The greatest big bass run in history?

To my knowledge, Josh Jones just wrapped up the single greatest big bass run that has ever occurred in history on public water. In a 18 day period from February 21st to March 10th, Josh recorded 22 bass over 10 lbs and another 25 over 8. In my mind this is one of the greatest achievements that has ever occurred in big bass fishing. Is anyone aware of a more impressive run, anywhere, anytime, in such a short period?

One 15 pound bass
One 13 pound bass
One 12 pound bass
9 nine 11 pound bass
10ish 10 pound bass
25ish 8 pound bass

I am sure some Mexican lakes have had similar runs from people who don't video them selves.
Probably many times

That was a weekend in the spring in the early 90's on Fork, so many big fish back then never got reported.

A weekend for one guy? Can any of the other old timers confirm this?

It's certainly possible. On Comedero in either 2007 or 2008 two of us put 35 in the boat between 7lbs and 10lbs in one afternoon. Also lost a couple of big ones. And they all came out of a half acre or so of water.

But as far as US lakes, I've never heard of anything close to what this guy just did.

I have heard stories that were hardly believable. Fork was crazy good for many folks.

I can confirm from 1984 when you had to pull yourself through fully leafed trees to get to pockets, to 1995 or so, the numbers of 5 to 11 pound bass we caught is so big a number I'd not even post it....now I grew up fishing Rayburn and Toledo with my dad in the 70's, so we were not doe eyed enough to even weigh a fish that was less than 7, much less photo them or freaking stop fishing to go to a marina to document....just didn't care, didn't share, y'all on your own was our way. We were never blessed enough to break the 12 pound barrier but it's not exaggeration when people talk about Fork from that time frame.

I started fishing Fork in 1981 in january. I was fishing it 4-5 times a month. First bass i caught was 7.5 and when i quit going there in 93 because of all the so-called bass PRO's, started closing in if you caught a nice fish, said that's enough. i have caught 16 bass between 10.lb and 11. 4, didn't even count the7-8-9 lb. fish. Had to go to town my first trip and buy a bow saw to get to where i wanted to fish. Spent most of my time fishing in Jan. April. I also fished a lot of nights about half of my big fish came on full moon nights. The damn mosquitos would swarm you and you could hear them asking each other, do we eat him here or take him with us.

Josh,

I think it could be the best ever documented. I think what makes this one unique is the 12, 13, and 15 lber. There is such a huge difference between a "teen" fish and a 10 or 11 lber. Especially a 15 lb fish.

If it is not the best run, it's up there with the best.

Best of the modern, video everything era at the very least.

Incredible. I'm lazy and don't want to research it. Did Jones catch all those fish from one lake?

3 different public water lakes. O.H. Ivie, Fork, and Alan Henry.

I personally have had days/nights of 10-20 6-10lb fish on Fork back in the mid to late 90s and some 60+ , 4-9 lb fish days recently on Monticello after the plant shut down and before the park closed. But I still do not have the number of DDs he has caught in 18 days in all my days fishing. Definitely historical in my book.

Also remember the upper end of the slot was 21” back then. Often times, especially at night, we were catching 6-8lb slot fish.......Fork was a freak of nature back then. I remember fishing the hydrilla that ran down the 515 west bridge at night and being busted off in open water by giants we could not turn on 20-30 lb mono. Great memories.

I think it was definitely an awesome 18 day smackdown!

Best documented that's for sure... Have they wiped the boat down yet???... Or is it a badge of honor for them???... Dan

There’s a reason Bill Siemantel has the BBZ, the Big Bass Zone. Bill started the Big Bass Zone Junior Championship. He has caught hundreds of ten (10) pound fish. Bill has worked with custom bait designers for decades and we learned of him in the early 1990’s. He is a Full time Fireman in Southern California who has worked with the largest names in fishing.

Then years ago there was another name many have forgotten that is now long gone in our sport. A gent’ named Doug Hannon and his contributions to our sport are also numerous. These men have had runs that may be outdone, though not by those we know of to date.

Of course we can ways talk about Cuban bass fishing in the 1970’s and 1980’s also. Add that to the Mexico list and places they catch them.

Free boat life is good! Not sure whats worse, their boat and truck.....or Jimmy Houston pedal to the metal launching an unmanned boat at a busy ramp LOL 🤔

Sucks how us common folk gotta take care of our stuff 😂😂😂

they got bass in Cuba?!

