Another near TARP rock bass
 

Fished the stones again today and hooked into this rockie that of course was just barley short of the 10" trophy, measured at 9.6" :( caught and released un harmed along with a handful of white bass and some good gills also released but not into hot grease lol

Happy fishing
TnCreekMaster

is the record really just 10"? like seriously? I'd love to have my name in the record book cause I can catch those all day

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Is the record really just 10"? like seriously? I'd love to have my name in the record book cause I can catch those all day

Record is not 10" that is just the minimum length for a Tennessee Angler Recognition Program (TARP) fish. The State Record is 2 pounds

ahh gotcha! I just recently found out from on older gentlemen that these are great to eat as well. I think I'm going to have to start having some fun with these guys! they are abundant in my local creek

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Congratulations, last year I was fishing with a guy on the Stones and he caught a monster Rock Bass, I forget what the length was but it was the biggest one either one of us had ever seen.

Awesome! What were u throwin to catch the redeye ?

Lead head and grub

Congrats on your catch. I have one 12 inch Red Eye to my credit. I have caught several at the 10 inch mark...over a four or five year period. I catch a ton of 6-8 inch fish....sometimes going 9 inches. A ten inch Red Eye is a big fish...that is why the 10 inch mark gets one a TARP...it is not that common. Mike Dial is a master of catching these...even he will tell you they are not that common. So for someone to go out and say they can catch them all day.....maybe so....but when I see a 15 fish limit of 10 inch Red Eyes on a measuring board in a pic...then we can talk.


Regards

Agreed and man that 12" rockie had to have been a blast fighting on that ultra light tackle, do you have a pic of that monster alpha

No pic of that fish....didn't even have a camera then. Of all the fish I have been blessed to catch I really wish I had a pic of the red eye and a 15 inch shell cracker caught at same spot on Center Hill. Keep up the good fishing...enjoy your reports.


Regards

wow yeah I'd have to take a picture of a 15 inch she'll ctacker! I've never seen one that big in my life. I'm stunned

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I am certain that Center Hill has many shell crackers in it that will break the state record....as well as Dale Hollow. A 15 inch shell cracker is nothing compared to the shell crackers in Lake Havasu in Arizona. It would just be another fish. I didn't start taking fish pics until about 6-7 years ago. Now that I am back to fishing out of a boat hope to be able to chase down a couple of 14-15 inch shell crackers. I regularly get into 10-12 inch shell crackers but hope this year I can get into a bunch over 13 inches. Now that I take pics if I get one that big I will have a pic of him laying on a Hawg Trough to show just how big he is.


Regards

Randy,
Warmer weather around the corner. I really believe the flat bite on Center Hill is the best pattern I have found for the shellcracker. Center Hill has some great Rockbass also. I have had a few wading trips where we have caught 5 to 7 Rockbass topping the 10" mark. Any Rockbass in the 10"plus range is an awesome catch!!!! They are great eating!!!