Almost 36 years to the day, Arkansas's largemouth bass state record has finally been broken. On Tuesday, Paul Crowder of Forrest City set the new record on Lake Dunn near Wynne. Crowder's lunker weighed 16 pounds 5 ounces, breaking the old record by just a single ounce.
Aaron Mardis of Memphis had held the state record since March 2, 1976. Mardis' 16 pound 4 ounce fish was caught on Mallard Lake near Manilla in Mississippi County.
Crowder broke the record on the afternoon of Feb. 28 using a plastic 6-inch Mann's jelly worm with a bullet sinker and plastic rattle in tequila sunrise. He was using an Enigma rod and reel combo purchased from Bass Pro Shops. Crowder caught the fish on Trilene 14-pound test line. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Fisheries Biologist Lee Holt certified the fish on a certified scale at Hayes Market in Wynne.
(source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)