March 24, 1973. I was pre-fishing for a club tournament on Lake Toho. I was sick and ready to go home when my fishing partner requested I stop and try a stretch of Kissimmee grass before we left. The third cast I hooked a bass that I thought was small until it wrapped itself up in the grass. After a few minutes of pulling on the fish and grass, this huge bass came up and made me feel a lot better. I grabbed the fish and we just sat there and looked at it for several minutes while others passing by stopped to look at the bass. The fish was weighed at Red's Fish Camp at 17 pounds, 3 ounces. The Florida Freshwater Fish Commission was called to come out and inspect the fish, but they could not come for several days. The fish was put in a freezer and turned over to a Winter Park taxidermist. The Florida Game and Fish Commission checked the fish and checked the scales used at the fish camp and found them to be 45 days out of certification, and would not classify the bass as a lake record.

Bill Williams
Orlando, Florida

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