Biggest River Bass EVER

Biggest River Bass Ever: 5.79#

I grew up fishing on rivers and still today they seem to amaze me.  They are constantly changing which can be good and can be bad.  However, one thing remains the same, they will always get most of my fishing time when chasing bass. 

As mentioned, I have fished rivers throughout the state from a boat for almost three decades.  Yesterday was a milestone, the biggest river bass I have ever seen graced my presence.   I have caught several bass over six pounds, but they have all been on lakes in the state.  When I finally grabbed this bass after a good fight, I thought just maybe I had another six-pound bass.  When my friend told me what the scale said, I was elated, a true giant!  The largemouth weighed in at 5.79# on the Rapala digital scale.  A true giant anywhere, but quite possibly a once in a lifetime river bass for me. After a few pics the big girl was released for hopefully another spawn next spring.  As you can see from the picture, she was in great shape except her tail fin.

Like most river bass this time of year, she was laying in deeper water in the current.  She couldn't resist a Hot Rod Baits Texas-rigged tube dragged in front of her.  When I set the hook I knew it was good, but didn't realize how good until she surfaced for the first time.  Equipment is key anytime while fishing, and matching your bait with the right rod/reel makes for catches like this.  A 7'2" Quantum Smoke Medium/Heavy action rod with a Accurist reel/15# test line made it possible.  She took the bait, and rest is a fond memory. 

The Big River

It is always great to hit the big river with high school friend Trent. After fishing separate Friday and Saturday and catching all the 1.5-2# bass you want, we decided to change gears and head north on Pool 9 yesterday.  We fished the Bass Nation Event against some of the best bass anglers from all over Iowa.  We were able to bring in 12.12# which, just as we thought was just out of the top 5, and finished in 7th place. 

Making the bass bite this past weekend wasn't the trick, if was just locating them.  Again, we both found many areas that had smaller keepers feeding up, but in this event we knew we needed a 2.5# average to compete for some money.  We targeted current, and it seemed like the more the better which is typical for July/August on the big river.  3 different baits caught all our fish on tournament day.  The Optimum Baits Furbit Frog, swimjig, and a Hot Rod Baits 4-inch tube.  We slung these baits around on a variety of Quantum Rods and Reels.  Our largest fish of the day, a largemouth fell to a Hot Rod Baits tube rigged Texas style, it was just over 3.50#. 

Although it was hot, and very humid it was another enjoyable day on the Mississippi River.

July Indee HS Bass Club Tournament

July Champions: Jackson/Captain Randy Toale/Dalton

Covid-19 canceled the April tournament, high Wapsi River levels canceled the June tournament, but the July event was huge success for the Indee Bass Club.  The tournament was held on Wednesday, July 8th in downtown Independence on the Wapsi.  Twenty-five students participated in this free event held by the Indee Bass Club.  Students entering 7th grade all the way to graduated seniors participated.

Mother Nature shined down on the participants that night, perhaps a little too much.  Sunny skies with heat indexes reaching 100 degrees greeted the anglers as they took off at 4:30pm.  Cold water was as much a necessity as a rod and reel on this night.  Anglers traveled up to 5 miles on the Wapsi to find largemouth and smallmouth bass to weigh in.  Each boat was allowed to bring 5 bass to the scale that measured at least 12 inches in length to be weighed for their team total.  Each boat also had adult volunteers known as captains to assist kids and help them learn the sport of the bass fishing.  Thirteen boats took off in search of their best bass spots on the Wapsi, and many of them were not disappointed.

Of the 13 boats, nine of them were able to catch bass for the live weigh-in.  This was just one boat away from tying a club record for ten boats weighing in bass.  As a group, nineteen bass were weighed in, thirteen largemouth bass and six smallmouth bass.  Jackson Toale was able to catch the largest bass of the tournament, a 3.00# largemouth bass.  This earned him the Hank's Bait and Tackle Big Bass Prize Pack.  Carter Cameron just missed this accolade with a 2.95# smallmouth bass.  Two fish any bass angler across the state would be proud of!  The team of Jackson and Zach captained by Steve McGraw had one bass weighing 1.53# for 9th place.  The cousin duo of Scott and Nathan, captained by Rick Wendling had one bass that weighed 1.89# for 8th place.  Landry and Caleb had one bass that weighed 2.21# for 7th place.  Chad O'Brien captained Kellen and Caden to one nice Wapsi bass that weighed 2.24# for 6th place.  Caleb and Teegan found two river bass that weighed 3.33#, good enough for 5th place, captained by Keith Corkery.  Dave Wilson captained Cam and Zach to a 4th place finish with 2 bass that weighed 3.59#.  Justin and Hunter, captained by Eric Johnston caught three smallmouth bass that weighed 4.71# and ended up in 3rd place.  Ranger and Carter, captained by Todd Reed, caught three bass that weighed 7.27#, good enough for a 2nd place finish in their first ever bass tournament.  Randy Toale captained Jackson and Dalton to five keeper bass that weighed 11.69# to win the event.  The top two teams received trophies, Scheels gift cards and hats.

2nd Place: Carter/Ranger/Captain Todd Reed

After the weigh-in the club was able to give away over $700 in fishing gear through a random drawing to the students.  These prizes are made possible by these club sponsors; Bank Iowa, Klever Concrete, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Quantum Rods and Reels, The Rod Glove, Hot Rod Baits Bass Series, Scheels of Cedar Falls, and Hank's Bait and Tackle in Waterloo.  Without the help of these great sponsors and the volunteer hours given by the team coaches and captains, this club would not exist.  A huge thank you to the many captains that take the kids out during these events and help teach them the sport of fishing.
Search Indee Bass Club to find more information on Facebook and their website.  This club is open to any student entering 7th grade through 12th grade of the Independence Community Schools District, including St. John's.  The Indee Bass Club is the largest school bass club in the state of Iowa.