Ryan Reynolds of San Mateo set a new largemouth bass record for the East Bay’s Lake Chabot, catching a 19-pounder, one of the largest bass ever landed in northern California, on October 28.
Reynolds was fishing with a jig at Alder Point on Lake Chabot at 10 a.m. when he hooked his monster fish. He then released the lunker back into Chabot, one of the lakes that has benefitted from habitat projects initiated by former tackle shop owner John Walton and the East Bay Regional Park District over 20 years ago.
“We’re used to seeing big bass here in late autumn and winter,” said Stan Wong, manager of the Lake Chabot Marina & Café, “Though, Ryan’s fish was truly a pole bender. It obliterated the previous record by a full two pounds.”
The previous record largemouth caught at Lake Chabot was reeled in by Louis Vasquez in 2002 and weighed 17 pounds, reported Wong.
The state record for largemouth bass is 22 pounds, .5 ounces set by Bob Crupi on Castaic Lake in 1991. The world largemouth bass record is held jointly by George Perry (Montgomery Lake, Georgia – 1932) and by Manabu Kurita (Biwa Lake, Japan – 2009) at 22 pounds, 5 ounces, as determined by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA)
Lake Chabot was rated seventh by TakeMeFishing.org as one of America’s Top 100 Family-friendly Places to Boat & Fish. Located in Castro Valley, Lake Chabot is a unit of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD).