It was supposed to be a simple evening fishing trip on Toledo Bend waters for Terance Corley, his daughter Taylor and her boyfriend Joel LeBlanc.
But after only an hour fishing, 47-year-old Terance Corley of Hemphill, Texas, scored on the very first double-digit bass for the 2020-2021 Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program season.
“We ended up just fishing for an hour,” Corley said. Corley and his daughter were also hoping to get Joel to catch more bass as he had just taken up bass fishing with the Corley family.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, the trio launched out of White Oak landing into some of the best bass waters on Toledo Bend.
They entered Housen Bay, and it didn’t take long for Corley’s daughter, Taylor, to catch and release the first bass of the evening – one estimated to weigh between 4 and 5 pounds.
A little later, Terance Corley was slowly dragging a V&M J-MAG Worm in 25 feet of water with structure adjacent to some shallows nearby.
“I felt the fish hit the lure and it immediately got hung up,” Corley said.
The fish worked itself free as Corley worked it – only to get hung up again in another structure.
“She came up trying to throw the bait,” he said. “I had a scare then because it was the first time we could see the fish, and it was clearly big.
“I was able to get to the trolling motor and move to where the fish got free.”
Boating the big bass
Immediately, the huge bass came up to the top and Corley reeled her to the side of the boat where Taylor’s net was waiting.
Once aboard, the anglers admired the fish and it was weighed on a portable scale.
“It weighed 10.2 pounds on my scale,” Corley said.
All three anglers agreed the trip was over as Corley wanted to officially weigh his fish for entry into the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.
Corley made a quick phone call to Keith’s Toledo Bend Tackle, and the scale was readied for the anglers upon arrival.
On the certified scale, Corley’s Bass weighed 10.17 pounds and was recorded as the first double-digit bass for the 2020-2021 Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.
This bass was the second bass over 10 pounds taken by Corley, his first taken some years back weighing 10.33 pounds.
Corley’s wife, Nicole, actually has the largest bass taken in the family, an immense bass weighing 11.93 pounds – the largest bass taken during the 2017-2018 Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program season.
Terance Corley
- Date fish taken: 6/16/2020
- Angler’s name: Terance Corley
- Hometown: Hemphill, Texas
- Location where fish taken: Housen
- Depth taken: 20-25 feet
- Lure used to catch fish: V&M J-PROZ Series J-MAG Worm
- Other tackle used: (rod, reel, line): 7-foot, 6-inch Castaway rod; Lew’s reel; 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon
- Official Weigh station: Keith’s Toledo Bend Tackle
- Certified bass weight: 10.17 pounds
- Entry number of bass in the 2020-2021 Toledo Bend Lunker Program: 1
- Tagged, released and eligible for replica from Toledo Bend Lake Association: Yes
