Judging by the size of this bruiser’s belly, it’s not too hard to imagine it eating a lot of McDonalds.
The story of this Texas largemouth has been making the rounds on the Internet lately. At 10.802 pounds and 24.5 inches in length, it is certainly an awesome fish. It’s a new record for 3,138-acre Lake Bardwell, just south of Dallas near the town of Ennis, Texas.
But the reason this fish went viral has to do with the bait. Mathew McNellis and his girlfriend caught the bass in May on a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget. They were jugging for catfish, which is a technique that involves setting out numerous floating plastic jugs with lines, hooks, and baits suspended beneath them. They weren’t having much luck, and that’s why McNellis’ girlfriend suggested they try the nugget, according to KDFW Fox 4 News.
After boating the fish, the couple took it to Highview Marina, where it was weighed, photographed and declared the new record by the marina. The fish was then released.
It bested the previous Lake Bardwell record of 10.44 pounds. The previous record, held by Artee Lewis since February 2006, was caught on a more conventional bait which was a minnow.