Photo courtesy of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
June 29, 2017
By Game & Fish Staff
After six years of avoiding capture, "Big Al" Bass, the top-prize largemouth bass in the annual Hot Springs Fishing Challenge , has been conquered.
Photo courtesy of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
An Arkansas Game and Fish Commission news release reported the brother tandem of Pete Clark and younger brother Jessie claimed the event's top prize of $15,000 by catching the purple-tagged fis, marking it as the grand prize. Fishing at Lake Hamilton in Central Arkansas, Pete worked the reel from the back of the boat and Jessie manned the net.
The outcome was doubly good for the Clark boys.
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The 3.84-pound "Big Al" also led to them winning a Tuesday night (June 20) tournament with a five-fish limit weighing 13 pounds. The brothers noticed the purple tag, but kept on fishing in the tournament. Jessie boated another 3-pounder, according to the press release..
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Looking for big bass to win the tourney, Pete worked a 1-ounce Real Deal Custom Tackle black spinnerbait with black blade around some brush where he knew crappie stack up near a boat dock, fishing in 8-10 feet of water. Voila, "Big Al" took the bait.
"Big Al" was confirmed the next morning by Bill Solleder of the Hot Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau .
The brother plan to split the winnings.
