bass fishing – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Rare muskie attack leaves kayak angler with bloody foot

A Missouri angler says he was attacked by a muskie recently while reeling in a bass from his kayak.

A Missouri angler says he was attacked by a muskie recently while fighting a bass from his kayak.

Zach Reynolds, 28, told St. Louis Today that the bite from the muskie, as he dangled his feet overboard, left his foot bloodied and with a V-shaped row of punctures.

“It was so hot it was burning the tops of my feet, so I had them in the water as I was reeling in that bass,” Reynolds explained. “I was still reeling when something hit the top of my left foot. I pulled my foot up and there was blood all over it.”

Reynolds, who was prepping for last weekend’s Mo-Yak Fishing Series event on Pom de Terre Lake in southwest Missouri, said he saw the muskie dash into the murky depths and estimated the fish to measure perhaps 30 inches.

Zach Armstrong, who was fishing nearby, recalled Reynolds screaming and lifting his bloody foot out of the water.

“People spend hours and hours trying to catch one of these, and here he got bit by one,” Armstrong told St. Louis Today.

Muskies, or muskellunge, are predatory ambush specialists whose diet is mostly smaller fish, even smaller muskies. But they’ve been known to prey on ducks, frogs, and small critters that roam the water’s edge.

They’re endemic to the northeastern U.S. and throughout the Great Lakes region, and south to Georgia. They’ve been stocked in Pomme de Terre Lake since 1966.

According to the International Game Fish Assn., the all-tackle world record stands at 67 pounds, 8 ounces. That fish was caught at Wisconsin’s Lac Court Oreilles in 1949.

Craig Fuller, a Missouri Department of Conservation biologist, told St. Louis Today, “No records exist of a human being bitten by a muskie in Missouri.”

However, a Wikipedia description of the species includes this passage: “Although very rare, muskellunge attacks on humans do occur on occasion.”

–Generic muskie images are via Wikipedia

Pro bass angler Aaron Martens undergoes brain surgery

Aaron Martens, one of the most successful pro bass anglers of all time, underwent surgery Monday after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Aaron Martens, one of the most successful pro bass anglers of all time, underwent surgery Monday after being diagnosed as having two brain tumors.

Martens, 47, who lives in Leeds, Alabama, with his wife Lesley and their children, Jordan and Spencer, was hospitalized after suffering apparent seizures Saturday while fishing with friends.

Carol Martens, Aaron’s mother, told For The Win Outdoors that surgeons removed one tumor and collected biopsy samples of the other on Monday. Doctors will treat the other tumor at a future date.

The surgery was performed at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Twist of fate leads to catch of lifetime for bass angler

Carol Martens said that Aaron was feeling “miserable” after the surgery, in large part because his family has not been able to visit because of hospital restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Carol Martens said her son could be allowed to return home as early as Wednesday.

Martens, who is originally from Southern California, is a four-time runner-up in the prestigious Bassmaster Classic tournament. He was named Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year in 2005, 2013 and 2015.

He has posted more than 70 top-10 finishes on the Bassmaster circuit, with career earnings topping $3 million.

Martens had more recently been competing on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour.

–Top image showing Aaron Martens and his family is courtesy of Seigo Saito/BASS Communications; second image is courtesy of Phoenix Moore; third image is courtesy of Josh Gassmann

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.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Watch an ice fisherman pull a 50-pound fish through tiny hole

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.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

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.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Can you spot the hidden object in this shark photo?

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