Tag: Bass

Bass fisherman reels in colorful surprise at Texas pond

The colossal fish caught by Jose Naranjo was a type of carp commonly used to decorate residential and community ponds.

A Texas angler was hoping to catch bass recently at San Antonio pond, but instead hooked and landed a giant koi.

“I’ve seen it there before and have wondered if anyone’s caught it before,” Jose Naranjo told My San Antonio. “It’s actually one of three that are in those ponds.”

Koi are a type of domesticated carp, considered ornamental because of their bright coloration. They’re used to decorate residential or community ponds and in Japan the fish represent love and friendship.

Naranjo theorized that the koi he caught on April 5 had been released there by somebody who no longer wanted the fish.

Naranjo was practicing catch-and-release fishing and set the koi free after posing for a photo. He estimated the koi’s length at 30-plus inches.

Interestingly, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department raises koi as forage for largemouth bass brood stock in hatcheries.

“They are easy to raise, grow fast, and lack sharp dorsal spines, making them easy for the bass to eat,” the agency explains on its website. “In an average year, the hatcheries will produce 15,000 to 20,000 kilograms of koi.”

Texas lake yields four monstrous bass in four days

The largest of the catches at O.H. Ivie Lake, weighing 15.82 pounds, is the 37th heaviest bass caught in state history.

A Texas reservoir this week yielded an astonishing four largemouth bass topping 13 pounds in four days.

The bass were caught at O.H. Ivie Lake and the largest – weighing 15.82 pounds – was landed March 18 by Kyle Hall of Granbury.

“I got on the water around 8 or 8:30 a.m. and really didn’t catch much until around 4 p.m.,” Hall said. “I reeled in a 10.20-pound fish and then about an hour later I did something random and ran up the river where I caught an 11-pounder.

“I then ran back down and by the dam I came across this fish. She about ripped the rod out of my hand.”

All four bass were kept alive and “loaned” to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a hatchery spawning and stocking effort designed to enhance fisheries across the state.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program, as it’s called, accepts only “Legacy Class” bass weighing at least 13 pounds for the spawning portion. So far this year, 17 Legacy Class bass have been donated to the program.

Hall’s bass was the heaviest caught this year in Texas, and the 37th heaviest in state history.

According to the TPWD, Hall has donated Legacy Class bass in three consecutive seasons – all three of his catches coming at O.H. Ivie.

Said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator: “This reservoir has established itself as a top destination for many trophy largemouth bass anglers and it is no surprise that Kyle Hall and others target these giants at O.H. Ivie year after year.”

The other Legacy bass caught at O.H. Ivie this past week included a 14.18-pounder by Bud Robey on March 17;  a 13.62-pounder by Larry Walker on March 20, and a 13.22-pounder by Scott Hines on March 20.

O.H. Ivie is on the Colorado and Concho Rivers east of San Angelo.

The 2024 Toyota ShareLunker Program will run through March 31.

Crappie angler lands giant bass; ‘I thought I was hooked on a log’

A 15-year-old Arkansas angler was fishing for crappie earlier this month when his line became stuck on what he initially thought was a log. But the log began to move….

A 15-year-old Arkansas angler was casting for crappie earlier this month when his line became stuck on what he initially thought was a log.

But the log began to move and that’s when Logan Cernosek “realized it was huge fish,” he told the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The largemouth bass, caught April 2 at an undisclosed location in Randolph County, tipped a portable scale at 12 pounds, 4 ounces. It placed Logan among an elite few in the state who have caught bass topping 10 pounds.

The AGFC Fisheries Division stated on Facebook: “The fish was weighed on a portable scale and then released to grow even bigger and hopefully be caught again someday. Logan said he never thought he would catch a bass this big in his lifetime.”

The Arkansas record for largemouth bass is the 1976 catch of a 16-pound, 8-ounce largemouth at Mallard Lake.

The world record is a tie at 22 pounds, 4 ounces, for catches in Japan (2009) and Georgia, USA (1932).

Lake Erie record smallmouth bass rare because of size, but also age

Biologists have determined that a 10.15-pound smallmouth bass reeled from Lake Erie last November was a 16-year-old female.

Biologists have determined that a 10.15-pound smallmouth bass reeled from in Lake Erie last November was a 16-year-old female.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also stated in a news release Wednesday that the fish caught by Gregg Gallagher of Fremont, Ohio, is the only known 10-pound smallmouth ever caught in a Great Lakes state or province.

Gallagher landed the bass while fishing last Nov. 3 on Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada, waters.

ALSO: Georgia angler’s catch of giant crappie stuns biologists

The previous Ontario record smallmouth was 9.84 pounds, set in 1984. So Gallagher’s catch is a Lake Erie record, a Great Lakes record, and an Ontario record. (The current Ohio record for smallmouth bass is 9.5 pounds.)

Gallagher’s catch measured 23-3/4 inches with a girth of 19-3/8 inches.

