Matteo Bonales, 23, was using forward-facing sonar with his father, Mark, when he spotted an unusually large fish holding near a rocky structure deep beneath the surface. The fish was holding in about 54 feet of water, and at first Bonales did not even think it was a bass. A fishing trip that began with a long drive from California ended with an extraordinary catch in an unnamed Idaho reservoir.
The discovery of a large bass at such a depth is not as unusual as it might initially sound. Smallmouth bass can use considerably deeper and cooler parts of lakes, particularly larger individuals. A study in Ecology of Freshwater Fish found that smallmouth bass occupied deeper sections of stratified lakes, with larger fish tending to occur at deeper, cooler sites. The size of the bass became apparent only when it reached the boat. Rather than kill the fish to pursue a conventional weight record, the anglers placed it temporarily in an aerated livewell and stopped fishing. They then drove to a nearby grocery store , where the bass was weighed on a certified meat scale.
Mark netted the fish, and the pair initially weighed it on their own Bubba scale, which showed about 9.7 pounds. It measured approximately 23.5 inches.
All fish submitted for All-Tackle Length World Records must be measured at the site of capture using an official IGFA measuring device and released alive in good condition, according to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) . Bonales, however, released the bass after weighing it rather than documenting it on an official IGFA measuring device. The bigger claim is about length rather than weight. However, that does not automatically make it a world record. The organization also requires photographs documenting the fish’s full length, the measuring position, the angler and the equipment used.
Bonales’ fish was reportedly 23.5 inches long, which would put it above the current International Game Fish Association catch-and-release world record of 20.86 inches.
That could make an official record claim more difficult, even before the strength of the fishing line is considered.
