I love being notified of exceptional fish catches on Lake Travis. A new lake record largemouth bass caught recently near Pt. Venture really got me excited. The long standing record of just over 14 pounds was caught on a cold January day by a shore fisherman using large minnows for catfish. Earlier this month another shore angler was targeting catfish using small live bluegill for bait. Local angler Jim Deaton hooked into a heavy fish a little before sunset.
Jim was shocked when a monster black bass rolled at the surface. Seventeen pound test line helped Jim land this lunker that measured 28 inches in length.
The scales at a Lago Vista store declared the bass to weigh 14 pounds, 12 ounces, almost a half pound bigger than the existing record.
Since the scales were not officially certified, Jim may have to settle for an unofficial record designation. Either way, congratulations to Jim for a fantastic catch!
Apparently the key to catching record bass in Texas is to be fishing for other species with live bait. The state record 18 pound bass was caught by a crappie fisherman using live minnows on Lake Fork.
Lake Travis shorelines are teeming with bluegill. Surface lures and plastic worms are catching several bluegill every morning for my clients. Getting frequent bluegill bites is almost always a good omen for bass anglers, since bass love to eat bluegill and will be fooled by an artificial lure intruder.
A supply of small bluegill is hard to come by, unless you use a seine in shallow water. This is a two person job that appealed to me in my younger days. By Allen Christenson, Contributing Writer for Statesman.com….