Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Hey guys,

Appreciate all the congrats on what I was told is one of the biggest to come out of Clearlake in over 20yrs. I still cant believe it.

Here's some details and yes I caught it off a new prototype Bobby D's 1/2oz "Livewire" spinnerbait with the vibrating blade attached in Delta Craw. He says they will be out soon.

Caught her off a big boulder in about 8ft on a rockpile in the south end on Saturday around 9:15am right as the wind started to really pick-up. Casted 20ft past the sweetspot and let sink to the bottom then slow rolled back and when she inhaled it I thought for about 2 sec I was for sure hung on the boulder. Then the boulder started moving towards deep water and that's when I started praying it wasn't a catfish. Once I turned her she came to the surface and wallowed then me and my buddy Jacob Swain shat our pants screaming stuff like "biggest donk I ever seen!!" "where's the f'in net!!", "i dint bring the f'in net!!!" " please dont f'in lose that fish!!" etc, etc.. she then dug under the boat and I finally was able to get her up to the side where Jacob could pin her then lip her and haul her in with one hand under her massive girth. Ensuing screams of joy could then be heard all over the south end! We knew right away she was a teener but of course I didn't have a scale so we pulled the boat out and drove to Limit Out where Ed Legan was extremely helpful along with two local bass fisherman Vinny and Jackoma who all got me scales so we could get an accurate weight and record some video. We then used that G-Juice stuff to make sure she was in good shape in the livewell, took some more pics and video and released her at the ramp later that day. She swam straight for deep water to hopefully grow to lake record size and be caught again by another super lucky bass fanatic like me. Thanks so much to those guys for helping make the fish of my lifetime an experience I will never forget!

See many of you onda water over the next week at Clearlake. I suggest you all come up for the Chamber Team and the Won California Open. The water is clearing fast and the bite is going wide open again with this stable weather. Tons of 3-5's caught yesterday and the big girls will be caught in mass any day now. Everything is lining up so the next 8 days will be epic. No doubt!!

Charley

congrats ---- wow what a beautiful bass . She makes your livewell look small !!!
I wonder how old a fish that size is and I also wonder how much longer she will live ---
we all remember " Dotty " .
Robb

Thanks Robb for the kind words and I'm sure she's over 10 yrs old, some guys think 15-20. I hope she lives long enough to make it to lake record size which somebody said is almost 18lbs.

Here's a close-up of the bait and prototype rod I was using as well as one more from right after I caught her.

Best,
Charley

Congratulations!!!

Charley ,
I agree , she's at least 10 years , probably much older . Research says that bass in northern climates live longer
but don't get as big and bass from southern climates live shorter lives but gain size much quicker and overall get bigger .
My son moved to Texas last year , they have a program called " share a lunker" . That program is designed to take the genetic pool of bass that reach larger sizes and make sure they have a strong chance to reproduce and they eventually re-stock area's with a larger , stronger gene pool from larger than average bass.
I wonder if your bass was a Florida strain or a true northern strain ? Imagine if we purposely used eggs from your huge bass and matched them up with larger than average males ---- makes me smile just thinking about that possibility .
Robb

So awesome and such an inspiration for the rest of us!!

Awesome! Totally a huge fish! I was on the lake that morning too, cool how the monsters come out to feed in the most brutal of weather. Congrats!

Nice ! VERY nice !! Congrats

I'll tell you what the problem is. On you next fishing trip, the first bass you catch - even a 10 pounder - will look "small!" That might stick with you for awhile! My biggest ever was a 14-2 - sort of a big deal back in 1986. The problem was - on my next trip - a 4 pounder that I caught at New Hogan looked like a "dink" - seriously!! It may not be a problem for you, but it was to me - for a few weeks. And then "back to normal" - 4 pounders looked good again!! And now the good news! This bass will be part of your life for as long as you live, probably one of your greatest memories. You will land that great bass a thousand times in your memory! You have been blessed with a fishing event that few will ever experience!! And - congrats to you - AND your net man! Sometimes - netting a monster is more scary than fighting one with rod and reel. I know - and I have to do it for my clients often at night!!! Once again - my most hearty congrats - job well done!!

So do all your rods match the lures you are using?
16.3 is a giant bass wherever it's caught, congratulations.
Tom

#ThisTimeLastYear

Congrats on a fish of a lifetime Charley!

I will never forget that day, we were in absolute shock at how enormous she was.

Even though I am late on this congratulations!!!!