12-Year-Old Breaks Maryland Largemouth Bass Record
Twelve-year-old Colton Clayton caught a Maryland record largemouth bass while fishing at a farm pond in his hometown of Huntingtown, in Calvert County, on July 31. The fish was 11 pounds, 6 ounces, 26 inches long and 18 inches around. Clayton caught the fish using a spinning rod loaded with eight-pound test line and a plastic worm, rigged weedless and without a weight.
Fisheries biologist Keith Lockwood verified the catch as the new Freshwater Largemouth Bass State Record. Lockwood said that the fish could have easily weighed more if it had been in a fattened condition.
The previous record of 11 pounds, 2 ounces was held for nearly 30 years by Rodney Cockrell.