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May
30, 2007
 At approximately 6:30 on the evening of April 16, 2007, Gary Guthrie of Jasper,
Alabama caught a 10-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass from the Sipsey Creek arm of
Smith Lake. The fish was weighed on certified scales at the Alabama Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries Division District 1 office in Tanner, Ala., and was
verified by fisheries biologist Keith Floyd. The bass measured 26.1 inches in
length with a girth of 19 inches.
This was the first bass accepted by the Alabama Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division for lake record
consideration as part of the Alabama Angler Recognition Program. The first goal
of the new program is to help promote fishing by recognizing anglers who catch
large or trophy-sized sportfish from Alabama waters. Secondly, it will provide
Fisheries Section biologists with valuable catch information for following
fishery trends in the reservoirs they manage. The third objective is to
establish a system for maintaining lake records for many of Alabama’s sportfish
species including species of black bass. Finally, it will allow anglers an
opportunity to have their catch information compiled, analyzed, and reported to
them.
At the present time, only eight of the 64 public lakes or reservoirs in Alabama
have established lake records to help them discover when, where, and on what
types of lures big fish are caught. To learn more about the Alabama Angler
Recognition Program and to view current lake records, visit
www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/record/.
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