Keith Lusher 02.23.24
There’s one thing to be mentioned about having confidence in a fishing spot. For Chris Basey of Covington, LA, there’s no spot that he has extra confidence in than the one the place he caught his greatest bass when he was a teen. “It was a neighborhood canal the place I might at all times catch bass,” Basey mentioned. “I caught a whole bunch of bass in that canal.” Not solely did he catch a whole bunch of bass, however he additionally caught what was the largest bass of his childhood years: a 5.3-pound largemouth bass. Basey was 16 years previous when he caught this fish. “I nonetheless do not forget that fish. I used to be utilizing a Chug-Bug on the floor and he got here up and crushed it,” he mentioned. Basey caught the fish on the mouth of a small minimize that flowed out into the primary canal.
On a latest journey again to the canal, Basey determined to go again to his favourite fishing spot the place he caught that huge bass over 25 years in the past. Basey began throwing a Chug-Bug however wasn’t having a lot luck. “I knew the water was too chilly for a Chug-Bug however I simply needed to strive it,” Basey mentioned. He dug round in his sort out field and pulled out a Keitech Swimbait. The plastic was hooked up to a jighead with a silver under-spin blade. The 44-year-old began casting the lure parallel to the shoreline. Basey made just a few casts after which was distracted by a flock of red-wing blackbirds erupting in flight from the marsh. That’s when his line got here to an abrupt cease. The shocked angler short-swung the rod to set the hook and linked with the fish. Basey had flashbacks of the time when he caught his huge bass as a child but it surely didn’t take lengthy to see that it wasn’t a bass. “That fish broke the floor proper after I set the hook and instantly I knew it was an enormous purple,” Basey mentioned. The redfish made a tough run and Basey braced for a protracted battle. “I knew I had 10-pound check on my reel so I used to be going to must let him put on himself out,” he mentioned. He fought the fish for 5 minutes. “He was too huge to boat-flip so I knew I needed to get my web one way or the other,” the nervous angler mentioned. Basey lifted his rod to take the slack out of the road and shuffled right down to the compartment the place he stored his web. After taking it out, he managed to unfold the collapsible web all whereas protecting the fish hooked.
He then prolonged the deal with by giving it an enormous jerk. “That factor popped proper out after I jerked it,” he mentioned. Basey lifted the large redfish, ran the online beneath, after which lifted it over the gunwale. The fish measured 31 inches and was Basey’s largest redfish he had ever caught. “I’ve had some actually nice reminiscences fishing this spot and now I’ve obtained one other one so as to add to my assortment,” he mentioned.
