Iowa Record White Bass Caught in Spirit Lake

A new Iowa state record white bass was caught from a dock on May
7 from the waters of Big Sprit Lake. Josh Zylstra, 23, of Laurens,
IA landed the 18.7-inch, 4.16 pound fish while he was waiting to go
back out for an evening of walleye fishing.

Zylstra said he had finished eating supper when he thought he would
fish a little from the dock in Anglers Bay before going back out in
the boat. His shiner under a bobber was intended for walleyes he
said, but instead, it hooked a new state record white bass.

“I looked over and my bobber was gone,” Zylstra said. He reeled in
the slack, felt the tension and set the hook. The battle ensued and
Zylstra thought he was going to lose the fish by getting tangled
with the boat hoist.

He didn’t know what he had until it was out of the water. “I knew
it was a good fish,” he said. “I never thought twice about a state
record.”

Zylstra has caught a lot of large white bass from the area lakes,
but this one was special and his uncle said that fish would
probably push for the record.

The new record was verified by fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins who
weighed the fish on a certified scale at Pioneer Beach
Resort.

The previous record white bass came from West Okoboji Lake and was
17 inches and 3.9 pounds.