New World Record: Rare Hybrid Fish Caught In Texas

Wyatt Frankens / Facebook

Wyatt Frankens was “at a loss for words” after reeling in a rare, world-record-breaking hybrid fish while fishing on the O.H. Ivie Lake.

Wyatt shared a few photos on Facebook saying, “At a loss for words…. I just caught the pending smallmouth lake record at O.H. Ivie!! She was 23 inches long, had a 17 1/2 inch girth, and weighed 7.60lbs on a certified scale!”

What he didn’t know at the time though was it was not just a smallmouth, it was actually a rare mix between a smallmouth and largemouth bass. He took photos of the fish and sent them to the experts to examine and was shocked even more when they got back to him.

โ€œThe lab results are in,โ€ he shared on Facebook. โ€œJust got off the phone with the biologist over at Texas Parks & Wildlife, and he let me know that she (bass) was in fact a smallmouth-largemouth hybrid!โ€

Not only is Wyatt’s catch a new record for O.H. Ivie Lake, but after getting the results in and a call from the IGFA (The International Game Fish Association), the fish is also a Texas state record, as well as, the world record holder for a catching a smallmouth/largemouth bass hybrid.

โ€œIโ€™m really at a loss for words…. who wouldโ€™ve thought this small town guy from East Texas would be a world record holder,โ€ he said.

The O.H. Ivie Lake was built in the 1960s and was never stocked with “meanmouth” bass, which is the name wildlife officials are giving the smallmouth/largemouth hybrids. They say it’s rare to see or catch one, but such hybrids do occasionally occur naturally in the wild.