I caught this beast yesterday in the Memphis city limits.  It's twice as big as any bass I've ever caught (I had caught a handful of six pounders before, but was "stuck" at six).  I went walking with my wife and baby girl yesterday afternoon around our neighborhood lake.  As always, I was scouting.  Last year, I saw some monsters along this same bank this time of year on their beds but could not for the life of me provoke a bite.  

 

Saw this shadow on her bed-- she looked big, but had no idea how big.  Came back after our walk with a Senko.  Threw it for five minutes or so and the bass was not interested.  Then put on a shallow crank-- she started turning towards it.  I stopped the crank right on top of her and all of a sudden I see a giant mouth take the crank from the top of the water.  

 

Great fight-- could not believe how big she was when she jumped.  I only had 8 lb test on.  It was the most nerve-racking minute of my life.  The best part was when I pulled the fish out of the water-- there was an elderly gentleman crappie fishing nearby-- and the look on his face!  He was laughing and just so happy-- I wish I could take that amount of joy from someone else's catch (honestly, I'd probably be jealous).

 

Anyways, my pops came with the scales and she weighed in at over 12 and a half pounds.  Had a good photo session with the fish before letting her go-- she swam off with no problems.   I'm still in absolute disbelief this happened (and I was so amped after catching her that I left my rod on the bank-- came back to look for it this morning and it was gone). 

Congrats! They make new rods everyday, you got what counted!!

Wow! Great job!

Great Bass ~ !

Congrats 

A-Jay

That is a tank, congrats. 

Very nice fish!

Congrats!!!  She's a giant!

 

 

scott

 

OINKER FOR SURE!! 

Sweet man, congrats.

Nice!

Sheesh!!! 

Epic fish and great story!

Bass of a lifetime, your excitement is all over your face, thanks for sharing.

Tom

Wow....yeah, I would happily sacrifice a rod/reel for that hawg.  BRAVO!

Sorry about the rig, but that’s a real tank!!

AWESOME !!!!!

That fish is only about 6 lbs.... ON EACH SIDE! Congrats!...

Awesome fish id leave 2 rods on the bank for a fish like that.

Very nice! Congratulations. You may be stuck at 12.8 for a few weeks.

Congrats on the new PB. That one will be tough to beat. 

Catching GIANTS in Memphis (set to the tune of Walking in Memphis)

 

Put on my walking shoes 
And I headed down to the lake
Looked around where I had seen a few
And I started to shake
Went back and got my stuff
She didn’t want a senko
But a crank was good enough

 

Catching GIANTS in Memphis
Was within 10 feet of the bank
Catching GIANTS in Memphis
I don’t even feel like this is real

 

 

3 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Catching GIANTS in Memphis (set to the tune of Walking in Memphis)

 

Put on my walking shoes 
And I headed down to the lake
Looked around where I had seen a few
And I started to shake
Went back and got my stuff
She didn’t want a senko
But a crank was good enough

 

Catching GIANTS in Memphis
Was within 10 feet of the bank
Catching GIANTS in Memphis
I don’t even feel like this is real

 

 

This is great!

Update: Apparently a neighbor found my rod.  Hopefully I'll get it back tomorrow.  In lieu of having the fish mounted (since she's released) if my crankbait is still on there, I might frame it. 

18 hours ago, DrAloha said:

she weighed in at over 12 and a half pounds. 

Amazing catch, man! Congrats. That beauty beats our state record in NY by a pound! Salute!

Wow!!!!

Absolutely a Gorgeous Fish!!!

congratulations 

what color was the Senko it didn’t bite, and what color was the crank bait?

What's also great is that I made this post the same time last year:

I caught the big one in the same place as the fish I referenced in this post last year.  

On 4/14/2021 at 10:17 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Congrats! They make new rods everyday, you got what counted!!

I wouldn't care if I lost my rod, tackle, and my kayak after catching a fish like that.