I think there used to be an article on the wall when you went in to Tiffanys restuarant about guide Johnny Glass catching so many big bass on Fork Heard he went in and got Mr Blair to go back out with him cause nobody would believe he was catching so many big ones

Falcon in it's peak routinely put out 50+ lb bags for guys. I'm sure charlie haralson has some amazing stretches in there. Obviously no 15lbers but I know quite a few guys that threw back 13's back then

IDk about in one stretch but from the archives of western outdoor news...

Bill Murphy made a swimbait back in the early 70's; CD18 Rapala cut in half and added a molded trout soft plastic trout body. Bill caught the first 60+ 5 bass limit with that lure trolled at SanV.

I've seen amazing sacks and incredible runs, but never anything like this in 23 years running the TFF and 22 years on the TPWD Weekly Fishing Report.

Agreed.

I was on Fork during the heydays of the 80's & 90's and not as a weekend warrior. I was blessed enough to be a full time guide on Fork from early '88 thru spring of 1991. I've witnessed weeks on Fork during those years when there were multiple teens landed by anglers around the lake. I also know of documented five fish stringers close to 50 pounds by a couple other guides on the lake. (yeah I know many claims of 50# five fish bags but not confirmed so I'm calling BS on them)

However, for Josh Jones to have accomplished what he did during that time frame it is nothing short of incredible. I had never heard of Mr. Jones until late December when he had a 50# bag from some lake in OK. I am not a J.J. Groupie nor do have any vested interest in his success as a guide.

All I know of him is what I have read or been told about him by 2 friends of mine that fished with him on Ivie on 3/1 & 3/2. They had nothing but great things to say about him and were blown away by his skill with Live Scope and how he triggered deep suspended fish to bite. They told me he was humble & just flat loved to fish.

A legit 15# bass is a fish of 3 lifetimes of bass fishing not counting all the other big fish he caught during that 18 day run.

Catching bass 30 years ago and estimating their weight is one thing. Weighing each fish and having them documented on video is another.

Respect!

I agree with you guys. The kicker of a 13 and 15 especially-Wow. Hats off to this guy (who I also do not know at all other then reading about his fish and technique). Just like y’all are saying, in Texas the difficulty level goes up EXPONENTIALLY each pound over 10.
I really like catching big bass, but on public waters it took 18 years to do what he did in 18 days so yeah, congrats!

There is a fella on Rayburn that has had a similar run this year I would say. Seems like he won every tournament there for January and February.

Not even close

I have fished San V Many many times. The potential is still there, but the pressure has made it impossible to reproduce those numbers now. Along with the fact that trout is no longer stocked in there.

Couple of thoughts, 2011 Bass Champs, Ballard and Vaughn had 86 lbs over two days (10 fish), both days done by 10:30 am, and that's just the fished they weighed. We had 31 first day and I don't think we were in the top 30 teams, not a single guy but tons of big fish. As far as one guy, you gotta look back at Doug Hannon. Guy reportedly weighed 800+ bass over 10 lbs, up to a 17 lber, There were many weeks he caught stuff (again reportedly) multiple fish 10+, so although impressive I'd hesitate to say best ever.

The stretch that Jones had was certainly incredible.. Without question..

"Couple of thoughts, 2011 Bass Champs, Ballard and Vaughn had 86 lbs over two days (10 fish), both days done by 10:30 am, and that's just the fished they weighed."

I been to a lot of weigh ins.. A lot.. But that was something to see..

In 1992 a buddy and I were fishing Gibbons Creek in January on a day it was in the 20's. We were fishing the trees near the hot water discharge cable. There was a sign that said " No boats beyond this point". Every once in a while we seen fish blow up in the discharge so we beached our boat and walked up near the spillway on the rocks. On the first cast I caught about a 15 lb catfish. After that we caught at least 50 bass over 5 lbs. 11 we were guessing were over 10 lbs. 3 of those were so fat they looked incredible. At the end we decided to keep a fish we thought was 10+ to weigh at the Gibbons store as we had no scales in the boat. That fish weighed 12 lb 12oz and was the lake record for several years. We could only imagine how big those 3 fat girls were. We couldn't wait to go back. The next time it got cold we called in sick at work and went back. The fish were still there. After about a hour a park ranger came down the road to the spillway and watched us a couple minutes then told us we couldn't fish there. We told him the sign said no boats so we thought we could walk up. We apologized and the next time we went the sign said no "No fishing beyond this point ". It was an incredible day of fishing.

These posts about catching dozens of 8 to 10 lb bass in a single stretch of time are incredible and likely something only a select few have ever done and will ever do. Much of the posts are about the old days when the lakes were young and the pressure was less. But, I put a lot more value in terms of how freakish a 13 and 15 lb bass are than most anglers. And 12 fish over 11 bs. IMO, Catching 12 over 11 lbs in two days ON VIDEO WITH A SCALE in an "older" lake is what makes this the greatest run I know of.

