Post by olhillbilly on Jul 10, 2010 11:55:42 GMT -6
Looks like Missouri prolly has a new record striper.
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www.news-leader.com/article/20100710/NEWS01/7100331/-1/RSS
Republic angler J.J. West has only caught one striped bass in his life in Missouri.
But his cast Thursday night into rain-soaked Bull Shoals Lake was well worth the wait.
"I was fishing in the rain at 9:45 at night and was about ready to go home," West recalled Friday. "I was cursing the weather."
But his final shoreside cast produced a 58-pound, 10.4-ounce monster that likely will shatter Missouri's current striper record -- a 56-lb. 5-oz. fish landed two years ago by Bradleyville fisherman Greg Blair.
That fish also came out of Bull Shoals Lake.
West's striper was weighed at 11 p.m. Thursday on official scales at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.
The documentation is now on its way to the Missouri Department of Conservation office in Jefferson City for official confirmation as the new striper champ, according to hatchery manager Clint Hale.
"We do think we have a new state record," Hale said. "It was a tremendous fish."
West said he usually fishes all spring long, but has been stuck at home renovating his house this year.
He admits he's been "a little cranky" and said his wife was happy to see him grab his fishing pole and head to the lake with a couple of buddies.
But late Thursday, West said it was so foggy and rainy that he couldn't see his 8-inch plastic swim bait hit the water.
He bounced the rig along the bottom until something big suddenly inhaled it and took off.
"I was fishing with a spinning reel with 200 yards of 30-pound test line," West said. "It took off on one long run, until I had only about 15 wraps left on the reel."
Battling the fish from shore, West got back most of the line, but the fish took off again, stripping half the line from the reel.
After a 25- to 30-minute fight, the fish finally broke the surface near shore and West saw for the first time what he had.
"I knew I needed to buy a bigger net," he said. "It wouldn't fit in the one we had."
He dragged the fish ashore, recognizing a potential record flopping at his feet.
After the official weigh-in was complete, West iced the fish down in a jumbo-sized cooler.
On Friday, he took it by Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, where the current state-record striper hangs.
West said he hopes a fiberglass cast of his fish might eventually replace that one.
He plans to hang the original mount of his fish on the wall at home.
Although he caught the fish on the Missouri side of Bull Shoals Lake, West wasn't about to divulge where, exactly, he caught it.
"In the mouth," he offered, chuckling.
------------------------------------------------------------------
www.news-leader.com/article/20100710/NEWS01/7100331/-1/RSS
Republic angler J.J. West has only caught one striped bass in his life in Missouri.
But his cast Thursday night into rain-soaked Bull Shoals Lake was well worth the wait.
"I was fishing in the rain at 9:45 at night and was about ready to go home," West recalled Friday. "I was cursing the weather."
But his final shoreside cast produced a 58-pound, 10.4-ounce monster that likely will shatter Missouri's current striper record -- a 56-lb. 5-oz. fish landed two years ago by Bradleyville fisherman Greg Blair.
That fish also came out of Bull Shoals Lake.
West's striper was weighed at 11 p.m. Thursday on official scales at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.
The documentation is now on its way to the Missouri Department of Conservation office in Jefferson City for official confirmation as the new striper champ, according to hatchery manager Clint Hale.
"We do think we have a new state record," Hale said. "It was a tremendous fish."
West said he usually fishes all spring long, but has been stuck at home renovating his house this year.
He admits he's been "a little cranky" and said his wife was happy to see him grab his fishing pole and head to the lake with a couple of buddies.
But late Thursday, West said it was so foggy and rainy that he couldn't see his 8-inch plastic swim bait hit the water.
He bounced the rig along the bottom until something big suddenly inhaled it and took off.
"I was fishing with a spinning reel with 200 yards of 30-pound test line," West said. "It took off on one long run, until I had only about 15 wraps left on the reel."
Battling the fish from shore, West got back most of the line, but the fish took off again, stripping half the line from the reel.
After a 25- to 30-minute fight, the fish finally broke the surface near shore and West saw for the first time what he had.
"I knew I needed to buy a bigger net," he said. "It wouldn't fit in the one we had."
He dragged the fish ashore, recognizing a potential record flopping at his feet.
After the official weigh-in was complete, West iced the fish down in a jumbo-sized cooler.
On Friday, he took it by Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, where the current state-record striper hangs.
West said he hopes a fiberglass cast of his fish might eventually replace that one.
He plans to hang the original mount of his fish on the wall at home.
Although he caught the fish on the Missouri side of Bull Shoals Lake, West wasn't about to divulge where, exactly, he caught it.
"In the mouth," he offered, chuckling.