AUSTIN (KXAN) — On a warm Wednesday afternoon, Grant Langmore, Justin Rackley and Jonathan Barzacchini stand atop a small boat beneath the Pennybacker Bridge on Lake Austin. The trio cast line after line, catching more and more bass as the sun dips below the horizon.

"I saw one of the healthiest bass I've ever seen, actually, one of those that you can just imagine it being long and it's going to be like a state record," Rackley said about their haul.

Even a year ago, Rackley said, this successful fishing trip wouldn't have been possible.

In the early 2000s, an effort to remove hydrilla from Lake Austin left the ecosystem devastated.

Tens of thousands of sterile grass carp were added to the lake. They quickly fed on the hydrilla, an aquatic plant that fish use as a home, and then consum

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