers-who knows.

Smalma probably put it best, that habitat that produced those fish became Largemouth Bass water or was degraded to where the fishery is now limited. I remember way more beaverponds too as a kid. Trapping took care of far too many beavers too.