Hoosier Catches Record Yellow Bass
By Phil Junker
Jim Raymer was fishing in Morse Reservoir north of
Indianapolis for crappie. He and his long-time fishing
partner, Rick Priebe had marked a number of fish at
several locations with their fish locator. They headed
back to the first school of fish they had marked, and
Raymer started jigging for crappie. He quickly had a fish
on. I thought I had a good crappie, but when I landed it,
I thought it was a big yellow bass, said the Greenfield
angler. But, Raymer also knew he had never seen one as
big as the fish he landed. The fish he boated is a new
Indiana state record, and also should be a world record.
The fish weighed 2.95 pounds on the certified scales at
the Marsh grocery in Greenfield. Raymerıs fish topped
the old state record of two pounds, four ounces, caught
in 1977 by another Hoosier, Donald Stalker, who took his
fish at Monroe Reservoir, near Bloomington. Stalker also
owned the world record until early this year, when angler
caught one that weighed two pounds, eight ounces. After
catching the fish on Saturday, Nov. 4, he kept the fish
alive over the weekend, and decided to take it to the DNR
office at Martinsville for positive identification. When
he (Raymer) called and said he had a big yellow bass that
weighed nearly three pounds, I thought it probably was a
hybrid striper, said DNR biologist Doug Keller. ³But,
after I checked the fish scale, there was no doubt it was
a yellow bass. Based on the scale sample, the fish
appeared to be five and a half years old, and he said it
had displayed rapid growth. A similar size white bass
would be about seven years old, said Keller. The fish was
16.7 inches long and had a girth of 12.7 inches.
³It looked like a football with a small head,² said
Raymer. It seems yellow bass hang around the same
structure as crappie, and Iıve caught a lot of them. But
this one was so big, it just seemed to be
disproportionate. I thought it was a yellow bass. It
really looked yellow, and I wanted to make sure. Yellow
bass are considered a nuisance by most anglers, because
the fish usually are so small. Keller said a 10-inch
yellow bass is a ³big one. Iıve heard people say they
are fine to eat. I donıt know why they wouldnıt be just
like a largemouth. They just donıt get much size, added
Keller. Raymer agrees they are good eating. ³One time we
were fishing at Kentucky Lake and the crappie werenıt
hitting, but we really got into a lot of yellow bass on a
flat. They weighed about a half pound each. We filleted
them, and they were almost as good eating as crappie, he
said. He caught his record bass on a 1/16th ounce Mizmo
orange and chartreuse jig. He had sprayed the jg with
Kodiak fish scent, which he utilizes for crappie fishing,
and was using a Sam Heaton signature B&M crappie rod.
These things become of interest when you catch a world
record fish. He received word on Monday that the Indiana
DNR has recognized his fish as a state record, and he has
contacted the International Gamefish Association, and the
Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame for forms to submit his
catch for world record recognition. Raymerıs record fish
in his home freezer and waiting to be mounted. The DNR
has asked to borrow it for display at next yearıs state
fair,² he said. Raymer and Priebe, who lives in
Morristown, have been fishing buddies for years, and have
fished the Crappie USA tournament circuit the past six
years. They won the crappie tournament at Patoka Lake
this spring.
Jim Raymer of Greeenfield proudly displays his new
Indiana and possible world record yellow bass
caught at Morse Reservoir while fishing for crappie.
News Release From IDNR
Jim Raymer of Greenfield, Ind. knew he probably had a
state record fish as soon as he pulled the big yellow
bass from Morse Reservoir. But Raymer's fish not only
clobbered the existing Indiana yellow bass size record,
his catch also apparently shatters the existing 2-pound,
9-ounce world record.
On Nov. 4, Raymer hauled in a 2-pound, 15-ounce yellow
bass while fishing for crappie at Morse Reservoir in
Hamilton County. His catch measured 16.7-inches long and
had a 12.7-inch girth. The fish bested the past state
record by 11-ounces.
Raymer was using an ultra-light spinning reel and rod
with an artificial crappie tube bait. Raymer has 25 years
of fishing experience and had previously caught yellow
bass that weighed in the half-pound range. As soon as he
realized what he had caught, he said to his fishing
buddy, "I think this might be a record fish."
Raymer took his fish to the Greenfield Marsh grocery
store where store employee Shannon Campbell weighed it
for him on a state-certified scale. The scale required a
product code before it would show the weight and print a
receipt, so Cambell entered bananas to match the color of
the yellow bass. The fish should be worth considerably
more in bragging rights than the $1.74 banana price tag
printed out on his receipt. Raymer then took the fish to
Cikana State Fish Hatchery in Martinsville, Ind., where
fisheries biologist Doug Keller verified the fish
species.
The current International Game Fish Association
all-tackle sport fishing world record yellow bass is a
2-pound, 9-ounce Duck River fish caught near Waverly,
Tenn. Most yellow bass weigh mere ounces, but these
scrappy little fighters are abundant in some waters and
can provide hours of excitement on ultralight tackle. For
many years, a 2-pound, 4-ounce Monroe Lake specimen was
the world's largest officially documented yellow bass.
Yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) are true bass,
related to white and striped bass. Yellow, white, and
striped bass and white/striper hybrids (wipers) are
easily confused. White bass have one patch of teeth on
their tongue, while striped bass have two distinct
patches of glossohyal teeth. Hybrids have two patches
that are joined and yellow bass have no teeth patches on
their tongue.
Downloadable, printable photos are available on line at:
http://www.ai.org/dnr/fishwild/gallery/bass.htm
|
|
