15lb bass on the High Power Herring video added

[Chris at Tech]

So do people go out on Varner and catch big bass all the time or does Randall just know this lake extremely well!? I've seen several pictures of nice bass on this lake from him and his clients or friends.

I've spent more time on Varner this year than I have in the past.  MANY people know it much better than me, but I can say I'm not hauling in Varner monsters on my boat.  If I had been, you'd have seen a lot more pictures

I've pulled an 8-15 from Varner -- but I was on Randall's boat

[brushhoggin]

NADINE!!!

[Bassn Blvd]

Nuff said.

[J Francho]

I need a "Hot Herring"with a spot and a stripe.............

[Randall]

So do people go out on Varner and catch big bass all the time or does Randall just know this lake extremely well!? I've seen several pictures of nice bass on this lake from him and his clients or friends.

I am not the only one who gets big ones. These are two of my buddies, Jim and Ted Lee, and they get some big ones and they have a 13lb fish from Varner as well as this giant almost 40lb sack they caught on a spinner bait and a High Power Herring. Adam Stanton (aka Doghouse) who used to fish tournaments with me has stopped fishing Varner and posting much here. He caught a bunch of 10lb bass back when we fished together. Theres some more guys who are good at getting some big tournament sacks on a regular basis as well. Varner is a very tough lake for most though and it takes time to learn to fish it.

[edbassmaster]

I think I speak for everyone on BR who has yet to catch a DD...I KEEL YOU!!

Just kiddin, congrats, thats insane!!

[Randall]

Thanks for all the comments...... even those who want me dead now. ;D

[roadwarrior]

WOW!

                            

                               

[SPEEDBEAD.]

That bass would eat the biggest bass in my home lake and still have room for more. What is the state record down there ?

Fella named George Perry owns the record.

22-4

;D

[Skunked in DR]

Congratulations!!

Simply an amazing fish.

[Skunked in DR]

That bass would eat the biggest bass in my home lake and still have room for more. What is the state record down there ?

Fella named George Perry owns the record.

22-4

;D

ROTFLMAO

[Wild Bill [NY]]

Randall,

Congrats on yet another freaking awesome fish !

That is truly a fish of dreams for most anyone.

Congratulations , and thanks for sharing it with all of us so openly.

[Five-Alive]

good googly moogly what a bass!!

[Bigs]

That bass would eat the biggest bass in my home lake and still have room for more. What is the state record down there ?

Fella named George Perry owns the record.

22-4

;D

Ah yes, that was also the world record till recently too right. Who really knows if that ever happened. Didnt he supposedly eat the bass and never take a pic ? I recall reading something in an old bass fishing bible I got. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume this 15 pounder was released after being registered for a citation or did you throw it right back in after you caught it ?

EDIT: Found this http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

Guess thats supposed to be 7 pounds bigger then the one in this thread ? Doesnt look that much bigger then the 15 pounds 14 ounces does it ? Interesting, any chance this fish you caught was heavier then you think? Was it a digital scale ? I want more details. That fish just looks bigger then almost 16 pounds to me.

[Randall]

That bass would eat the biggest bass in my home lake and still have room for more. What is the state record down there ?

Fella named George Perry owns the record.

22-4

;D

Ah yes, that was also the world record till recently too right. Who really knows if that ever happened. Didnt he supposedly eat the bass and never take a pic ? I recall reading something in an old bass fishing bible I got. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume this 15 pounder was released after being registered for a citation or did you throw it right back in after you caught it ?

EDIT: Found this http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

Guess thats supposed to be 7 pounds bigger then the one in this thread ? Doesnt look that much bigger then the 15 pounds 14 ounces does it ? Interesting, any chance this fish you caught was heavier then you think? Was it a digital scale ? I want more details. That fish just looks bigger then almost 16 pounds to me.

My fish when caught probably weighed 16-17.  It spit a big gizzard after it was caught that had to go between a half pound to a pound.  I have caught three fish between 14 and 16 pounds. All looked different in photos. I posted one last year that was a 14lber but alot of people said it was only eight or nine pounds. I have a better example to compare to Perry's fish which was a 31 1/2 inch fish, compared to perrys 32 inch fish, that is not near as fat as the fish in that photo.

