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Certain areas of the county have been on fire over the past two years in terms of producing record fish.
2021 saw multiple North Carolina catfish records broken, including the blue catfish and the channel catfish.
When it comes to the less notable “meanmouth” bass, however, Texas’ O.H. Ivie Lake is the undisputed hot spot in the world right now.
A Strange and Exciting Recent History for a Lesser-Known Hybrid
In 2021, fishing guide Wyatt Frankens caught what he believed to be the O.H. Ivie Lake record smallmouth bass.
At 7.6 pounds and 23 inches in length with a 17 1/2 inch girth, Frankens was credited instead with catching the world record for smallmouth-largemouth bass hybrid.
Initial reports, however, suggested that Frankens had caught a “meanmouth,” which led to some confusion both over the status of the record and what, in fact, a “meanmouth” was.
According to the International Game Fish Association, the “meanmouth” is actually the hybrid of the smallmouth and spotted bass. That record, as of February 23, 2022, still belongs to Dru Clayton Kinslow. His 8 pound, 8 ounce meanmouth was caught on Veterans Lake in Sulphur, Oklahoma in March 2006.
Since Frankens’ catch was not technically a meanmouth, nor was it larger than Kinslow’s fish, the record remained unchallenged until 2022.
A Massive Catch and a Technicality
In January 2022, angler Brandon Burks landed a massive meanmouth on O.H. Ivie. His spectacular catch registered at 8.53 pounds.
While it was by the narrowest of margins, Burks’ catch surpassed Kinslow’s 2006 catch in weight.
Unfortunately, a technicality prevented the fish from taking its place in the IGFA World Record books.
Burks had been fishing using a five-hook Alabama rig. The IGFA has a three-hook limit, thus the catch could not be certified as a new world record.
Burks did, however, pass certification in Texas (which allows angler to fish using five hooks), thus he secured the new Texas state record meanmouth.
One Fish to Rule Them All: Brady Stanford’s Massive O.H. Ivie Meanmouth
If the other fish on this list seem impressive, it’s because they are. For the smallmouth/spotted bass hybrid, 8.5 pounds is pretty spectacular.
On February 22, 2022, however, angler Brady Stanford may have completely changed the meanmouth game forever!
While fishing on O.H. Ivie – a lake he has been fishing since his youth – Stanford hauled in a hybrid smallmouth/spotted bass that not only qualifies as a record breaker, but completely shatters the standing record.
Stanford told Premier Angler that he has been fishing since he was a kid. He was introduced to fishing by his father – the first person he called after landing his massive fish. His love of fishing grew over the years, leading him to eventually fish for the Texas Tech fishing team in college.
After catching a 15 pound largemouth on O.H. Ivie in January, Stanford hit the water again on February 22 in search of another trophy fish. He noted that anglers were not really aware of how significant the hybridization of the meanmouth was on Ivie until Frankens’ catch last year. Even with that, he wasn’t necessarily targeting the hybrid.
Before the catch, Stanford had been fishing an Alabama rig before switching to a 3.8 inch swimbait with a 1/4 ounce jighead.
Fishing in more shallow water, Stanford saw three bass circling and knew one was bound to hit. Despite the record size, however, he surprised that his record-breaking meanmouth did not put up the type of fish he would expect.
As an experienced tournament angler, Stanford also realized once he got the fish in the boat that he was dealing with a hybrid. He also realized quickly that he was sitting on a significant record.
At 11.07 pounds, with a length of 24 3/4 inches and a girth of 20.5 inches, Stanford’s catch more than meets the criteria to be certified as the O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas state, and IGFA world record.
After calling his father to inform him about the catch, Stanford contacted the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife to notify them of his catch. Representatives met Stanford at Concho Park Marina in Millersville – where he went to get the official weight on a certified scale – to obtain a sample from the fish’s pectoral fin.
After the weight was recorded and the sample was retrieved, Stanford took the fish back onto Ivie and released it.
Stanford stated that he was informed the certification process to take around three weeks as testing in performed in batched.
Be sure to check back for news on the official certification of Stanford’s catch.
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