Giant Mississippi Bass is Only County Record
Bob McNally 03.03.17
Little 138-acre Neshoba Lake in east-central Mississippi near the town of Philadelphia gave up a massive 14.3-pound largemouth bass on the last day in February to local angler Austin Vowell.
Almost anywhere else it would be a fish of state-record size, but it only is a county record, eclipsing the old mark of 14-pounds set in 2011.
Neshoba is a state fishing lake open to the public, and it’s obviously a good one for bass many anglers would give a lot to catch.
“Our state fishing lakes offer excellent fishing for largemouth bass, bream, crappie, and catfish,” said Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) State Lake Coordinator Jerry Brown. “Each lake maintains a list of the record fish and we encourage anglers to let us know if they believe their catch might be a new record.”
Vowell will receive a record fish certificate from MDWFP, and a copy will be on display at the lake’s office and on the lake’s information page of MDWFP’s website.
Fish that qualify for a state lake record include largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie, and catfish. Potential record fish must be verified by a member of the Fisheries Bureau staff.
The Mississippi state record bass is a mind-boggling 18.15-pounder, caught by Anthony Denny in Dec. 1992 from Natchez State Park Lake.