Thats why i drove my behind out there with the quickness! Ive heard these stories at those legendary lakes, but even at my home lake 5+ caught with ease and near DDs often too! Blows my mind thats possible. Had to get out to a place where it couldve been. I for sure wouldve caught them if I had LiveScope

Also....according to Steve Bardin the fisheries biologist guy, its the "new lake effect" that made Ivey so saucey this year. I hope its like this next winter/spring again cuz i wanna head down there. Very enjoyable, no frills straight fishing type of place. Good food and beer nearby helps too!

It was impressive for everyone but the O.H. Ivie locals. They were all on that same pattern catching those same DD fish, they were just trying to keep it on the down low.

So much so that there arent any pictures or video. A lil' 10 lber doesnt even warrant a picture from those sticks. They've broken the state record weekly for years but just didnt want the lake to get all the publicity.

Too funny!!

Dude...the salt was thick with SOME of the locals! Other locals were cool...even had a couple reach out! But yea...the threads were hilarious while it was going down.

What’s impressive is the amount of non locals those locals pissed off. Look here’s another one.

So what about the old guys like Butch Brown or Bob Crupi out of Southern California?

+1

This was the only thing I think that might compare. I've seen some livewells full of Butch's fish that would trump what Josh did IMHO, but that's about the only thing I can come up with...

"The locals on OH Ivie" and "Some stick on Rayburn won in Jan/Feb"....LOL...that's funny

I don’t get all the hate this man receives... Especially from the “You use livescope, that’s to easy”crowd. Always some haters that get their undies in a wad.

I think you may have your year mixed up. I used to work with and fish with the current record holder back in the early 90’s and he set the lake record in Jan 1988 with a bass that weighed over 16lbs. I just wish I had been with him on that particular day. He caught it around the discharge too on a very cold day similar to the day you caught yours. If I remember correctly, the temp was in the 20’s or 30’s. He had a vhs tape that the Texas Parks & Wildlife made of his fish spawning. It was a very fun lake back in those days. I don’t think I have been back in probably 22 years or so. It wasn’t that great the last time I went but it was sure fun to reminisce.

This puts him #1 in my book. There are books written about a couple of those Cali guys and maybe one or two did beat this total but I struggle to believe it and even if they did, that's a different playing field.

This young man pulled off a modern day miracle.

J

I'd add to your list Bill Murphy, Mac Weakly, Tom Young, Jed Dickerson, and perhaps a few others. A bunch of these guys from Cali have unreal numbers. I've spoken to many of them. That said, I still think Josh Jone's run is in another ballpark. Here's why:

Josh Jones caught these giant fish and big numbers of them over an extended period of time day after day. He did it on multiple large public bodies of water. In at least a couple of cases he had almost no experience on these lakes so he was essentially fishing them blind. The whole thing is well documented with pictures, videos, and in many cases clients in the boat.

In contrast, the guys in Cali are generally fishing much smaller bodies of water. Butch Brown's 65lb bag came from a lake less than 200 acres, and none of those fish were shown on scales. (There's a guy on the TFF with a well document 62lb bag out of a private Texas Lake). Dickerson and Weakly were fishing an even smaller body of water something like 70 acres. Plus the fish they were catching were practically being hand fed trout. Not to take anything away from any of them, they are all incredible anglers who've landed more big bass than I'll ever even dream of.

Josh has had a bit of a tough summer. I'm ultra excited to see if he's able to get anywhere close to replicating his pattern this coming winter. If so he may be able to settle the debate once and for all!

You are right. I was guessing at the year. I remember the 16 lber. I think his father worked at the power plant. Mike Matthews was the previous record holder. I doubt I will ever have a day like that again.

A long time ago I read an article in Bassmasters about a guy in Florida on the chain of lakes who was crappie fishing just below a spillway. Every once in awhile they would get a bite that would take off and break their line so he tied on a Rebel crankbait and almost immediately caught a big bass.
Over the next few hours he kept catching them and ended up the day with over 100 pounds for ten fish.

Different times but that was a phenomenal catch. Josh has my respect for doing what he did and comparing how people did it does not make sense to me. Each in their own.

It's all perspective, the O.H. Ivie run was done on the people's leisure and the Rayburn run was done with the constraints of being made to fish only during tourney hours.

Some may say when you're told you have to fish these hours on this day regardless of the weather or wind conditions, that the tourney run may be better.

MikeyBalzz got half way there! not sure if he could double it up tho! Cant even imagine! 🤔

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3rVg2BsBOE&ab_channel=mikeybalzzfishing