FLW Tour pro Justin Kerr broke the Colorado River System smallmouth bass record last week with a 5.63-pound fish from Arizona's Lake Havasu. He caught the fish, which eclipsed the previous mark by nearly 4 ounces, on an Evergreen Combat Crank 480 in the bluegill color.
“I was out fun-fishing with my good friend John Perkins for a few hours before dark when I caught it," said Kerr, the 2008 U.S. Open champion and 2010 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year who resides at Havasu. "We were sure it was over 6 pounds, and on our hand-held scale it was. So we decided to take it in and weigh it.
"We took it to a certified scale at Bass Tackle Masters, John Galbraith’s tackle shop, and it weighed 5.63, which was enough to be the new record."
Once the fish was weighed, Kerr and Galbraith filled out the appropriate application for the Arizona Game & Fish Department and sent it in. Kerr received confirmation on Tuesday that his application was approved and his fish is now a record for the system.
The Colorado River System includes Lakes Havasu, Mead, Mojave, Martinez and Powell.
“The smallmouth have really gotten big on all of the Colorado River lakes," he said. "I’ve seen some bigger than this on Havasu. John Perkins actually caught one at least a pound bigger than this one last Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, being that it was a holiday, nobody was around to certify it.
"At Mead I've seen lots in the 4- and 5-pound range. We definitely have some of the best smallmouth fishing anywhere right here on the Colorado River lakes."
