02-24-2007, 04:05 PM
Jason Layred, above, wasn't having a very good day bass fishing not too long ago. He was in a Quincy Bass Masters club tournament and the bites were few and far between for him. His partner in the boat, David Perkins, was putting a few small fish in the boat by casting a worm, but Layred was convinced he would eventually catch a big one by throwing a Bandit crankbait. He was right, but it wasn't the type bass he was after.
“When he hit it was just a light tic. I put a little pressure on him and thought, uh oh, this thing has a little size to it,” Layred said. “The fish came towards the boat at first, passed by and that's when I saw how big it was. It continued on and the battle started.”
The big fish was a 32.34-pound striped bass, one of the largest taken from the Apalachicola River area in a long time. “We were actually fishing in the Intracoastal Waterway between Lake Wimico and the river.”
“At first I thought it was a big redfish, so I told my partner Dave to get the net. He stood there for about 5 minutes, then put the net down and said to call him when the fish was in.”
Twenty minutes later Perkins netted Layerd's striper, but the fish was so heavy he couldn't lift it alone without breaking the net. Together they boated the fish. Turned out to be a good day after all.
[signature]
“When he hit it was just a light tic. I put a little pressure on him and thought, uh oh, this thing has a little size to it,” Layred said. “The fish came towards the boat at first, passed by and that's when I saw how big it was. It continued on and the battle started.”
The big fish was a 32.34-pound striped bass, one of the largest taken from the Apalachicola River area in a long time. “We were actually fishing in the Intracoastal Waterway between Lake Wimico and the river.”
“At first I thought it was a big redfish, so I told my partner Dave to get the net. He stood there for about 5 minutes, then put the net down and said to call him when the fish was in.”
Twenty minutes later Perkins netted Layerd's striper, but the fish was so heavy he couldn't lift it alone without breaking the net. Together they boated the fish. Turned out to be a good day after all.
[signature]