[Randall]

OK here is the story on how the fish was caught. We were on the fish good. Perfect day to go take a shot at some big fish. No rain but windy and overcast. We go up the right arm and were covering water and catching some good fish feeding on grass walls. We were fishing lipless cranks as well as swimbaits. We had a couple good hybrids and a bunch of three and four pound largemouth. So Ben (aka Benito)keeps tossing the lipless crank and I start with the High Power Herring hoping to find us some fish to upgrade the size with. It was pretty much half and half as we continued to get a fish here and there in that same three and four pound size.

Then we got to more of a big fish spot so Ben ties on his brand new never been cast High Power Shad. First cast Ben gets a seven pounder and yells like Ike. So this far all the fish were up on flats or on small drops on the outside of grass walls so Ben keeps working that on one side while I start looking for open water deeper fish on the other side of the boat. Ben is still getting them and I haven't seen any thing following my bait yet.

Then Ben's bite is slow and mine starts to pick up. I miss a giant twice then we go for a while with no strikes so we move to deep water and we are both getting follows and strikes from suspended fish in open water but they are tough to get a good strike from but the size is looking much better. I finally figure out how to get a big one hooked and it straightens and twists an Owner 2x st41 hook.  I saw the fish follow and strike and it looked 10 plus.

So we adjust again and we see bait in open water over channels and I mark some big fish on the depth finder near a good big bass spot. The sun comes out and we have pretty much narrowed down a spot where the fish are coming from. Ben gets a strike from a follower right at the boat and we catch it. I make a cast down the ledge and get a follower. The fish turns off the bait and starts to swim off and I make the bait dart and glide away from the fish and get a reaction from the fish but the fish sucks and spits the bait while slack is in the line. I say something to Ben wanting him to turn and see the fish and at the same time I just kill the bait and deadstick it as the fish swims toward the bottom. I let the bait sit for maybe 10-15 seconds and just give it a twitch. The fish comes from directly below the bait at full speed and clears the water and crashes back down on its side. Since the fish got so high and it happened so fast I am thinking eight pounds at the most so I am calm and the fish is deep so I just crank slowly bringing it in. It comes up under the boat so I never see it. Ben nets the fish right next to the bottom of the boat and I get back on the trolling motor fast excited about the topwater strike we just saw but also worried about getting stuck in the grass we are going toward.

Ben says this fish is bigger than the 14lb fish from Horton so I turn and look and say it's not. I still think I have an eight pounder.  I have a rubber net and Ben has to lean the net down for me to see the fish. Then I get off the motor and let us get stuck in the grass while I look at the fish.

Now we have no livewell or real camera other than our phones so we talk about what to do. I remember the rope at the front of the boat and tie the fish off with it and start calling around to find someone close to bring me a good scale. Dawg1419 is close and can bring the scale so he meets us with almost his whole family. Thanks to you all for bringing the scale. We weigh the fish and get it back swimming in the lake.

[J Francho]

I still think I have an eight pounder.

That is the best part of the story!

Great report.

[fishinfewl]

Man oh man that is a huge fish!  Very nice!

[pudmunk]

The fat lady sang

[Nine Miler]

That bass would eat the biggest bass in my home lake and still have room for more. What is the state record down there ?

Fella named George Perry owns the record.

22-4

;D

Ah yes, that was also the world record till recently too right. Who really knows if that ever happened. Didnt he supposedly eat the bass and never take a pic ? I recall reading something in an old bass fishing bible I got. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume this 15 pounder was released after being registered for a citation or did you throw it right back in after you caught it ?

EDIT: Found this http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

Guess thats supposed to be 7 pounds bigger then the one in this thread ? Doesnt look that much bigger then the 15 pounds 14 ounces does it ? Interesting, any chance this fish you caught was heavier then you think? Was it a digital scale ? I want more details. That fish just looks bigger then almost 16 pounds to me.

You gotta look at the second photo in that link...That fish is as big as that kid.

[bassfisherjk]

Fantastic fish Randall.Congrat's