A fishing website on Monday shared footage of an angler pulling a 22-inch garter snake from the mouth and belly of a 16-inch largemouth bass.
A fishing website on Monday shared footage of an angler pulling a 22-inch garter snake from the mouth and belly of a 16-inch largemouth bass.
The footage, captured by Adam Young of Panfish Nation, is used as an example that largemouth bass, often referred to as bucketmouths, will prey on just about anything they’re able to ambush.
The footage was included in an article that mentioned other known prey items of Florida-strain bass. They include smaller bass, trout, bluegill, and tilapia.
States Young: “In certain areas of the country like Florida and Texas, tilapia have infiltrated the local watersheds. The bad news is that these species compete with native species of fish…but the good news is that bass love them!”
Young claims to have caught bass using hotdogs and bread. “You bet bass will eat hot dogs and tons of other strange foods too,” he writes. “Give it a try!”
To be sure, largemouth bass are not picky and have been documented devouring everything from bullfrogs to ducklings.
One of the most sought-after game fish in the United States, largemouth bass can weigh 20-plus pounds, although catches exceeding 15 pounds are extremely rare. (The world record is a tie between 22-pound, 4-ounce bass caught in Georgia and Japan in 1932 and 2009, respectively.)
Most anglers target bass using swimbaits and other lures that mimic prey, and most anglers practice catch-and-release.
A Missouri angler has been cited for catching an over-limit of mostly undersized largemouth bass, apparently, for the sake of a social-media photo.
A Missouri angler has been cited for catching an over-limit of mostly undersized largemouth bass, apparently, for the sake of a social-media photo.
The Missouri Department of Conservation stated Monday that the unidentified angler violated fishing regulations “just so he could take a picture of a stringer full of fish.”
St. Francois County MDC Agent Clayton Lewis cited the angler at Hager Lake in Farmington. The daily bag limit is six bass measuring at least 15 inches; the stringer contained eight small bass.
The MDC stressed that fish placed on a stringer, although they might be kept alive and released later, “are counted towards daily and possession limits of the taker.”
The agency added: “MDC reminds anglers to check statewide and Conservation area regulations prior to fishing and to read area regulation signs. And please don’t boost your social media presence at the expense of our wildlife.”
“We’ve seen some really big ones up in the Flats but we’ve never seen one this big,” Kurhmann told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which announced the new record on Tuesday. “The bass fishing wasn’t great but this made my week.”
Kuhrmann’s fish was weighed on a certified scale at a nearby bait and tackle shop, where the catch was verified by a DNR biologist.
The previous record of 44.4 pounds was established by an angler named Jimmy Lake at Morgantown Beach in 1978.
Maryland lists state records under several divisions. Kurhmann’s record is in the Chesapeake Division. (Maryland also keeps carp records under a Non-tidal division.)
For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for common carp stands at 75 pounds, 11 ounces. That fish was caught at Lac de St. Cassien, France, in 1987.
–Image courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
A Texas angler who was fishing for bass received the surprise of a lifetime recently after the fish that attacked his lure turned out to be a 58-inch longnose gar.
A Texas angler who was fishing for bass received the surprise of a lifetime recently after the fish that attacked his lure turned out to be a 58-inch longnose gar.
Callan Frazier, 16, was casting crankbaits with his father, Bryan, at Sam Rayburn Reservoir when the toothy gar struck. Callan fought the gar for 10 minutes, thinking he had hooked an enormous largemouth bass.
“We were so surprised,” Bryan Frazier told My San Antonio. “They are so rare to come by, and we weren’t even fishing for them.”
The Texas length record for gar is 58 inches. That fish, caught last year on the Brazos River, weighed 30.3 pounds. Callan and his father teamed to release Callan’s gar rather than keep the fish for the sake of a possible record.
“Gars are kind of hard to hold because from the gills up it’s just solid teeth,” Bryan told My San Antonio. “So we went ahead and put it back in the water. We know it was trophy class but, at that moment, it was good to let it go and watch it swim away.”
Callan Frazier poses with 58-inch gar. Photo: Bryan Frazier
The catch occurred April 17, Easter Sunday. On April 25 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department congratulated Callan via Facebook.
“Whoa, what a gar!” the agency wrote. “ This longnose gar was caught and released at Lake Sam Rayburn by 16-year-old Callan Frazier. Measuring about 58 inches, it rivals the official state record longnose gar caught from the Brazos River in 2021.”
An Oklahoma man who drove in snow with his son to fish in Texas has landed one of the largest bass ever caught in the Lone Star State.
