Ohio fisherman Gregg Gallagher set out for a little father-son fishing trip with his son, Grant, last week on Lake Eerie, and needless to say, it’ll be a trip they won’t forget…
According to Field & Stream, the two were in search of a seven-pound smallmouth bass, and instead, they caught one of the largest smallmouth bass ever recorded.
Gregg shared in a Facebook post:
“On November 3, my son Grant and I, both teachers, woke up with a surprise day off due to fog. The flat, calm conditions were the perfect situation for our Bass Cat boat to travel wherever we desired on the western end of Lake Erie.
For many years, my son and I primarily chased the local popular species of walleye. Looking for something different, we spent several years trying a variety of techniques to catch walleye by casting and jigging and not with the preferred trolling methods. This eventually led us to spend more and more time specifically targeting bass.”
They found a relatively quiet area on Lake Eerie, where they discovered a ton of smallmouths on their livescope fish finder, and ultimately, it landed them the catch of a lifetime.
Gregg continued:
“On what turned out to be the most memorable cast of my life, my bait got hit before it even hit the bottom, and my rod quickly doubled over. I honestly thought I had hooked into a sheepshead and not a smallmouth.
We quickly learned we had just caught the smallmouth of a lifetime. After (getting) a quick weight in the boat, we knew the fish was approaching at least 9 pounds.”
After they realized what they could potentially have on their hands, they took the smallie to their friend Ross Robertson to certify the fish’s weight, and it was weighed at a whopping 10.15 pounds.
It was 23 3/4 inches long, with a girth of 19 3/8 inches.
The Gallaghers are working with the Ohio DNR to take the steps to submit the fish for record consideration, and if confirmed, they will hold the Ontario Province record for largest smallmouth, with the current record standing at 9.84-pounds back in 1954 by Andy Anderson.
Here’s the full explanation:
“On Nov 3rd my son Grant and I, both teachers, woke up with a surprise day off due to fog. The flat calm conditions were the perfect situation for our Bass Cat boat to travel wherever we desired on the Western end of Lake Erie. The goal was to catch a giant smallmouth bass, 7lbs or better.
For many years my son and I primarily chased the local popular species of walleye. Looking for something different we spent several years trying a variety of techniques to catch walleye by casting and jigging and not with the preferred trolling methods. This eventually led us to spend more and more time specifically targeting bass. This desire grew even greater when Grant spent four years on the Adrian College Bass team.
The countless time Grant has spent scouting, graphing and working on fine tuning our smallmouth techniques all paid off when he located what we both knew was a unique and likely unfished spot. With an abundance of baitfish located and a unique bottom content found via long days behind the graphs, we dropped down our forward facing sonar and were able to individually target these pelagic smallmouth.
On what turned out to be the most memorable cast of my life, my bait got hit before it even hit the bottom, and my rod quickly doubled over. I honestly thought I had hooked into a sheep head and not a smallmouth. We quickly learned we had just caught the smallmouth of a lifetime. After a quick weight in the boat, we knew the fish was approaching at least 9 lbs, and we immediately started to think of what we needed to do if it was.
With a few phone calls and a great amount of help from lifelong friend Ross Robertson @bigwaterfishing, we needed to get the weight verified on an official scale. After a few more phone calls, we were able to meet Travis Hartman (Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Ohio DNR) and take the proper steps to apply for the record.
Once the legalities and paperwork are finished, it will be the new Ontario Province record smallmouth bass, breaking a 68 year record.
I think the video of both of us screaming like school girls over what ended up being the largest documented smallmouth ever caught on the Great Lakes says it all. The ability to do it with my son who has become the Captain of the boat and a much better fisherman than me, made it even more special.
When it was all said and done the official weight was 10.15lbs and measured 23 ¾ x19 3/8.”
Insane… well done, fellas.
Here’s more from the new record holders, including a video of them losing their mind as they brought the beauty into the boat.
