On Saturday, February 20, 2016, A.J. Klein, of New Castle, Delaware broke the Delaware state largemouth bass record with an 11-pound, 10-ounce lunker he caught (and released) from Wagamons Pond in Milton, DE.
The monster largemouth was weighed in at Bill’s Sport Shop in Lewes, DE and certified on the spot by the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources (DNREC).
Klein was fishing with Joe Lattis, his girlfriend’s father and bass fishing mentor. “I have to say though it wouldn’t have been possible without the teachings of Joe Lattis, he has been fishing since he has been able to hold a fishing rod and he is 57 years old," Klein said in a post at The Bass College website on Sunday afternoon. “He has passed his experience and learnings to me and look how much it helped.”
The pair had been fishing on Wagamons by boat for nearly 4 hours when they decided to motor back to the ramp to try another pond. “We slow trolled it to the ramp casting as we went little did I know that one fateful cast would catch the big one,” Klein said later.
“I cast far out and patiently slow rolled the Strike King spinnerbait, dropping it along the bottom working it like a jig,” Klein recalled, noting how the fish hit on the drop. “I thought I had a snag at first for a couple seconds and BAM it dove and what a fight. It lasted close to 2 minutes.”
Klein was using an Abu Garcia Hank Parker baitcaster with a Daiwa rod and Berkley 14-pound mono. He called the action on the Strike King Bleeding Shad Spinnerbait “amazing,” though noted it was a lure he’d picked up only that morning at Master Baiters Bait and Tackle before fishing.
“When I got it to the boat Joe Lattis netted that beast like a pro and we both fell into our seats in shock and awe,” Klein said. “After a moment of silence Joe got up gave me a huge bear hug nearly taking both of us into the water.”
Mike Ward, Pro Staff & Marketing Director at The Bass College where A.J. is a contributing member said that the Delaware bass community was quite proud of the accomplishment. “It just goes to show, that you never know what might happen when you go fishing,” Ward said.
The previous largemouth record in the state of Delaware was a 10-pound, 10-ounce bass caught by James D. Hitchen on March 22, 2012. While the DNREC doesn’t list the location of the previous record, reports are that it too came from Wagamons Pond.
