Toledo Bend reigns as a mecca of big bass potential, with dreams of double-digit catches domineering every angler’s mind. Gene Kidder of Opelousas and his son certainly had grand expectations on Dec. 18, but by the end of the day, without even experiencing a bite, they thought for sure they would be returning to land beaten. That all changed when Kidder cast at one last brush pile to catch his personal best, a largemouth bass weighing in at 11.9 pounds.
Kidder and his son had been fishing all day in Housen Bay with no luck, so he pointed his Skeeter ZX towards his camp at Miller Bay Point and was heading in when the pair decided to take one more chance on catching fish. Near his camp, Kidder zoomed in on one of three brush piles and started casting.
“At first, I thought I was snagged, but the rod tip twitched and that’s when I realized it was a fish,” Kidder said. “I didn’t think it was a bass, but a catfish instead.”…