10.77-pounder leads the pack
Eric Fusilier was fishing a bass club tournament when he hooked what turned out to be one of four 10-pound bass caught at Toledo Bend since Feb. 28, according to the Toledo Bend Lake Association.
The Ville Platte native’s big bass, caught on March 3, tipped the Fin & Feather Resort scales at 10.77 pounds.
“We were fishing in Six Mile, trying to find 8- to 10-foot grass,” Fusilier said. “We were fishing bladed jigs and crankbaits, ripping (the lures) through the grass.
“I caught an 8-pounder last weekend, in almost the same damned place.”
Fusilier cast out a Strike King KVD 2.5 crankbait at about 8 a.m, and he had almost reeled the lure back to the boat when a fish struck.
“It happened pretty quick,” Fusilier said. “It did a head shake, head shake on the bottom, and when I pulled on it, it came up and jumped three or four times right at the boat.
“We didn’t have a net, so we had to lip it.”
He and his fishing buddy did a quick celebration, put the huge bass in the livewell and went back to work.
“I probably should have gone straight to Fin & Feather,” Fusilier admitted. “Well, hell, we had a tournament to fish.”
So the bass rode around in the boat until it was weighed in at Pendleton Bridge at almost 5 p.m.
It anchored a stringer that went right at 22 pounds, but the team ended up losing the two-day tournament by a mere 4 ounces.
Other anglers catching Toledo Bend Lunker Program entries between Feb. 28 and March 4 were:
• Wisconsin’s Lucas Markus, who weighed in a 10.45-pounder on Feb. 28.• Keith Carmouche, who tagged a bass weighing 10.61 pounds on March 2.• Lance Turpin, who caught a 10.21-pounder on March 3.
Click here to keep up with all the huge bass being caught this spring.