An Oklahoma man who drove in snow with his son to fish in Texas has landed one of the largest bass ever caught in the Lone Star State.
The 17.06-pound largemouth bass, caught Thursday by Brodey Davis at O.H. Ivie Lake, is a pending lake record and one of the top-10 heaviest bass weighed in Texas.
“It’s been an unbelievable day,” Davis, who lives in Tuttle, Okla., told FTW Outdoors late Thursday. “We drove from Oklahoma to specifically fish O.H. Ivie for a double-digit bass. My son Stetson, who is 9, was out of school due to the winter storm that went through Oklahoma earlier this week.”
Brodey Davis and son Stetson pose with 17.06-pound largemouth bass
The Toyota ShareLunker Program, run by Texas Parks and Wildlife, announced the catch Thursday on Facebook:
“Historic day! Angler Brodey Davis just weighed one of the largest Texas ShareLunkers to hit the scales in the past 30 years!!”
State biologists collect live bass weighing 13 pounds or more as part of the ShareLunker Program. These “Legacy Class” bass become part of a selective breeding operation designed to enhance fisheries statewide.
Davis’ catch, on a 6th Sense Divine Swimbait, is the largest of 12 Legacy bass caught so far this year. The fish measures 27-1/4 inches with a girth of 23-1/4 inches.
According to Josh Jones of Josh Jones Fishing, Davis’ catch ranks No. 7 all-time in Texas. The state record, an 18.18-pound largemouth bass caught at Lake Fork, has stood since 1992.
Jones on Thursday shared video footage showing Davis’ bass being weighed and the reactions of those who were present.
O.H. Ivie routinely produces trophy-size bass during the winter-spring spawning season.
On Wednesday, Jones landed a 14.79-pound largemouth bass at O.H. Ivie to become the first angler to submit four Legacy bass to the ShareLunker Program, which began in 1986.
–Images courtesy of Toyota ShareLunker Program and Brodey Davis
A Texas lake famous for producing giant bass has yielded two behemoths to kick off a new season for an angler-driven program intended to improve fisheries statewide.
A Texas lake famous for producing giant bass has yielded two behemoths to kick off a new season for a program intended to benefit statewide fisheries.
Tyler Anderson and Wendell Ramsey Sr. reeled in largemouth bass weighing 14.48 and 14.92 pounds, respectively, while fishing this past week at O.H. Ivie Lake.
As “Legacy Class” bass, they were donated alive to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department as part of the agency’s annual Toyota ShareLunker program.
The Legacy designation applies only to bass weighing 13 pounds or more. These rare catches are delivered to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, where biologists “attempt to spawn them to make bigger, better bass to stock and enhance fishing in Texas lakes,” The TPWD explained in a recent news release.
O.H. Ivie Lake last year produced 12 of 23 Legacy bass caught by Texas anglers and used in the selective-breeding program.
The ShareLunker program, which runs from Jan. 1 through March, is in its 36th year. The bass caught by Anderson and Ramsey are cataloged as ShareLunker 609 and ShareLunker 610, respectively.
Anderson caught the 14.48-pound bass Jan. 5 while casting an Alabama rig in 28 feet of water on his second day of fishing.
Tyler Anderson with his 14.48-pound bass. Photo: Texas Parks & Wildlife
“I stumbled upon a school of what looked to be eight or nine fish,” Anderson told the TPWD. “My cast ended up being a little too short and landed right on top of where they were. My Alabama rig fell right into the school of fish, but I didn’t even have to retrieve the lure. I lifted it right up and started my retrieve and the fish was already on there.”
Ramsey, a West Texas guide, was fishing with his grandsons on Jan. 8 and used an umbrella rig with 3.5 rage tail swimmers to hook the 14.92-pound bass.
“We started out working some spots for white bass and black bass to get a few bites for the kids and have a good time,” Ramsey said. “It was slow and we moved around the lake to some different spots before we circled back to where we started.
Tyler Ramsey Sr. with his 14.92-pound bass. Photo: Texas Parks & Wildlife
“I spotted a fish suspended in about 14 feet of water and quickly grabbed a fishing pole. I sent the cast past the fish and slowly let it go down to about eight feet before I started reeling. The fish hit the bait and when I set the hook it didn’t budge so I knew it was a really big fish.
“The battle started and I eventually brought it into the boat with the dip net.”
Both bass were kept in live wells before biologists arrived to pick them up for the transfer to Athens.
Said Kyle Brookshear, Toyota ShareLunker Program Manager: “This is a great start to the 2022 collection season. “After the historic 2021 season, it seems fitting that the first two entries come from O.H. Ivie. Many predict another record season for trophy bass catches across the state and with the 2022 season underway, time will soon tell.”
