State Record Bass

Although the Florida State record bass caught by Billy O'Berry in Polk County in 1986 was a whopping 17.27 pounds, every year we see giant bass caught in our State that come closer and closer to eventually busting his 30 year plus record.

Recent submissions to FWC’s Trophy Catch citizen-science program of giant 14, 15, and 16 pound bass  has a lot of bass fishermen and biologists in our area betting on when and where the next state record will show up.

Nathaniel Scott Kicklighter's huge 14 pound, 11 ounce bass below had a lot of people thinking that he had broken the record but it wasn't in the cards.

If you get lucky and land what you believe is a new State record black bass, you won't get credit for it unless it is certified in person by an FWC biologist. 

To properly certify a new Florida state record fish, an FWC biologist must first identify the fish species, and an FWC employee, usually but not necessarily the same individual, must then witness the fish weighing on a certified scale. 

Anglers can check the current state records at BigCatchFlorida.com and clicking on “State Record”.     If you believe you have caught a record fish, immediately notify the nearest FWC regional office. 

Contact information for FWC regional offices can be found at MyFWC.com/contact by clicking on “Contact an FWC office” then the “Regional Operations” tab.

Do not confuse the state record certification with the FWC’s TrophyCatch program.


The TrophyCatch program is a citizen-science program that partners with industry leaders, such as Bass Pro Shops, to offer rewards for the catch, documentation and release of largemouth bass weighing 8 pounds or more. 

Nathaniel Scott Kicklighter's fish has just become the current leader for TrophyCatch’s eighth season with his 14 pound, 11 ounce bass that he caught from an unnamed lake in Putnam County.

The FWC’s North Central Regional Fisheries Administrator Allen Martin said that  “It’s important to note that while all that is needed to submit a fish for TrophyCatch is a photo of the entire fish on a scale with the weight clearly visible, that photo is not enough to certify a state record”. 

Black Bass In East Gator Creek

I've been fishing this area for at least 25 years and this is the first time I have ever caught Black Bass in East Gator Creek.

I left the house with Elmo, Odie, and my wife to pick up her vehicle which was having work done on it.

Thunderstorms were rolling through the area as usual for this time of the year and after switching vehicles, I decided to go fishing while Karen took the "boys" back to the house.

I always carry three spinning rods in the truck with a selection of lures so I didn't need to drive back to the house to get any gear.

The air temperature was in the low 80s after the rain and there was only a hint of wind across the water.

I stopped at the first culverts to toss a Chug Bug around and immediately hooked into a large ladyfish  that was about two and a half feet long.  It jumped twice before tossing the bait back to me.

I wasted about 15 minutes trying to get another hit but the fish had lockjaw, so I moved up to the main flats.

Several casts with the Chug Bug and an XPS Slim Dog picked up another smaller ladyfish that I returned to the water.

Some people were parked off the road so I moved to an area where I occasionally catch tarpon this time of the year.

I smeared up the Chug Bug with some Pro-Cure offshore formula and started fan casting the area.

I picked up a "dink" sea trout that was almost smaller than the Chug Bug.  I shook off the fish and after a couple more casts hooked into what I thought was a "gator" sea trout.

The fish blasted the Chug Bug and took off through the weeds on a nice run. 

I knew immediately that it was not a sea trout because of the weight and how the fish was fighting.

I was fishing 10 pound line without a shock leader so I took my time landing the fish.

The fish got tangled in the brush along the bank but I waited it out and finally lipped it onto the bank.

I was really surprised to see that it was a black bass of about 4 pounds or so.

I took a series of pics and a screwed up "selfie" before releasing the fish.

I'm not positive what species of bass it was.  It looked like a large mouth without the black line, almost like a smallie. 

Anyway, I continued fishing the area and had one more hit from another bass that got off at the bank.

I made a few more casts but the area was spooked from the action and there was a cute little gator that was getting too interested in my Chug Bug, so I moved on to one other area I wanted to fish before going home.

The roads along East Gator creek and Gator Creek were being worked on and they did a great job.  Unfortunately, Gator Creek Road is still closed as is Catfish Creek Loop.

When I got to the last spot I intended to fish this evening, I pulled out my Chug Bug rod and started fan casting the small pond.

It took about four well placed casts before hooking up with a small spotted sea trout that I quickly released.

I saw another large fish blasting baitfish on the surface so I tossed the Chug Bug into the area and immediately had a hookup with what I call and "almost gator trout".   

The sea trout put up a good fight and after a couple of runs, I pulled it onto the bank and took these pics before releasing it.   

The fish was a spawned out female that was a little over two feet long.

I kept fishing Chug Bug without any more hits so I switched rods and started tossing the XPS Slim Dog around the area.

I had two fish boil on the lure but no hookups, so after about 15 minutes or so, I decided to call it a day.

I was eaten up by insects and beat this afternoon and the selfie really shows it.

On the way out of the refuge, I considered it a good trip.  Two ladyfish, three spotted sea trout, and a black bass.

Not a bad trip at all!

Till next time,
Tight Lines.