On the morning of Thursday, February 28, the striped bass fishing world was once again turned on its head as a potential new freshwater/landlocked world record fish was landed. While fishing on his own, 65-year old Alabama angler, James Bramlett, hooked the 70-pound fish while fishing near the Gorgas Steam Plant on the Warrior River in Alabama. The fish was weighed on a certified scale and verified by officials from the Alabama Department of Natural Resources.
The hawg of a bass taped out at a mere 45.5 inches, but its massive girth of 37.75 inches filled in the rest of the weight where her length left off. Think about this striper when you land your next 45-incher and imagine just how far off form the standard this one’s dimensions were. I know I have landed many 45-inch striped bass that hardly weighed 35 pounds, let alone double that figure! The fish weighs a full 15 pounds more than the previous state record and 2.5 pounds greater than the existing freshwater/landlocked world record.
James was anchored along the bank of the river when he saw the fish surface out in the current. He immediately re-baited with a fresh shad and lobbed it in the general direction of where he had seen the fish rise. A few moments later line began peeling form his reel and the battle was on. The fish was eventually bested after a 20- to 25-minute battle on an Ambassador 7000 reel spooled-up with 30-pound test Berkley Big Game line, a Mustad 6/0 hook and catfish Ugly Stik rod.
To say that the bar has already been set pretty high for striped bass in 2013 is an understatement!
