Record Largemouth Bass Becomes Official

The National Freshwater Fishing Hall Of Fame has just officially recognized Joe Bucher's lunker catch of a 28 3/8 inch largemouth bass as the new Catch and Release World Record on 8 lb. test line.

Bucher caught the fish on a February trip to NW Florida. Due to low water conditions from several years of drought, Bucher was forced to put aside his heavy duty baitcasting outfits and fish with much lighter spinning gear in order to coax bass into biting. "Most of the cover that I'm use to fishing was simply left high and dry due to the low water conditions," Bucher claimed. "The water was also uncharacteristically clear because of this drought making the fish spooky to heavier line sizes."

"I had already fished the same deeper tree line point with a crankbait unsuccessfully, and decided to try (for the first time) some lightweight spinning gear and smaller (plastic) worms. Actually this is a setup I'm more use to fishing in the clear cover-free waters of the north for smallies. Anyway, I flipped a short cast to a big cypress tree and let the 6" worm free fall to the root base. I felt a soft tap as soon as I moved it. The fish was moving out and away from the cypress trunk so I decide to let it swim itself out before setting the hook."

After the fish had cleared the cypress trunk by a few feet, Bucher reared back on his 6' medium St. Croix Avid and was surprised by the lack of movement below. "I couldn't budge the fish initially, and it stayed deep like a big cat. In fact, that's exactly what I thought I had." However, Bucher's thoughts of a big catfish were quickly disproved when the line began to rise. "Catfish don't usually rise up and attempt to jump. I knew then, I had a big bass."

However, Bucher wasn't prepared for a bass quite this big. "As soon as I saw that giant gaping mouth I was shaking. This fish was not thick bodied at all, but it had an absolutely massive head and huge gaping mouth. It reminded me of a big musky back home." Bucher chased the bass with his small car top bass buggy style boat and his small MinnKota trolling motor as it swam over open water battling away.

"The shere size of this fish made me want to get it safely in the net as soon as I could, and that became the goal. The first time this fish gave me a shot near the boat, I netted it. Much to my surprise, it completely filled my little Frabill (net). In fact, its tail was actually sticking out above the rim. I knew then, this was a very long fish, but had no idea it would stretch the tape to the length that it did."

Joe's wife, Beth, did the official measuring duties, stretching the tape out past the 28 inch mark. "Twenty eight inches?", Bucher questioned.

"At first I thought she misread it. That's as long as a big walleye! But sure enough, it was a full 28 inches and then some." Officially, the fish measured 28 3/8 inches long with a 17.5 inch girth. After a few photos, Bucher released the giant to fight another day!