Orange’s Jason Courville reeled in 11.02-pounder Monday in Mill Creek
The old saying says, ‘The third time is the charm.’
And that was definitely the case Monday for Orange’s Jason Courvillle, who incredibly scored his third Toledo Bend lunker bass over 10 pounds — since February.
The 48-year-old owner-operator of Jason Courville Guide Service – South Toledo Bend (409-365-8245) reeled in an 11.02-pounder in Mill Creek — his largest double-digit lunker out of four taken in a 13-month period on Toledo Bend waters.
“On Monday morning, the lake was calm but we had a heavy fog that stayed for a while,” Courville said.
The guide and his clients finally took advantage of an open window to launch from Paradise Point Marina.
“We fished our first hole in Mill Creek for about 30 minutes with no luck,” the guide said. “Then we moved to another nearby spot with the same results.
“I told my clients to take just a few more casts before leaving the area.”
Courville was fishing a ½-ounce green-pumpkin JaKKed Baits jig with a green-pumpkin Strike King Rage Craw trailer tied to 25-pound Seaguar Flippin’ fluorocarbon. The line was spooled to a Lew’s Wide Spool reel affixed to a 7-foot 4-inch heavy-action Falcon BuCoo rod.
It was on Courville’s second cast on the edge of the creek in 11 feet of water when he felt a rod-rattling thump at about 8:15.
“The big fish made several runs and the drag was screaming,” he said. “But I was able to get her aboard the boat without wrapping her up since we were in open water.”
Upon seeing and holding the fish, Courville knew it definitely weighed more than 10 pounds. So the angler placed the fish in his livewell, and he and his clients fished for another hour and a half.
Eventually, Courville took the time to drive over to the new Fairmount General Store – a recent addition as an official weigh station for the Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program.
There the giant fish officially weighed 11.02 pounds and measured 25 inches in length, with a 25 ¼-inch circumference.
“Her tail was a little bloody so she must have recently dropped her eggs,” Courville said.
His fish was No. 68 for the 2016-17 Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program season.
The huge bass was eventually released, and Courville will receive another complimentary replica of that fish from the Toledo Bend Lake Association in May.
Courville’s prior two 2017 spring lunkers included a 10.61-pounder taken Feb. 13, and a 10.24-pound bass caught Feb. 19.
He also reeled in a 10.04-pounder in March of 2016.
