Perkins’ fish weighs in at 10.46 pounds, earns Bass Cash Bash winnings
The third time was the charm for Garret Perkins when he targeted a big bedding bass on March 25 in the Negreet area of Toledo Bend.
The 25-year-old Mamou angler was fishing in about 3 to 4 feet of water on a channel swing next to some buck brush around 9 a.m. when he spotted the big female.
“She bit twice, and the third time was when she held on long enough to where I could set the hook,” he said, noting he was fishing with a white Cajun Lures Craw Texas-rigged with a ⅜-ounce weight. “I probably made 25 or 30 flips before then.”
The huge fish put on an aerial display, jumping six or seven times before Perkins, who was fishing alone, finally lipped it in.
“When I lipped her, I was telling myself, ‘This can’t be what I think it is.’ I thought she was a 5- or 6-pounder on the bed, but I didn’t realize it was 3 or 4 feet deep. I was thinking it was 2 feet deep,” Perkins said. “When I first hooked her, she came out and shook and I knew then she was at least a 7- or 8-pounder.
“Once I grabbed her and pulled her in and looked at her, I knew I probably had a 10-plus.”
On top of it being his biggest bass ever, Perkins had signed up for the BassCashBash tournament the day before at Toledo Town & Tackle, so he earned a cool $1,500 for catching a certified 10-pounder with the bonus.
At Buckeye Landing’s official scales, the fish weighed 10.46 pounds, and measured 25 ¼ inches long with a 19-inch girth — easily qualifying Perkins for entry into the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program, which awards anglers who return double-digit fish to the reservoir with a complimentary mount.
