Hicks’ lunker bites on a wacky-rigged purple worm in 10 feet of water
When the bite is on at Toledo Bend, it doesn’t matter if conditions are cold and windy – or apparently, even if the console radio is blaring while you’re fishing.
That’s what was happening when Ryan Hicks landed a 10.91-pounder in tough weather Tuesday morning.
“I just didn’t think it was possible with the cold, windy conditions,” the 28-year-old angler said.
Hicks, along with Brett Stansel and Sean Vincent, all of Hackberry, were pre-fishing together for an upcoming bass tournament. On Monday, Hicks caught a 6-pounder for his largest bass of the day.
“We launched at 9 in the morning Tuesday and caught four or five bass in Housen before the big one,” Hicks said.
He was throwing a wacky-rigged purple worm in 10 feet of water when the bass struck at about 10:30.
“It hit on front of the boat, and Brett killed the trolling motor so I could work the fish,” Hicks said. “The fish ran right, then moved on to the left. It didn’t jump at all.
“I remember Brett telling Sean to get the net, and the fish was in the boat in no time.”
Once the big bass was on the deck, all the anglers could do was just sit a while and admire its size.
“We never saw one alive that big,” Hicks said.
Hicks caught the fish on 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon spooled onto a Shimano Curado 200 reel with a 6-foot, 8-inch Shimano Crucial rod.
“We weighed it on a handheld scale we had on the boat,” Hicks said. “The display read 10.81 pounds.”
With the huge bass safely in the livewell, the anglers battened everything down and headed to Fin & Feather Resort to see if it qualified for entry into the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.
“Officially it weighed 10.91 pounds,” he said.
Since the bass weighed more than 10 pounds and was tagged and released, Hicks will receive a free replica of his fish courtesy of the Toledo Bend Lake Association. His bass is lunker No. 25 for the 2014-15 Lunker Bass Program season, which ends later this spring.
“We fished the rest of the day and caught a good box of fish,” Hicks said. “All were above 14 inches.
“We also fished Wednesday, and Brett caught the largest bass of the day – a 6.2-pounder.”