According to the Ohio DNR, the fish was hatched in 2006. Smallmouth bass, the agency added, rarely live beyond 14 years.

A typical Lake Erie smallmouth measures less than 20 inches and few catches exceed 7 pounds.

For comparison, the world record for smallmouth bass is 11 pounds, 15 ounces, set at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow Lake in 1955.

–Image showing Gregg Gallagher with his record smallmouth bass is courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Texas lake yields 10th ‘Legacy Lunker’ bass of 2023

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas has yielded 10 largemouth bass topping 13 pounds so far in 2023, and anglers statewide will benefit from the catches.

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas has yielded 10 largemouth bass topping 13 pounds so far in 2023, and anglers statewide will benefit from the catches.

The 13.89-pound bass caught Friday by Nolan Sprengeler was No. 10 for the sprawling reservoir on the Colorado and Concho rivers.

It was the 12th “Legacy Class Lunker” donated since Jan. 1 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for its long-running selective-breeding program. The others were caught at  Lake Nacogdoches and Lake Alan Henry.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program collects bass weighing 13 pounds or more. The big females are encouraged to spawn in a hatchery and their offspring are stocked throughout Texas.

Sprengeler’s catch comes two weeks after Jason Conn reeled from O.H. Ivie the eighth-heaviest bass in state history, weighing 17.03 pounds.

O.H. Ivie, which attracts anglers from around the world, produced Legacy Class Lunkers on four consecutive days in early February.

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According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the largest bass caught in Texas was an 18.18-pound largemouth reeled from Lake Fork in 1992.

For comparison, the world record is a tie at 22 pounds, 4 ounces. One bass was caught by George W. Perry at Montgomery Lake in Georgia in 1932. The other was caught by Manabu Kurita at Lake Biwa in Shiga, Japan, in 2009.

Any bass catch exceeding 10 pounds is considered to be exceptional.

Texas angler lands one of the largest bass in state history; video

A Texas angler is being celebrated for landing the eighth-heaviest largemouth bass in state history.

A Texas angler has landed the eighth-heaviest largemouth bass in state history.

Jason Conn caught the 17.03-pound bass Monday afternoon at O.H. Ivie Lake, which has yielded several giant bass this year. (See video posted below.)

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the largest bass caught in Texas weighed 18.18 pounds. It was landed by Barry St. Clair at Lake Fork in January 1992.

RELATED: Virginia angler strikes gold, as in ‘extremely rare’ golden bass

Six of the seven bass heavier than Conn’s were caught in the 1980s and 90s. The other, a 17.08-pound largemouth, was caught at O.H. Ivie in 2022.

Texas Parks and Wildlife announced Conn’s catch Monday via social media, describing the fish as “one of the largest Lunkers to hit the scales in Texas history!”

Conn, a pro angler and guide, stated late Monday that his accomplishment had yet to fully set in.

“I am now in the top 10 with biggest bass ever caught in the state of Texas and only 2 fish this size caught in the last 30 years,” Conn, who did not disclose the type of rig he used, wrote on Facebook. “So unreal and I am still in shock.”

Hundreds of followers posted congratulatory comments.

The bass was kept alive and donated to Texas Parks and Wildlife to become part of its long-running Toyota ShareLunker Program.

The selective-breeding program collects bass weighing 13 pounds or more. In a hatchery setting, the fish are encouraged to spawn and their offspring are stocked statewide.

The program, in its 37th year, runs from January through March.

For comparison, the world record for largemouth bass is a tie at 22 pounds, 4 ounces. One bass was caught by George W. Perry at Montgomery Lake in Georgia in 1932. The other was caught by Manabu Kurita at Lake Biwa in Shiga, Japan, in 2009.

Any largemouth bass catch exceeding 10 pounds is considered to be extraordinary.

Virginia angler strikes gold, as in ‘extremely rare’ golden bass

A Virginia angler caught and released an “extremely rare” golden largemouth bass recently while fishing on the James River.

A Virginia angler caught and released an “extremely rare” golden largemouth bass recently while fishing on the James River.

Jacob Moore was practicing for a tournament when he reeled in a bass that was so pale-yellow, at first, that he thought it was albino.

“I thought I had a saltwater fish on at first, but lo and behold, it was a largemouth – a very different largemouth, though,” he told the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “I haven’t seen anything like that before. I’ve seen bass with black spots, but I’d never seen an albino one.”

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Largemouth bass are typically mottled green with pale bellies.

Alex McCrickard, DWR Aquatic Education Coordinator, explained in a news release that the bass Moore caught “is a product of a genetic mutation that alters the skin pigments called xanthism. Yellow pigmentation dominates in xanthism, as you can see in Moore’s golden largemouth.”

Photo of Jacob Moore with his golden largemouth bass is via the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

McCrickard added: “Golden largemouth bass are extremely rare and most anglers have never seen them, let alone heard of them.”

