If anyone has ever doubted the value of catch-and-release fishing to sustain important gamefish populations, they should contact the folks at Texas’ Toledo Bend Lake Association (TBLA). Since 2006, the group has tagged and released hundreds of bass over 10 pounds caught from Toledo Bend.
During that time some remarkable information about largemouth bass has been revealed. Most recently, the association documented one lunker largemouth bass was caught at least three times from the waterway. In addition, it’s believed the same fish was caught when it weighed less than10 pounds.
“That bass was caught three times for sure. And we believe one other time too, when it was just a 9-pounder,” Ned Goodeaux told Wired2fish. “The anglers who caught the bass three times — when it weighed at least 10 pounds — know it was the same fish [because it’s tagged].”
Tag A Giant
Ned Goodeaux, of Many, Louisiana, is the TBLA coordinator, and his wife Gaynell is the association president. They live on the lake and are actively involved in tagging and monitoring fish caught from Toledo Bend. They attend tournaments and tag fish over 10 pounds that are released back into the lake. Other volunteers also help with tagging big bass caught from the 185,000-acre Sabine River reservoir on the Louisiana-Texas border.
Bassers who catch 10-pounders and larger can tag and release bass too, often at marinas near boat ramps that participate in the TBLA research. Those who tag bass are presented with a replica taxidermy mount of their fish at an annual gathering of TLBA members.
“Last year we gave 81 anglers bass replicas of fish they tagged and released in our program,” said Ned. “Since 2006, we’ve had 1,292 bass over 10 pounds caught from Toledo Bend that were tagged and released as part of the TBLA work. The most replica mounts we’ve given out for TBLA lunker catches was 137 in 2016.”
One Famous Bass
The most famous TBLA fish is definitely the largemouth caught and released at least three times, and likely a fourth time too. The first time it was weighed and tagged was in June 2023, topping out at 10.8 pounds and caught by Bernard Fruge. That same year in October the bass was caught by Brett Pruitt when it weighed 10.84 pounds. Most recently, the fish was caught by Henry Boudreaux, of Baton Rouge, last August when it weighed 11.21 pounds.
Incredibly, the same bass is believed to have been caught before it met the magic 10-pound weight. The fish was a solid 9.5-pounder, landed in 2023 by visiting Colorado angler Josh Worth. He weighed the fish on a digital scale and released it but didn’t contact TBLA because it was less than 10 pounds. Photos of Worth’s fish show a deformed tail that matches the exact fish caught more recently.
Bass Return Home
“What’s also incredible is the bass was caught all four times no more than one mile apart,” Ned stated. “We’ve had other tagged bass caught multiple times over the years, and they show a remarkable homing instinct.”
Ned told a story of one bass caught by a guy from a brush pile, then tagged and released by the angler at a marina 11 miles away.
“That same angler about a year later caught the same bass from the same brush pile,” said Ned. “The first time he caught the bass it was a heavy 11-pounder. The second time it was a 10-pound bass, of course having the same tag in it.”
Toledo Bend’s record largemouth weighed 15.6 pounds, which was TBLA tagged. Over the years many bass weighing in the 13-pound category have been recorded and tagged by TBLA volunteers.
“Any of those bass could one day break the current 15.6-pound lake record,” Ned explained. “They put on weight almost every year and they are Florida-strain bass – so they are hungry fish.”
