Cody Pitt of Elmer, Louisiana, caught an all-time MLF Toledo Bend-cumulative weight record five-bass limit weighing 39 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the BFL event at Toledo Bend Reservoir in Many, Louisiana by a massive 8-01 margin. Pitt earned $8,107 for his victory, including the $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.
Five bass in excess of 10 pounds were weighed in the event, the biggest of which was Pitt's BFL-record 13-06 giant.
Pitt’s day started out rather unassumingly as he began on a couple of offshore isolated hard spots that held fish in 25 feet of water. He fished those spots for an hour-and-a-half but managed to land only two small spotted bass. He relocated and found fish in 32 feet of water.
“I catch them deep this time of year, but typically not that deep,” Pitt said. “I thought they were smaller fish down there, but my first cast I caught one that weighed 6 pounds.”
Pitt used a 3/4-ounce V&M Cliff Pace The Flatline Pacemaker Football Jig, as well as Strike King Pro Model 6XD and 10XD crankbaits, fished anywhere from 12 to 32 feet of water to entice bites. His third spot produced a bite on his first cast, but it didn’t hold. His second cast with the V&M jig, however, produced the record-breaking big bass.
“When I first laid my eyes on it, I told my co-angler that it weighed at least 12 pounds,” Pitt said. “Then when I put my hands on it, I thought that it actually could go in the teens.”
Pitt pulled another 6-pounder from that spot, then moved again and boated a 4-pounder to fill his five-bass limit.
“At the start of the tournament I thought I had a pretty good chance at 30 pounds or maybe a little over 30,” Pitt said. “But right at 40? And catching a bass in the teens? That never crossed my mind.”
Pitt moved around some more, trying not to disturb fish for another upcoming tournament he plans to fish, and caught another 6-pounder and a 5 1/2 in five casts before he decided to head to weigh-in an hour early.
“If you win a BFL on Toledo Bend or Sam Rayburn, you’ve really done something,” Pitt said. “To beat that field feels really good. It’s a major accomplishment to win on those lakes.”
