September 01, 2011
By Ned Kehde
In the summer of 1998, striped bass were accidentally stocked into Bull Shoals Lake, which lies of the Arkansas and Missouri border. Now as these stripers are reaching the end of their life span, they weigh from 30 to 60 pounds, and anglers are catching some of them.
For example, Bruce Cunningham of Fordland, Missouri, caught a 60-pound, 9-ounce striped bass in 40 feet of water while night fishing with his brothers on June 19, 2011, and before he landed that brute his brothers landed several 40-pounders.
The previous record weighed 58 pounds, and it was caught by John West of Republic, Missouri, in July 2010.
Tim Sainato of Walnut Shade, Missouri, who guides on Bull Shoals and Table Rock lakes suspects that a world-record size striper might be lurking in Bull Shoals.
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