...
By Robyn White
Nature Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A New York angler may have set a new state record this week after he caught a huge smallmouth bass, which weighed in at 8 pounds, 5.8 ounces, after what the fisherman called "the fight of a lifetime."
Thomas Russell caught the enormous fish in Cayuga Lake while he was competing in the Finger Lakes Open Bass Tournament on June 15.
Russell told NYUp.com that he used a Berkley MaxScent flatnose minnow to land the fish.
Read More
Monster Great White Shark Filmed Off Cape Cod: ‘That Thing Is Enormous’3 min read
South Carolina Teen Catches Giant Pompano That Could Break World Record3 min read
Monster Snapper Caught by Texas Spearfisherman Could Shatter World Record3 min read
"By midday, we were sitting on a real nice bag of smallmouth bass...I was using 12-pound test line, so it was just a real good fight. He came up, jumped a couple of times, and [I] got all nervous when [I] saw the size of him. It was spectacular—the fight of a lifetime for sure," he told the news outlet.
"The first day of New York bass season didn't disappoint," event organizer Rob Aftuck said in a Facebook post. Russell later posted a video of the fish being released back into the lake, where it swam away, apparently healthy.
"Congratulations to Eric Sullivan and Thomas Russell a true mega bag of smallmouth bass with 30 plus pounds and a 8.5 lunker for a New York State record," the post said,
The weight of the fish has not yet been confirmed by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Field and Stream reported. However, if the state certifies the weight, it will break the state record for the biggest smallmouth bass ever caught.
Two 8-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth bass currently hold the state record. One was caught in Lake Erie in 1995, by angler Andrew Kartesz. The other was caught in 2016 by Patrick Hildenbrand.
"Thank you for a great tournament today. We had an epic day today and was able to possibly break the NYS smallmouth record," Russell said in a comment to Aftuck's Facebook post.
At 40 miles long, Cayuga Lake is the longest of New York's Finger Lakes. A wide variety of fish species can be found there, including Atlantic salmon, Lake trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and rainbow trout.
Bass are most abundant towards the north of the lake, during the warmer spring and summer months. According to Field and Stream, it is one of the best lakes for bass fishing in New York state.
A video posted to Facebook shows the moment the huge fish was weighed. People can be heard laughing in the background as Russell holds the huge fish up for a photograph.
"Oh my God," a man can be heard saying. "What did you do when you caught that?"
345K views, 209 likes, 23 loves, 71 comments, 78 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from George M. Fiorille:
Smallmouth bass usually only weigh a maximum of 6 pounds, making this catch particularly unusual.
They are a freshwater species and can be identified by their upper jaw not extending past the eye, and joined dorsal fins.
The species can be found in streams, rivers and lakes with plenty of aquatic vegetation. They usually spawn in streams with clean gravel.
Newsweek has reached out to Russell for comment.
...
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines