14.5 lb LM caught at Chickamauga Dec 30th

[Schleprock]

http://newschannel9.com/sports/outdo...w-state-record

Pretty nice catch , I always thought largemouth quit biting when the water got cold but they seem to catch nice fish out of chickamauga every day of the year

Guy is friend of one of my coworkers , pretty cool

[Texas_Rig]

That's awesome. They don't quit eating. They are just harder to locate. They will school up really tight and suspend a lot. That limits your lure choices. Go buy some ARigs and learn how to fish them. They are the best big fish bait out there period. You kinda need the right conditions with clear water being the biggest factor.

[TnCreekMaster]

The big sows always seem to be caught from now till early march, last February is when the high school teacher caught the new state record 15.2 largie on the chick

[Schleprock]

Yes A rigs seem to be very effective at the Chick, bought a few to try last year at Dale Hollow and Center Hill but never tied one on, may have to make the hour and a half drive to Chickamauga and learn both the lake and the A rig

I guess if you are going to fish there you better fish the winter because spring and summer is ridiculous , went there early summer on a Sunday morning 6am, ramp was jammed packed, had to wait in line to fish lol

[thewudd]

too bad he kept the fish...

[Texas_Rig]

I've thought a little about the fact that he kept the fish. I've come to the conclusion that I'm all for it if someone wants to keep a fish like that. I know for 100% certainty that I would not kill a fish just to mount it. I don't care how big it is. I've seen comments that people say you never know until you catch one that big. That's BS. I can assure you that I would never kill a fish just to have it mounted. With that said, I still don't frown upon it. The guy did nothing illegal and fish that big are almost certainly done giving back to the bass population by spawning. The only other benefit it would be to anglers would be if someone else caught it.

[Schleprock]

Originally Posted by Texas_Rig

I've thought a little about the fact that he kept the fish. I've come to the conclusion that I'm all for it if someone wants to keep a fish like that. I know for 100% certainty that I would not kill a fish just to mount it. I don't care how big it is. I've seen comments that people say you never know until you catch one that big. That's BS. I can assure you that I would never kill a fish just to have it mounted. With that said, I still don't frown upon it. The guy did nothing illegal and fish that big are almost certainly done giving back to the bass population by spawning. The only other benefit it would be to anglers would be if someone else caught it.

At first I was upset about that then I read what the TWRA said about it, the chances of the fish surviving was pretty slim due to the age and it was pretty close to the end of its lifespan so the loss of reproductivity was minimal.