Two sizable black bass were caught at DeGray Lake on two successive weekends by local fishermen. The first bass, weighing 11.02 pounds, was caught by Kanon Harmon on January 27. The fish measured 26 inches in length, with a 21-inch girth and a 15-inch-wide mouth. Harmon was accompanied by friends Carson and Blake Humphrey. The next weekend, Jimi Easterling, a friend of Harmon’s, helped Dabney Hammer, an angler from Memphis, catch a 12.6-pound bass.
Harmon used a white swimbait to catch his bass in 60 feet of water, at a depth of 35 feet. He spotted the fish on LiveScope and cast accurately to its location. Initially, Harmon thought he had caught a different type of fish, but he identified it as a Florida strain bass when he reeled it in. The fish, Harmon’s largest catch to date, was weighed on a boat scale and then at Iron Mountain Marina before being released.
Harmon, a business management student at Arkansas Tech University, has a background in competitive fishing. He won the 2020 Commissioners’ Cup with Brody Jacks, sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, and came fourth the previous year. Despite his studies, Harmon intends to continue fishing competitively and will take part in local tournaments this spring and summer.