“I was out fun fishing with my good friend John Perkins for a few hours before dark when Icaught it. We were sure it was over 6-pounds, and on our handheld 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,“ Kerr explained.
Once the fish was weighed Kerr and Galbraith filled out the appropriate application for the Arizona Game & Fish and sent it in. Kerr received confirmation on November 15, 2011 that his application was approved and his fish is now considered the Colorado River System record Smallmouth.
The Colorado River System includes Lake Havasu, Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Lake Martinez and LakePowell. “The Smallmouth have really gotten big on all of the Colorado River lakes. I’ve seen some bigger than this on Havasu. John Perkins actually caught one at least a pound bigger than this one last Thanksgiving (2010). Unfortunately, being that it was a holiday nobody was around to certify it. At (Lake) Mead I have seen lots in the four and five pound range. We definitely have some of the best Smallmouth fishing anywhere right here on the Colorado River lakes,” Kerr stated.
About Justin Kerr: Justin Kerr is the 2008 U.S. Open Champion and the 2010 FLW Rookie of the Year. Justin grew up in Southern California and now lives Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Justin’s sponsors include Evergreen, Ranger, Mercury, Navionics, Humminbird, Kanji, Minnkota and Roboworm.