Although a 9-pound largemouth might not be a giant in big-bass hotspots like Florida, Texas or California, it’s enough to raise eyebrows anywhere. With the short growing season in South Dakota, a 9-pounder is the fish of a lifetime.
When Matthew Dunham caught a 9-pound, 5-ounce bass from southern South Dakota’s Indian Scout Lake on April 27, it broke a state record that has stood for 20 years. The fish was fat, almost as wide as it was long, with a length of 23 inches and a girth just shy of 20 inches.
Dunham’s fish is further evidence that small waters can grow big bass. Indian Scout is a 2.5-acre reservoir on Rosebud Indian Reservation. It is jointly managed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with an apparently successful strategy to provide forage for largemouth bass.
The previous state record, a 9-pound, 3-ounce fish caught in 1999, came from a small state-managed pond on Rollings Game Production Area in the southeastern corner of the state.