Herr’s second 10-plus pounder in just nine days anchors the sack
Most bass anglers go their whole lives without catching a 10-pound fish, but George Herr accomplished the feat twice in a matter of just nine days.
And to top it off, the 10.97-pounder he reeled in Sunday morning, Nov. 9, was part of a jaw-dropping five-fish stringer that tipped the scales at a whopping 40.45 pounds.
“In talking to many of the veteran bass anglers who were here in the early days of the lake, they just can’t recall a stringer of five bass over 40 pounds taken by one man in one day,” Herr said.
He had headed out that morning alone in his Phoenix 921 fishing a Many Bass Club event and went to the exact ridge in Six Mile Creek where he caught his Halloween Day 10-pounder.
Using the same Lucky Strike Sammy topwater plug, the 59-year-old angler made a series of casts, but got no action.
“I had no bites at 7, so I switched to a jig and caught one at 2.83 pounds,” he said.
That turned out to be just a small hint of what was to come, as the fishing gods smiled down on Herr for about the next 50 minutes.
“By 7:50, I had the boat back on the trailer and was headed to Toledo Town,” he said.
Using a homemade, 3/8-ounce jig, the angler ended up hooking 40.45 pounds of bass including the huge 10.97-pounder.
“I culled the bass weighing 2.83 pounds to make room for the 10.97-pounder,” he said. “I immediately made my way to Toledo Town and Tackle with those fish because I was worried about all that weight in the livewell.
“I weighed-in two bass at Toledo Town and Tackle — the 10.97-pounder and one weighing 9.15 pounds.”
The remaining bass on Herr’s monster stringer weighed 8.13-, 6.39- and 5.81-pounds
As for the lunker, Herr said she didn’t put up much of a fight. He was flipping his jig on 20-pound Izorline mono spooled on an Abu Garcia Revo STX reel attached to a 7-foot medium-heavy Fenwick rod when the fish hit.
“When I flipped in the grass, the fish grabbed it and made an immediate run to a stump,” he said. “I set the hook and she pulled just a little drag. I put the trolling motor on high and ran to the stump, and I reeled her to the boat and netted the fish.”
Needless to say, Herr’s stringer earned him first place in the tournament
And since he once again tagged and released the 10-plus pounder, he’s set to receive his second complimentary replica from the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.
Herr’s 10.97-pounder is the 14th fish entered for the 2014-15 season.
