John K. Flores: The story behind catching a record bass

Fishing in 18 to 20 feet of water, Bill Cook crawled his lure along the bottom when he saw a fish come up and eat it.

He instantaneously felt the strike and set the hook. That’s when Cook told his partner he better get the net because the bass didn’t hardly move when he set the hook.

Cook, a Houston resident, didn’t know it at the time, but he was about to break the Toledo Bend Lake record that had gone untouched for over 22 years.

You have to go back a full week, when Cook was fishing a Bass Fishing League tournament in the same spot to understand how he was able to connect with the huge fish.

The BFL tournament was a pro-amateur format meaning Cook had a co-angler. His co-angler caught an 11 pounder and not long afterwards a 5 pounder.

Cook’s co-angler then said, “Mr. Bill, do you have an Alabama rig?”

Laughing, Cook replied, “I sure do. It’s on my favorite rod laying up against the wall in my garage.”

Cook says his co-angler’s good fortune showed him he had a really good spot. The next weekend at the Bass Champs tournament Cook was prepared. He brought his Alabama rig.

For those unfamiliar with an Alabama rig, it’s a lure that has a head and five wires that deploy like an umbrella. On each wire a 3- or 4-inch swim bait and hook can be attached. When fished correctly it resembles a school of minnows or shad.

The lure itself weighs 2 or 3 ounces and when various plastics and hooks are added, it becomes a heavy bait. Heavy baits take heavy equipment. Cook was using a 7’11” Big Swimbait Rod loaded with 50 pound test braided line.

With the huge fish hooked, the next few minutes were a bit chaotic.

Cook said, “I told him to get the net and he said, ‘where is it.’ Underneath your seat I told him. So, I started bringing the fish in and he said, ‘I can’t find the net.’ So, I said come up here and lip him. It’s a real big fish so you need to hurry up.”

Cook’s co-angler was finally able to locate the net and after the bass had made two or three big runs, he dipped it and said, “My God! I can barely pick it up and put it in the boat.”

Cook says they knew they had a good fish but didn’t have any idea it’d be 15 plus pounds. At the weigh in the fish weighed a whopping 15.67 pounds, besting Eric Weems’ 15.32 pound largemouth bass caught in July 2000.

Putting Cook’s big bass in perspective by comparing it to the top 10 fish registered in the Louisiana State Fish Records, the first thing you’ll note is there are no Toledo Bend Lake bass listed. Second, every fish in the top 10 is over 15 pounds.

Should Cook choose to enter his Toledo Bend largemouth bass in the state records it will place fourth, .30 pounds out of first place, .20 pounds out of second place and .15 pounds out of third place.

Cook caught a 9 pounder and his first 10 pound bass on Sam Rayburn Reservoir just last year. What’s more, over the years says he has caught a couple of 8s, along with plenty of 6s and 7s. Yet, Cook thinks with all of the modern-day electronics and skill of some of the young bass fishermen, his record won’t last long.

Cook, 78, said, “When bass get over 8 pounds they start getting pretty rare. I’ve been doing this tournament fishing for 50 years and you never, ever, think about catching a lake record you know. You just try to catch the biggest fish you can and try to get a limit. As far as thinking you’re going to catch a lake record — it just never enters your mind.”

The Toledo Bend Lunker Bass Program began in 1992 and is currently run by the Toledo Bend Lake Association. The organization presents lunker bass replicas to anglers for releasing bass weighing a minimum of 10 pounds back into the lake.

This winter, Toledo Bend has been on fire. Since the beginning of January 2023, there have been 15 lunkers caught of which Cooks’ tops the list through mid-February.

Cook said, “It’s a pretty big treat for me especially. I’m 78 and in good health and this is my home lake.

To be able to do that on the home lake is pretty special — especially at this stage of my career.”

John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.