John Bass and his son Tucker were chasing largemouth bass shortly after dawn on August 9. The father-and-son duo are dedicated bass anglers with deep family roots in Tennessee, and they brought that passion with them when they moved to Wyoming nine years ago.
“Tucker likes catching the very abundant yellow perch in Lake Cameahwait, but that morning I suggested we try for bass with topwater plugs at daybreak,” John told Wired2fish. “That’s what we did, and we caught a few bass early. Then we moved to a spot where we usually catch perch.”
Tucker’s first cast with a small Northland jig designed for ice fishing had barely hit the water when he got hammered.
“Tucker thought it was a big perch, but I figured it was a bass and told him to take it easy with his light rod and 4-pound test,” said John, the superintendent of Wyoming’s Boysen State Park near their home in Shoshone, Wyoming.
Tucker fought the fish carefully until John slid the net under it and brought the largemouth bass aboard their two-person kayak. They weighed it on a hand scale at just over 2 pounds, which John knew was an exceptional bass for Wyoming — especially on light line and in the hands of a young angler.
They put the fish on ice and kept fishing. Because it was Saturday, they had to wait until Monday to get the bass weighed on certified scales at a post office near their home.
The official weight came in at 2 pounds, 4 ounces. That’s when John realized his son’s catch was big enough to qualify as an International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Junior world record in the 4-pound line class.
All required paperwork, including certified weight, photos, and line samples, was completed and sent to IGFA’s headquarters in Florida. Recently, Tucker’s bass was officially recognized as a world youth record.
“One day it may be beaten by another youngster catching a bigger bass,” John said. “But Tucker has the record right now, and that’s pretty special for us.”
After receiving confirmation from IGFA, the family thawed the frozen largemouth, deep-fried it, and ate it.
“I know some people prefer eating other species,” John said. “But in Tennessee, we love eating smaller bass — and Tucker’s fish was delicious.”
