Texas woman sets world record after catching massive largemouth bass

TYLER, Texas (TND) — A professional angler from Texas set a world record in her fishing line weight class after hooking a record-setting fish in March.

Lee Anne Powell caught a mammoth 12-pound largemouth bass while fishing on the O.H. Ivie Reservoir, using a 12-pound line. The International Game Fish Association includes 4, 8, 12 and 16-pound weight lines.

She then submitted the record of her catch the the IGFA, which confirmed Friday that she did indeed break the world record for the heaviest largemouth bass caught on her weight line.

“The process was fairly intensive. I had to go online, fill out a whole bunch of paper work and then I actually had to mail in a line sample of the line that was used to catch the fish,” Powell told a local news station. “All the paperwork, photos and documentation that I have had to go through multiple panels and I believe internationally.”

Powell told the station her journey as a professional angler began in 2015 after her parents passed away and she found herself living in the Middle East.

I lost both of my parents in 2015 and I actually found peace within fishing. A friend of mine kept asking me to come fish and I had a natural knack for it and it just stuck,” she said.

She is also hoping her example can inspired a new generation of women to pick up fishing rods and hit the waters professionally.

“I’m just trying to encourage more people to get out and fish,” Powell said. “I’ve had so much discouragement being a lady angler and I don’t let that stop me. For every no I’m getting told and every word of discouragement, it pushes me and drives me to go harder and go faster and deeper into my tournaments. You can’t make a record, you can’t catch a fish unless you have a line in the water and do what you can to not let any negativity get you down. Turn those negatives into positives and let them motivate you to get out there and fish and just catch ’em up!”