Fish was around 38-40 lb. We weren't aware of records back then and besides, I grabbed his line when the fish was close in so I could grab it. That's a no-no under the records rules.

L-Rod, no I haven't but convince me I should.

Man thats an awesome fish,have you ever tried big live shad or bream at night under these circumstances redfin?

I'm a purist - no live bait.

Nobody cracking the Top 50 since 2000? Looks like a declining population of striper in Texas.

I think there's been a couple of Brazos River fish in the last couple of years that have been caught and released that would have made it. The TFF's Sea-Pro Todd did one of them for a Brazos River release record and his guide, Shane Davies did a catch and release as well.

I've got a picture of Shane's and thought I had a picture of Todd's - still looking thru my archives.

Here's the TP&W most recent striped bass release records for the Brazos River. Scroll all the way to the bottom. Pretty sure both of these would have made the Top 50 had they been kept and filed..

The big fish move around the river a lot..during the winter they may even move close to the coast if they have access...a HUGE amount of rain will get them swimming upstream to feed.. and ultimately they will all be stuck behind a dam...also during spawning months they will stack up.

Lots of monster fish are taken below Texoma on both TX and OK side and are never reported.

Thanks, redfin. I agree!

From 2009, here is Todd's 42" current Texas State Record, in the Catch and Release category...




From 2011, here is Jeremy Croff's 41.5" current under 17 Texas State Record, in the Catch and Release category...



Also, a few others of my clients and I, over the last couple of years that were in the 40" plus class that also would have made the Texas Top 50, IME...








I can't tell you what a thrill it is to be a part of these record breaking catches. Being there for the epic battles and getting to witness the anglers finest moment.

Wow! Those are huge! Awesome catches.

Shane Davies?You look like him. If so I ran into you on the river mid 90s.I still have one of your Big toss lures,rainbow trout pattern.I had a 37 lbr and a 29 lbr tied up on a rope for table fare.You talked me into releasing the bigger one.You took a picture of us,polaroid I still have it.Good to see your doing well.Cheers!!!!!

Tony, I call the Brazos below PK dam "Shane's Pet Ranch".....includes some magnificent largemouth bass as well.

Oh I have seen a stringer that he caught that went well into the hundred and thirty pound range.5 fish! Oh the stories I can tell about that guy.

If you want to catch fish of a lifetime, Shane Davies is your man!!

i started this thread 3 years ago... and still haven't made it out there... WOW, im slackin ... i just can't leave the redfish alone at calaveras lol... plus im kind of lost on where to go, if anyone knows the area and wants to fish it, shoot me a PM we can try it out this winter once the reds slow down for winter.

We talked about other plans for winter damn you