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| FishTails |
Record Largemouth
They say you never know what's on the other end of that line when you set the hook. That was certainly the case
for 17-year-old Eli Gain of Salem during a March trout-fishing trip in Harrison County.Gain was fishing with his
dad and some other relatives when he laid into the longest largemouth bass ever caught in West Virginia.
"We was trout fishing at Dog Run Lake." Says the stocky 11th grader. "The way the trout was hitting,
you'd just put it out there and the bobber would run to your pole. That's what happened when I caught him, I just
though I had a big trout until I got him to the bank.
Even with the dandy bass in his hand, Eli still had no idea he was about to encounter a brush with fishing fame.
"When I caught him I didn't think he was that big.I got home and threw him on the tape measure and it's 22-inches
long. I saw he was a good bit longer than that and I told my Dad I thought we might have a state record here.
Gain made a hasty call to the nearest DNR representative he could find. Conservation Officer Terry Fluharty from
Tyler County was the nearest available.The tale of the tape in Fluharty's hand was 25 and three-quarters inches
long.The official measurement bests the old state record of 25.63 inches-a mere 12-hundredths of an inch shorter.
As most records go in West Virginia, Eli was not in the hunt for big fish specifically. He was, as they say, "just
fishing.
"I caught him on a pumped up nightcrawler." Says Gain. "I'd pinch off about an inch or two of the
nightcrawler and take a gouger tool and run it inside of him. Then I'd use a syringe to pump him up."
The inflation normally would cause such a treated worm to float, but because of the open end, the air simply allowed
for a slow fall. The big bass struck as the bait was about halfway through its descent.
As for Eli, he had quite a story to tell to all of his buddies at Doddridge County High School the next day.
"They was kind of surprised, some of 'em didn't believe me until I took 'em the pictures."
Although he fishes every chance he gets, the story would seem unreal, considering his biggest fish to the point
of the big bass was a ten-pound flathead catfish. Fueling skepticism would be Eli's gear. Few record largemouths
are caught on ultralight spinning tackle and six-pound test line.
The record bass stretched nicely, but fell well short of the weight mark, tipping the scales at just under ten-pounds.You'll
hear no complaints from Eli though. He's likely the youngest state record holder and has many, many chances ahead
to rewrite the books once more.
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