By now, you’ve heard about the huge bass, which we first reported, was caught and released on Lake Kissimmee by Dave Ochs on July 23rd. (If you missed it, click this link for the original article). Ochs claimed to have caught a behemoth bass, weighing a staggering 19.20 pounds on an old dial scale. That claim quickly became the subject of speculation across social media, as well as other local anglers.
In an article written by Del Milligan of the Lakeland Ledger, many anglers believe the fish to have weighed less than 14 pounds.
Larry West has fished Lake Kissimmee for more than six decades, and was at the ramp when Ochs came off the water.
“He showed me a picture of the fish,” West said. “And he asked me, ‘What would you estimate it weighs?’ And I said, ‘I would think between 12-13 pounds.’
“He said, ‘That’s kind of what I thought, too,’ ” West said.
Jared Dial’s 12.86-pound lunker from 2012 on Lake Kissimmee. Photo: Jared Dial
Ochs stated he didn’t have scales to weigh the fish, according to West. That contradicts what he told me, that he used an old dial scale, as well as what he stated to Milligan-that he used a Berkley digital scale, to weigh the fish at 19.20 pounds.
Jared Dial has been fishing in bass tournaments across the state since his days with the National Teen Anglers, and questioned Ochs’ claim as well.
Ochs claimed his fish measured 27 inches in length and 24 inches in girth. Dial caught a 12.86-pound lunker on Lake Kissimmee in 2012, and had his fish was officially weighed at Grape Hammock Fish Camp. Dial’s lunker boasted similar measurements to the Ochs bass-27 inches long, with a girth of 23 inches.
If Ochs’ fish did indeed weigh over 19 pounds, and had it been officially certified and verified, it would have eclipsed the current state record of 17.27 pounds.
Even though the fish won’t be showing up in any record books, it was still a once in a lifetime catch.
To view Del Milligan’s article on the Lakeland Ledger in it’s entirety, click this link.
Headline Photo: Dave Ochs
