Gurley man catches near record bass from Lake Guntersville

GUNTERSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - It didn’t break the record but it sure came close.

A Madison County man is now one of the few people in the 13-pound club, a select number of people that have caught a 13-pound bass or better out of Lake Guntersville.

It missed the lake record by ounces but for Tyler Mahaffey it certainly was the catch of a lifetime.

Mahaffey often fishes on Lake Guntersville but last week on Presidents Day would be the catch of his life.

Mahaffey had the day off so he and his dad went fishing.

Mahaffey says he caught some three-pounders but then he switched baits to a swim bait.

He caught some bigger fish and that's when he hooked the big one.

Mahaffey says he thought it was a catfish but when it got close to the boat he knew he had the biggest fish he had ever caught.

So that's when they took it to Guntersville Tackle and Outdoors to have it weighed.

It came in at 13 pounds 11 ounces before a crowd of people.

“He had a lot of people there and there were pictures being took and everyone shook my hand and congratulated me. That made me feel good. Like I say, I’ve never had anything like this happen to me. It all made me feel good about it and they all congratulated me and they’re all real nice guys,” said Mahaffey.

So how do you top that? Mahaffey says he’ll continue fishing and if it happens it happens.

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