Articles on Premier Angler may contain affiliate links. Please see our Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Georgia Angler Hauls in Once-in-a-Lifetime Largemouth Bass
During a stretch in March and February 2022, Texas anglers were pulling in massive bass from The Lonestar State. O.H. Ivie, for instance, saw some enormous Sharelunkers, including this one and this one. Even Eagle Mountain Lake produced a monster of its own that was certified as the new lake record.
Aside from the fact that all of these fish were caught in Texas, the one thing that all the catches also had in common is that they were belonged to avid, experienced anglers who had spent years (and tens-of-thousands of dollars) honing their crafts.
On Sunday, April 24, however, one angler from Georgia showed the world that you don’t necessarily need to live in Texas or have top-of-the-line equipment to land a once-in-a-lifetime lunker.
An Unexpected Fish in an Unexpected Location
Julia Thompson has been fishing for most of her life, but that pastime did not become a passion until more recently. Thompson would often go with family and friends growing up, but she become more serious about fishing over the past three years. Now, the Georgian fishes regularly with her boyfriend, focusing on becoming a more skilled angler.
On the evening of April 24, the couple went to a small fishery near Zebulon, Georgia, in Pike County, where they have had modest success over the years.
Thompson mentioned that her boyfriend’s brother has been fishing at the spot for years and has caught hundreds of bass there. The largest he has pulled, however, was around two pounds.
Needless to say, this was not the destination where Thompson expected to land the largest bass of her life.
At around 6:00 p.m., roughly half an hour into fishing, Thompson got a bite. Considering that the spot was not known for producing massive fish, she was in for quite the surprise.
“It Jumped, and We Instantly Knew It was Special”
Thompson noted that when her fish hit, her 7-inch trick worm was only about forty feet out from the shore. She knew that the fish had some size to it, but nobody realized just how big it was until it broke the water.
Recalling the fight, Thompson said, “the line started dragging. And then it jumped, and we instantly knew it was special. We had to get this one in.”
Thompson estimates that the fight was quick, lasting under a minute. As they couple had not been producing big bass from this spot, her boyfriend had to help her land the fish as they did not have a net present.
Once the fish reached the bank, however, they knew that this was unlike any other bass they had ever caught.
“Nobody was expecting this,” Thompson said, mentioning her previous personal best had only been around four pounds.
The Art of the Measurement
The prospect of landing a personal best bass – yet alone one in the double digits – was not on anyone’s radar that day, so the couple did not have a scale on hand.
They were, however, able to get measurements of the fish’ impressive length and girth.
Thompson’s massive Georgia bass measured at a massive 28 inches in length with a stout girth of 24 inches.
While there are numerous ways to determine the estimated weight of a largemouth based upon these dimensions, an aggregate of popular conversion scales would estimate that Thompson’s fish weighed in somewhere between roughly 14.7 and 15.7 pounds. Even on the conservative end, this would be a dream catch for all but a small handful of anglers.
Regardless of the weight, however, Thompson’s bass has taken the internet by storm in the past week. And rightfully so – that is one big fish!
Ultimately, Thompson hopes that there are other lunkers lurking in this spot. If there are, she plans on being there to catch them.
Comments are closed.