The day Darren Nunley pulled a 15-pound, 7.5-ounce largemouth bass from Nickajack Reservoir, he wasn’t expecting to make history. A guide friend had tipped him off about strong fish activity the day before. Conditions were ideal. So Nunley tied on a chatterbait, worked the lower end of the reservoir, and waited.
What came back changed Tennessee’s record books.
A Record Morning on the Water
When Nunley first hung the fish on a scale in his boat, the number told him this was no ordinary bass. The fish weighed in at 15 pounds, 7.5 ounces, enough to topple a record that had stood for more than 11 years.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) moved fast. Verification began almost immediately after the catch, with official weighing followed by a far more thorough test: genetic testing to confirm the fish’s lineage…