Montana Fish Report

Arizona bass angler Steve Jenkins was fishing a local tournament on Roosevelt Lake earlier this month when he caught and released a largemouth bass that weighed 16.57 pounds.

Jenkins and his tournament partner, Mike Selvage, marked a few fish on his forward-facing sonar when they first pulled up, he told Outdoor Life. It was a flat spot with some structure near a drop-off, and some time around 7 a.m. he hooked and broke off a huge fish on a ¼ oz. dropshot rig. He tied on a fresh one, using a 7-pound leader and a 6-inch roboworm rigged on a thin-wire 1/0 hook.

“It was down there for maybe 30 seconds, and I just felt weight," he said. "I never even felt the fish bite, but as soon as I set the hook, it started ripping drag.”

The two anglers chased the fish with their trolling motor, and when the fish jumped, they could just make out its giant profile in the sun. After a few more deep runs, Jenkins fought the fish to the net.

Jenkins told Outdoor Life that, because he was more concerned with keeping the fish alive than certifying a record, he released the monster bass right after the weigh-in.

AZGFD maintains fish records in "Kept" and "Catch and Release" categories, and this fish may have been eligible for a "Catch and Release" record. Unfortunately, the fish was not measured at the tournament (only weighed), and the scale that it was weighed on was not certified. Jenkins would have had to bring the fish to a certified scale for a certified weight, and to a department office for inspection by a biologist as required in the Fishing Regulations. So it can't be considered an official record.

Jenkins says the important thing is that the fish is still alive and kicking somewhere in Roosevelt Lake. “The intention was always to release it," he said. "I would have hated to kill that fish. And it was good . . . she swam off strong.”

Read the full Outdoor Life article.