Ogden’s bass is lunker No. 11 in the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass program for 2014-15
Colby Ogden knew conditions were right for flipping a jig.
So on Sunday, Oct. 12, the Kountze, Texas angler and a fishing buddy decided to do some practicing for an upcoming Bass-N-Bucks tournament on Toledo Bend.
The anglers launched from Fin & Feather at daybreak and headed immediately for the Housen area.
“It was really cloudy and we had low-light conditions, and those are the best for flipping grass,” Ogden said.
Arriving at their first stretch of grass, he immediately caught a 2-pounder. Continuing on in 12- to 14-feet of water, Ogden soon saw his line take off before his Strike King 1 ¼-ounce jig hit the bottom.
“I reared back and got a good hookset,” Ogden said. “Then she pulled back into the grass so I knew it was a good fish.”
But it didn’t take long to get the bass near the boat: Ogden was using heavy tackle, including a 7-foot-6-inch, extra-heavy action rod equipped with a fast 7.3:1 reel spooled with 80-pound braid.
“When she pulled out of the grass, I realized how really big she was,” he said.
After lipping her into the boat, the men motored over to a nearby angler and asked him to weigh the bass.
“He said it weighed 10.26 pounds, so we made the decision to trailer the boat and head over to Toledo Town and Tackle to officially weigh her,” he said.
Ogden’s big bass made the ride well with a little salt placed in the livewell.
“They weighed her, and I watched as she was tagged,” Ogden said. “Then I went back and released her exactly where I caught her, and she looked very healthy as she swam away.”
After releasing the fish, the anglers went on to catch 20 pounds of bass for the rest of the day.
Officially, Ogden’s bass weighed 10.27 pounds at Toledo Town and Tackle. Since she weighed more than 10 pounds and was tagged and released back into Toledo Bend Waters, Ogden met the necessary requirements to obtain a free replica of the lunker courtesy of the Toledo Bend Lake Association.
Ogden’s bass is lunker No. 11 entered into the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program for the 2014-15 season.