Blast From the Past

Was moving some stuff in the garage for the wife and bumped into this. Thought some folks here would like to see it. Hopefully some people actually remember it because it caused quite a buzz.

The angler is Joe Shelby. This fish was caught in March in the early 2000s back when the stripers used to stack up in the back of the sloughs. We had started our day here and we were whackin' 'em. Top water, jerkbaits, and flies. Joe was tossing a small orange and yellow Whistler. Maybe a size 1. This girl bit and we didn't really think much of it. Figured just another 5lb Striper until she flashed just under the surface and we saw a giant black stripe for a split second. The next 30 seconds is still a blur but it was an Oh 'Bleep'. moment to say the least.

Joe managed to whip her pretty fast and when I lipped her and lifted her into the boat it reminded me of picking up a small wastebasket. Her mouth was huge and we could see the tail of a good sized catfish in her throat. I handed her to Joe and still remember him giggling like a kid while holding her. We were both just flabbergasted. Luckily we had a digital camera so we snapped a couple pics and weighed her. 18.25 lbs on the Boga. We released her unharmed and went back to catching.
This picture never did her justice. She was a perfect specimen. Her gill plates and belly had splashes of bright yellow and she honestly reminded me of a giant Bluegill.

I seriously doubt that anything close to her still swims in the Delta .

Added a better picture

We are so lucky to hear that story and to have that amazing photo.

Thanks MT.

Thanks Bill. I still call him World Record Joe.

MT - Son!!!! That is a whopper bass. I have never caught anything like that or seen one in person but in the pictures I see those huge bass look like fat slobs. I appreciate that you say it was a beautiful fish and I definitely want to catch one but it looks like a fat slob of a fish to me. Maybe I need to catch an 18 pounder and see for myself. When I get my 18 pounder I expect I might think differently. Hopefully I will get one soon. Thanks for the post and the story. :)

wow- what a toad!


I think you're right, not likely a fish that size is in there anymore.