Bozeman angler Theron Thompson landed this fat smallmouth bass that has been certified a new state record for the species. The bass weighed 7.84 pounds.
The fishing was so good that Theron Thompson, his father Jim Thompson and buddy Nate Peressini didn’t want to stop, even though they unknowingly had the next state record smallmouth bass in their boat’s livewell.
Theron Thompson boated the beastly bass at about 8 or 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, the third day spent fishing different spots on the southwestern side of Fort Peck Reservoir.
Peressini had a scale on his boat that weighed Thompson’s fish at 7 pounds, 10 ounces. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rangers visited the anglers on the water but didn’t seem too excited and also didn’t know the weight of the existing state record.
Angler hauls in monster lake trout at Wyoming reservoir
Realizing the fish was big but unable to get cell service to check the weight of the current state record smallmouth, they kept fishing until about 5 p.m.
“Maybe we should have left the lake earlier,” Thompson said upon reflection.
Instead, on the drive back to their friend’s house in Jordan, Thompson finally got cell service and discovered that the bass sloshing around in their trailered boat could challenge the state record.
A mad dash ensued.
“It was instantly, ‘What should we do to get this confirmed and verified,’” Peressini said.
His friend in Jordan gave them tips on what to do. Upon reaching town the men went to the only store and put the fish on the deli’s certified scale. That showed the fish weighed 7.8 pounds. The existing state record at the time — caught on Sept. 23, 2017, by Alberton angler Mike Dominick — was 7.51 pounds. Dominick’s fish measured 21-inches long and had a football-like girth of 19 inches. Thompson’s fish is 22 inches long and has a girth of 17.75 inches.
The men were suddenly aware they had a record-setting fish, but there was no way to print off a receipt or verify the weight. So Thompson began calling every number he could find for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offices and wardens. Fifteenth on the call list was Miles City warden Frank Blundetto, but he was on the far eastern side of the state, driving back from Baker.
“I just happened to answer my phone,” Blundetto said. “I was working late.”
Blundetto agreed to meet the men at the Miles City Reynolds Market where there’s a certified scale. The store would close at 9 p.m. Hopping in Jim Thompson’s truck, the trio bolted the 80 miles south on Highway 59, dodging several deer along the way.
They arrived just in time to weigh the bass on the store’s scale before the market closed. Blundetto shot video to verify the weight, measured the fish, filled out the paperwork and submitted it to FWP for verification.
“They were stoked,” Blundetto said.
“It was a long day,” Thompson said.
The Bozeman engineer caught the fat fish while jigging a minnow. The quarter-ounce jig was one Peressini had made.
“I’ve been a walleye fisherman, hardcore,” Peressini said. “I go crazy for it.”
And he’s always caught bigger fish while jigging, including a 12-pounder he pulled from Holter Reservoir last year.
“What’s funny is Theron jigs completely different than me,” he added, so while they may be using the same jigs and bait, who has the hot hand will vary.
When Thompson finally reeled the state record smallmouth to the surface on his 8-pound test line, the anglers immediately took note of its mammoth size.
“I knew right away it was a tank,” Thompson said.
“It tried to jump right off the bat, and it was almost gelatinous,” Peressini said. “It was a donkey.”
The bass ran to the front of the boat, then the back as Peressini chased it with the net.
“The whole thing was scary,” Thompson said. “I saw this monster and thought, ‘I’ve got to get it in the net.’ It was going anywhere it wanted to go.”
After finally hoisting the fish in, Peressini instantly predicted it was the new state record bass.
Would the bass have weighed more if the anglers had immediately sought out a certified scale?
“If you ask our taxidermist, they’ve been on record losing up to three-tenths of a pound,” Peressini said.
Back in 2017, Dominick predicted it wouldn’t be long before his smallmouth bass record would fall. He also forecast that it would be bested by about a half-pound. His estimate on weight was close even if his time frame was off.
Fort Peck Reservoir had a record-setting year for another species in 2020, as well. It was a 38 1/8-pound chinook salmon caught by Greg Haug.
Big fish story: North Dakotan lands Montana record chinook salmon at Fort Peck Reservoir
The big lake in northeastern Montana is gaining a reputation for trophy fish. According to the records kept by FWP, Fort Peck is also the site of the top coho salmon (4.88 pounds), freshwater drum (21.59 pounds), river carpsucker (6.95 pounds), sauger (8.8 pounds) and saugeye (15.66 pounds).
“It’s such a fun fishery,” Thompson said. “We’re actually heading out there this weekend to go ice fishing.
“I know there’s another state record in there.”
The drive to ice fish: Idaho anglers motor 400 miles east to fish Fort Peck Reservoir
This article originally ran on billingsgazette.com.
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