bass fishing – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Twist of fate leads to catch of a lifetime for bass angler

Fate was on James Maupin’s side when he became one of an elite few Texas anglers to have caught a largemouth bass weighing 13-plus pounds.

Fate was on James Maupin’s side last Sunday when he became one of an elite few Texas anglers to have caught a largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more.

Maupin, from Cypress, intended to fish several days with his dad at Lake Amistad. But after their first day the lake was ordered closed because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So we packed up and headed to the nearest lake – O.H. Ivie,” Maupin said in a news release issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

O.H. Ivie, east of San Angelo, is a four-hour drive from Lake Amistad and Maupin had never fished there. But chances are strong that he’ll visit again.

He and his dad spent three days at O.H. Ivie and on Sunday, their last day, Maupin caught a largemouth bass that weighed 13.15 pounds and measured 27 inches.

The fish was donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as part of its Toyota ShareLunker Program, which places giant bass in a selective breeding program designed to enhance Texas bass fisheries.

The ShareLunker program has three divisions beginning with the Lunker division for bass weighing eight-plus pounds.

Maupin’s bass earned a spot in the more prestigious Lunker Legacy Class division, for bass weighing at least 13 pounds caught during the spawning season from January through March.

According to the ShareLunker website, “Out of the millions of bass anglers in Texas, only a select few have ever crossed the 13-pound threshold.”

Maupin, who caught his bass on a Texas rig in seven feet of water, said he thought it would top the 13-pound mark at first glance.

“I put her in the live well and called the marina immediately,” he said. “They had an official scale, so we got her weighed and measured, and the ShareLunker guys came out to get her.”

The bass is cataloged as ShareLunker 585. It’s the fourth and final Legacy Class entry of the 2020 donation season, which ended Sunday.

The largest was a 15.34-pound largemouth bass caught by Joe Castle at Nacogdoches Lake on Feb. 29.

–Images show James Maupin with his 13.15-pound largemouth bass (top), and Joe Castle with a 15.34-pound bass caught on Feb. 29. Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Two anglers busted for cheating in bass tournament

Two fishermen in Utah face felony and misdemeanor charges for cheating in a bass fishing tournament at Lake Powell.

Two fishermen in Utah face criminal charges for cheating in a bass tournament by catching fish from a different lake and using them at the weigh-in, a scheme that was uncovered because the bass looked much different than the others being weighed.

Robert Dennett, 45, and Kamron Wootton, 35, both from Washington City, caught bass from Quail Creek Reservoir near St. George, Utah, and transported them to use at a tournament at Lake Powell, according to the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources.

The tournament prize was $2,500 for the team with the heaviest five fish caught during the two-day event. The suspects were in second place after the first day, and led for overall biggest fish. But tournament officials disqualified them because of the suspicious nature of the fish.

“Some of the largemouth bass they’d turned in had little heads and fatter bodies, indicating a different diet than the fish at Lake Powell, which were more lean,” DWR Lt. Paul Washburn said. “The fish also had red fins, which indicated they had undergone some stress.”

Photos from the DWR show the differences.

What a normal bass from Lake Powell looks like.

DWR conservation officers were alerted and subsequently had the fish tested at a University of Utah lab, along with fish caught from Lake Powell, and the results determined that the suspicious bass had come from Quail Creek Reservoir.

“Illegally moving and introducing fish into different waterbodies can cause a lot of damage to that fishery,” Washburn said. “In this case, there were already largemouth bass at Lake Powell, but you can still run the risk of introducing disease and causing other issues whenever you move fish illegally. We continue to be grateful for those vigilant Utahns who report suspicious wildlife-related activity to our poaching hotline.”

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During the long investigation, conservation officers learned that the suspects had taken first, second or third place at eight other bass fishing tournaments earlier in the year. The illegal activity occurred at the tournament on Oct. 21, 2018. Charges were brought Wednesday.

In Kane County’s 6^th District Court, Dennett and Wootton were charged with bribery or threat to influence a contest, a third-degree felony; unlawful release of wildlife, a class A misdemeanor; and unlawful captivity of protected wildlife, a class B misdemeanor. It is illegal to transport live fish to other areas of the state without proper certifications.

Dennett and Wootton have a court appearance June 4.

Photos of a suspicious bass and a normal bass for comparison are courtesy of DWR. Photo of Lake Powell courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

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Record-breaking largemouth bass caught in Idaho

An Idaho angler has been granted a state record for a giant largemouth bass he caught while fishing in a recent tournament at Cave Lake.

An Idaho angler has been granted a state record for a giant largemouth bass he caught while fishing in a recent tournament at Cave Lake along the Coeur d’Alene River.

JJ Schillinger of Post Falls landed the 9.7-pound, 25-inch bass during the Panhandle Bass Anglers Fall Open on Oct. 19. After the fish was weighed and measured, it was set free.

This week the Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced that Schillinger’s catch is the new record in the catch-and-release category.

These records are based on length, since most anglers do not have quick access to certified scales. A simple measurement and photo documentation allows for reasonably swift releases.

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Tournament bass anglers typically keep their fish alive in aerated wells on their boats, and release them after the weigh-in at the end of each day of competition.

The Panhandle Bass Anglers Fall Open ran Oct. 19-20 and Schillinger won with a total combined weight of 60.93 pounds, buoyed by the 9.7-pound bass.

Leaderboard of the Panhandle Bass Anglers Fall Open

On Wednesday he acknowledged the catch-and-release record on Facebook, writing, “It’s official!! Not the weight record but a good start! Thanks to Idaho Panhandle Bass Anglers for putting on a great event as always, and my partner Trevor Schalk for netting this beautiful giant!”

The previous Idaho catch-and-release record was a bass that measured 23.75 inches. It was caught by Dale Stratton at Sawyers Pond in May 2017.

–Image showing JJ Schillinger with his record bass is courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game