Texas Angler Catches 17-Pound Largemouth Bass on Video
The massive fish is the 8th biggest largemouth bass ever caught in The Lone Star State
On Monday, February 13, Jason Conn boated one of the biggest largemouth bass caught in recent memory—a 17.03-pound giant from O.H. Ivie Lake. “[It was an] unbelievable day,” Conn wrote in a Facebook post. “[I] didn’t get to O.H. Ivie until 11 a.m., and by 2 p.m., I had a 17-pound bass in the boat.”
Conn also shared a video of the catch on Facebook. It shows him setting the hook on the fish from the bow of the boat, followed by a brief but high-stakes fight before his buddy nets the fish. Celebration quickly ensued as they realized how big the bass really was. Be aware, there is some strong language in the video.
The bass weighed in at 17.1 pounds on Conn’s portable scale, but it came in slightly lighter on a certified scale at a local tackle shop. The fish’s official weight was 17.03 pounds, which puts it a hair under the waterbody record, a 17.06-pounder caught by Brodey Davis last February. Conn’s bass was 27.25 inches long. He submitted the fish to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Toyota ShareLunker Program, which partners with anglers to spawn and release giant bass in the state.
“Jason Conn just caught…one of the largest Lunkers to hit the scales in Texas history,” wrote the organization in a Facebook post. “His Legacy Class Lunker is the 8th heaviest Texas largemouth bass of all time. Amazing! Congratulations, Jason, and thank you for your contribution.”
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O.H. Ivie Lake has quickly become one of the country’s hotspots for landing a giant bass. Anglers at the lake largely utilize front-facing sonar—or livescope—fish finders to find and target true giants in the wintertime. Recently, Field & Stream reported on a young angler who boated two 14-pounders in one day on O.H. Ivie. With the lake’s fishing season in full swing, more giants will likely be caught in the next couple of weeks.