An Alabama man who landed a giant bass recently while fishing in Georgia has broken a state record that had stood for nearly 45 years.
An Alabama man who landed a giant bass recently while fishing in Georgia has broken a state record that had stood for nearly 45 years.
Joseph Matthew McWhorter, who lives in Lanett, Ala., caught the 8-pound, 5-ounce shoal bass Dec. 23 on the Chattahoochee River near Columbus.
The catch beats the previous Georgia record, set in 1977, by two ounces.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced the news Monday, proclaiming McWhorter to be “the proud holder of the new state record shoal bass.”
Shoal bass are found in the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint River drainages in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. In Georgia, the species also has been introduced to the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers.
Shoal bass are designated as the official state riverine sportfish species, according to the Georgia DNR.
“The average adult is between 12–24 inches,” the agency stated on Facebook. “Shoal bass are usually found around current breaks near flowing water. This can be in the middle of a big shoal, in a deep-water bend of the river with large boulders, or on the bank behind a tree in the water.”
For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists as the world record an 8-pound, 12-ounce shoal bass caught in the Apalachicola River in Florida in 1995.
Grass carp are native to Asia but have been introduced around the world, primarily for weed control and aquaculture purposes.
According to the International Game Fish Assn., the all-tackle world record grass carp stands at 87 pounds, 10 ounces. That fish was caught at the Piasuchnik Dam in Bulgaria in 2009.
–Top image is generic; second image showing Cris Endicott with his record carp is courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
A Florida angler has been granted a state record for his recent catch of a butterfly peacock bass weighing 9.11 pounds.
A Florida angler has been granted a state record for his recent catch of a butterfly peacock bass weighing 9.11 pounds.
Felipe Prieto’s after-work catch at an unidentified Broward County reservoir beats a record (9.08 pounds) that has stood since 1993.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced the certification Friday afternoon, adding that Prieto’s peacock bass “supersedes the previous state record that has stood for almost three decades.”
Peacock bass, which are large cichlids and not true bass, are native to tropical South America.
Butterfly peacock bass were stocked in southeast Florida canals in 1984, according to the FWC, “to reduce the number of undesirable exotic fishes, especially tilapia.”
The predatory game fish are the only nonnative fish to have been legally established in Florida. They’re prized by anglers because of their striking coloration and the challenge they pose to light-tackle anglers.
According to the International Game Fish Assn., “The butterfly peacock’s powerful, laterally compressed body and aggressive temperament make it pound for pound one of the hardest fish to handle on light tackle.”
FWC Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto added: “Anglers from across the country travel here to catch a peacock bass, which only adds to the tremendous economic impact fishing has in Florida.”
For the sake of comparison, the IGFA lists as the all-tackle world record a 12-pound, 9-ounce butterfly peacock bass caught on Venezuela’s Chiguao River in 2000.
In Florida, peacock bass inhabit mostly warmer waters in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. But recent milder winters have allowed for some northward range expansion.
–Image showing Felipe Prieto with record peacock bass is courtesy of the FWC
A South Dakota angler who was practicing for a recent pro bass-fishing tournament said he was “in shock” after landing a state-record smallmouth bass.
A South Dakota angler who was practicing for a recent pro bass-fishing tournament said he was “in shock” after landing a state-record smallmouth bass.
Troy Diede, of Sioux Falls, hooked the 7-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth while casting an Eco Pro Tungsten Ned Rig in mid-July on Lake Oahe.
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks recently approved the catch as a state record. Diede, who hopes to qualify for this year’s Bassmaster Classic, recalled his epic experience this week in a Bassmaster feature.
Diede said he hooked the 20.75-inch smallmouth bass the morning after catching and releasing a 6-pound smallmouth that looked equally massive.
“I didn’t even make 10 casts and I hooked into another good-sized fish,” Diede told Bassmaster. “After about 90 seconds I realized it had the same similarities as that 6-pounder. It was fighting the same way, it’s taking me forever.
“I only had 7-pound Gamma line on. It started running out of gas after about two minutes and I didn’t realize how big it was until I picked it up. I belly landed it like a football and held it under my arm and I was in shock.”
Diede obtained several unofficial weights before he was able to deliver the fish, alive in an aerated boat well, to a certified scale.
After a Game, Fish and Parks biologist confirmed the catch, Diede released the smallmouth precisely where he had hooked the fish. He beat the previous South Dakota record by about an ounce.
For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record an 11-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth bass caught at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in July 1955.
–Images courtesy of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
