Lake Fork Fishing Photos

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World Record Hybrid Yellow Bass
caught from Lake Fork 3-12-05

Haul marks: It's catch as catch can
Now for the world record that almost didn't get recognized. Curtis Campbell of Hurst caught the fish last spring. He was fishing for largemouth bass at Lake Fork, using live shiners for bait. A few minutes into the trip on a blustery day, Campbell got a bite and reeled in a fish that was not a largemouth.

"Man, that's a big crappie," said Campbell's fishing partner, Derrel Vanoy of Fort Worth. Vanoy is a largemouth bass fisherman who just glanced at the catch before declaring it a crappie. Campbell put the fish in the live well, and they fished the rest of the day without another bite.

They still thought the fish was a crappie when trying to weigh it on marina scales. Only then were they told that Campbell had caught a hybrid yellow bass. The species is a natural hybrid between yellow bass and white bass. Campbell's fish measured 19 inches long by 18 inches in girth and weighed 4.75 pounds. That's three-fourths of a pound heavier than the old state record, which was also caught from Lake Fork.

Ray Runyan caught the previous record fish in March 2003. Runyan's catch is also recognized as the world record by the International Game Fish Association. Because the Campbell fish was a hybrid, Texas Parks and Wildlife took a tissue sample and had it analyzed to verify the species.

The process took a long time to complete, and Campbell's mistaken-identity catch is just now being recognized as a new state record.

Campbell has been fishing three years. He's having a replica made of his record catch and will probably submit the paperwork for a new IGFA world record.

Kevin Storey, the TP&W biologist who monitors Lake Fork, said yellow bass are native to the water shed. He believes white bass at Fork were stocked illegally by fishermen.

"They don't seem to be hurting anything," Storey said. "I really don't know why Lake Fork has produced two state record yellow bass hybrids."

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State Record Hybrid Yellow Bass
Caught March 27, 2003 by Ray Runyan.
The bass weighed 4.01 lbs. and had a girth of 15 inches and was 18 inches long. This could possibly be a WORLD record. We will post when we receive more info. Photo courtesy of Axton's Bass City

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