Father And Son Named Bass Reel In Wyoming’s First World-Record Largemouth

Lake Cameahwait in Fremont County is colloquially known as Bass Lake, and it’s also a favorite fishing spot for father-and-son duo John and Tucker Bass. 

It’s got trout, muskie and “millions of perch,” Tucker, 12, told Cowboy State Daily. 

But best of all, it’s got largemouth bass. 

In August, Tucker caught a 2-pound, 4-ounce bass there. It set the new junior division 4-pound line class world record with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). 

John said they’ve been keeping the big fish on ice, waiting for the IGFA to officially certify the record. And the certification finally came through a few days ago. 

Tucker said they plan to cook it his favorite way, “deep fried.”

John said he’s ready to dig in. 

“We planned on eating the fish as soon as we got official approval of the world record. And now we’ll have a world-record dinner,” he said.

‘It’s A Baaasss!’

The Bass family is originally from Tennessee, which has legendary bass fishing. Tucker has fond memories of bass fishing with his grandparents there.  

They moved to Wyoming several years ago and live in Shoshoni. 

Tucker said that at first, he wasn’t sure about relocating out West. 

“I didn’t know if Wyoming had bass fishing,” he said. 

His worries were soon put to rest.

"During one outing, I saw a bass chasing my lure and I yelled, ‘It’s a baaassss!’” he said.

Ever since, he’s enjoyed catching bass, and just about every other fish species in Wyoming.

Caught On An Ice Fishing Jig

His best Wyoming catch so far was landing the record-breaking largemouth on a bright, clear summer morning. 

Despite the weather, he was using a Northland tungsten jig originally designed for ice fishing. 

John said they’d discovered earlier that the jig worked well for catching perch any time of year. 

“Tucker was fishing for perch that morning. He didn’t set out to catch a bass, much less a record-breaking bass,” he said. 

He was using a Bass Pro Shops Micro-Lite rod, mounted with a Shimano Sahara 1000 reel, a gift from his grandfather. 

As John describes it, the bass’ strike came suddenly, “a sharp, powerful tug on the line.”

Just as his father had taught him, Tucker had to keep just enough pressure on the line. 

Too little, and the bass might slip the hook. Too much, and the hefty fish would snap the line. 

After a long fight, Tucker landed his prize. 

The catch has historical significance; it’s the only IGFA-certified world record largemouth bass ever caught in Wyoming, John said. 

‘Fun For Little Kids’

Tucker said it’s wild to think he caught a world-record bass in Wyoming, and he hopes to catch more giant largemouth. 

And he’ll never get tired of catching perch here. 

He said when taking younger friends and relatives out, it seems as if they’ve landed “hundreds” of the tasty fish. 

“Perch fishing is fun for little kids,” he said. 

“’Fun for little kids? You’re the one who always wants to fish for them,’” John replied, jokingly. 

With winter finally setting in, they mused over the upcoming ice fishing season.

Tucker said ice fishing can be fun, if things are going well. 

“It depends on whether you’re catching fish or you’re not. It’s not fun to be freezing your butt off if you’re not catching anything,” he said. 

“Amen,” replied John.

“You can have fun fishing on a warm day, even if you’re not catching anything. With ice fishing, it’s not that way,” he added. 

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.