Cody Garefalos and James Rozelle of Porter Texas were fishing the Texas Team Trail bass tournament when they caught their big bass.

“We started by fishing in shallow water from 3 to 8 feet near hay grass,” Garefalos said. He was casting a Texas rigged plastic worm on top of the hay grass and letting it fall along the edges of foliage clusters.

His big bass officially weighed in at 11.52 pounds and was lunker #64

Tommy Washington of Hemphill was working the bushes with a watermelon-red Texas rigged plastic worm. “I picked up a 2 ½ pounder first,” Washington said. “Then I saw some shad moving further out.” He quietly moved into the area that had water depths ranging from 12-18 feet deep, and cast to where the shad were moving.

“I felt her thump the lure, but I thought she was loose until I saw the line moving toward the boat. She made one strong run after she came up, but I was able to work her to the net.”

His bass weighed in at 11.9 pounds and was certified as lunker #65 for the 2015-16 season.

Derek Mong and his father, David were fishing in a tournament on Toledo Bend. After trying several places, catching bass in the 2-3 pound range from 16-32 feet of water, they decided to try exploring some bedding sites they knew about.

Mong flipped a jig back into a nest where he saw a big female sitting on. “I saw her gills flare, indicating she had taken the lure.” He was able to work the bass back to the boat and into the net held by his father. The big bass officially weighed in at 11.05 pounds; they finished ninth in the tournament.

Photos - Louisiana Sportsman