A golden largemouth bass was caught by at Beaver Lake in Arkansas in 2021, prompting Jon Stein, a state biologist, to comment: “Josh needs to buy a lottery ticket, because he just caught one fish in a million.”

Stein was referring to the angler, Josh Rogers.

The bass caught by Moore measured 16.5 inches before it was released back into the James River.

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Texas lake continues to yield enormous largemouth bass

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas this week yielded two largemouth bass topping 13 pounds – rare catches that are eligible for a selective breeding program designed to enhance state fisheries

*Update: Texas Parks and Wildlife reported another Legacy bass catch on Friday, bringing the number to six this year – five from O.H. Ivie

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas this week yielded two largemouth bass topping 13 pounds – rare catches to be used in a selective breeding program designed to enhance state fisheries.

Dalton Smith and Caden Cowan, pictured left-to-right atop this post, landed bass weighing 14.76 pounds and 13.31 pounds, respectively.

“Do not adjust your screens, you are seeing double double-digits bass!” the Toyota ShareLunker Program boasted Thursday via social media.

The “Legacy Lunkers” were donated to the state’s ShareLunker hatchery program to be used as spawners for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocking programs.

Legacy bass must weigh at least 13 pounds. The bass caught by Smith is the largest of four Legacy bass caught since the program began its 37th season on Jan. 1.

ALSO: Cooking up great white shark lands food blogger in hot water; video

O.H. Ivie, on the Colorado and Concho rivers, has produced four of the five catches; the other was that of a 13.51-pound largemouth bass by Jack York at Lake Nacogdoches.

Jack York displays 13.51-pound ShareLunker Legacy bass caught at Lake Nacogdoches

The ShareLunker Program, which runs through March, is off to another impressive start.

Last year, 24 Legacy bass were caught from nine water bodies and collected for hatchery spawning. That was the most since 27 were caught in 1995.

Since the program began, 75 Texas water bodies have yielded Legacy bass.

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Texas angler lands giant bass, but is the photo misleading?

A Texas fishermen is being congratulated for catching a giant bass, but people are joking about the photo.

A Texas angler landed one heck of a largemouth bass this week while fishing at Lake Nacogdoches.

It was so massive that biologists borrowed the bass for use in a selective breeding program to benefit statewide fisheries.

But before anyone gets too excited, the bass caught by Jack York is not as large as it appears to be in an image shared Monday by the Toyota ShareLunker Program – Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Top comment: “Camera man… ‘HOLD IT AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN TO ME! THIS FISH LOOKS AS BIG AS A GROWN MAN! PERFECT!’ ”

Another observation: “I’m gonna need this photographer to take my fish pics! That is a giant but geeze in this pic it looks bigger than Jack. Good job!”

Ribbing aside, the bass weighed 13.51 pounds, certainly worthy of Legacy Class ShareLunker designation.

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Legacy bass must weigh at least 13 pounds to become part of the breeding program, conducted January through March each year. The fish are encouraged to spawn at a hatchery and their offspring are stocked around the state.

Tom Nilssen with 13.52-pound largemouth bass. Photo: TPWD

This is the 37th season of the ShareLunker Program and York’s catch is the second Legacy bass caught this year.

The first, by Tom Nilssen last week at Lake O.H. Ivie, weighed 13.51 pounds.

While Nilssen’s bass was slightly larger, it looks smaller in the photo because there seems to have been less of an attempt at forced perspective.

Last year, 24 Legacy bass were caught from nine water bodies and collected for the ShareLunker program. That was the most since 27 were caught in 1995.

Overall, 75 Texas public lakes have yielded Legacy Class largemouth bass.

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Wisconsin angler lands 30,000th smallmouth bass; ‘A great feeling’

Wisconsin angler Bill Schultz recently achieved a major milestone by landing his 30,000th smallmouth bass.

Who maintains a running tally of the number of fish they catch?

Wisconsin angler Bill Schultz does and he recently achieved a major milestone by landing his 30,000th smallmouth bass.

“Hitting the water that Monday and knowing my first fish was going to be 30K had me a little anxious as I was hoping it would be at least 3-plus pounds,” Schultz told Outdoor News.

That was in early November, so Schultz probably has added to the total.

Smallmouth No. 30,000 hit an amber tube jig at 20 feet and Schultz recalled, “When it hit and I began reeling I could tell it was a good sized one, which gave me a great feeling!”

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He has fished almost exclusively for smallmouth bass since his first catch on Delevan Lake in 1994.

“I have not lost the excitement for these great fighters and love chasing them while wearing my waders in small Wisconsin Rivers, or from my boat on Sturgeon Bay, or from one of my fishing kayaks,” Schultz told Outdoor News.

Smallmouth bass, native to the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, now occur in almost every U.S. state and in other countries. They are immensely popular among light-tackle, catch-and-release anglers.

The world record stands at 11 pounds, 5 ounces, for a 1955 catch at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow Lake.

–Image showing Bill Schultz with his 30,000th smallmouth bass is courtesy of Schultz, via Outdoor News

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