This might be the one that got away.
An angler participating in a fishing tournament may have caught a fishing” target=”_blank”>new state record striped bass< before getting it weighed or officially measured.
Stephen Tyson Jr. caught the large striped bass while participating in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the lake is stocked with stripers, as are several other lakes in the northern parts of the state.
Tyson had been fishing for black bass. Once he hooked a fish, he realized he had something pretty large on his line.
MONTANA MAN RECEIVES LIFETIME HUNTING BAN AFTER ILLEGALLY KILLING TROPHY MOOSE
The Arkansas record for striped bass is 64 pounds, 8 ounces and was set at Beaver Lake in 2000.
(iStock)
“It gave me a fight,” Tyson told the Arkansas GFC. “I was in a tournament and in (black) bass fishing mode and I had found some nice bass. I saw this big fish (on my scope) and my first thought it was a bass and I saw it come off the bottom and eat my bait.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Stephen Tyson Jr was fishing for black bass when he caught a fish he thinks could have been a state record.
(Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)
The Arkansas record for striped bass is 64 pounds, 8 ounces and was set at Beaver Lake in 2000.
While he doesn’t know the exact weight of the fish, Tyson had previously caught a fish that weighed just over 50 pounds and he believes that this fish was much heavier.
After taking photos, he let the fish back into the water.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
“When I released it, it really sank in, ‘You let that one go,’” he said. “The one thing I regret is not getting it weighed. But at that moment, it was literally the first 5-10 minutes of the tournament. I’m not going to stop fishing for bass. Starting out that fast, I knew I had a chance of at least 20 pounds. But then catching a striper that size, oh my god. It’s a fish of a lifetime.”
