BRIAN LATIMER TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT Personal Best : 9 pounds , 12 ounces Location : Lake Secession , SC
FRED ROUMBANIS BASS PRO TOUR Personal Best : 13 pounds Location : California Delta
I HAVE TO GO WAY BACK for this one , because it was a small lake near home called Lake Secession . I think it was around 2012 , because side-scan imaging had been out for a while , but I had just gotten my first unit . I was out on the lake playing around with it and just looking at structure . I was trying to figure out what structure looked like and trying to learn how to find fish of any significant size .
I saw a little group of fish and cast a deep-diving crankbait toward it . I was actually fishing near one of the most popular boat ramps on the lake , and when I cast at the school a 9-pounder popped out .
I was by myself so there was no net or anything like that . I got the fish to the boat , and it kind of laid up on its side as I brought it in . I immediately took it to a little marina and got it weighed . Of course , the guy inside was an older fellow and this was before cell phone cameras and GoPros got really good , so he didn ’ t take a great picture .
I remember being so excited because I was just testing out a new toy , and I was really excited about having side-imaging capability . To this day , it ’ s the closest I have come to catching a double-digit bass ; but I would be surprised if I break the record on Lake Secession again . It ’ s a different kind of fishery these days .
MY PERSONAL BIGGEST verified bass is 13 pounds . I caught one when I was 13 years old that might have been bigger than that , though . We weighed it on a little spring scale and it dropped down to 12 pounds . However , looking back on the photo , I can ’ t say what it was . I mean , it could have been 14 .
Anyway , the biggest verified bass was a 13-pounder on the California Delta . I was fishing a team tournament in 2001 with my partner Jason Cordiali . I had a Texas-rigged brush hog on 17-pound-test monofilament line , because back then that ’ s what we used .
The water was clear and the tide was going out . I remember seeing a ripple in the water and Jason told me it was a stump . I told him it was a bass , and I picked up a weightless 6-inch Senko and threw it over there . As soon as it hit the water , the bait disappeared . I set the hook and all I got back was the hook . So , I quickly asked Jason for another Senko , but he didn ’ t have any . That ’ s when I picked up the Brush Hog and threw it in .
She did the same thing and sucked it in . When I set the hook , I knew I had it . It was surreal , dude . I remember looking at this thing and being amazed that its eyeballs were as big as quarters .
The fish was on some secondary cover , and we eventually found a little male nearby . Actually , we went on to catch a 10 that day as well . We weighed a 37-pound bag , which I believe was a record at the time , even though it only stood for a few weeks . We also won $ 6,000 .
APRIL-MAY 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 47