Bramlett lands record-setting bass on Feb. 28 in Walker County

Bramlett's record-setting bass.

While I was out at Hillcrest’s baseball game at Evergreen Municipal Park last Thursday, coach Tommy Dukes reminded me of an unusual sports-related story that I hadn’t mentioned in the paper – a story about a record-setting bass that was caught recently on the Black Warrior River.

According to news reports, 65-year-old James R. Bramlett of Dora caught a 70-pound striped bass while fishing on the Black Warrior River near the Gorgas Steam Plant in Walker County on Feb. 28. Bramlett used a Mustad 6.0 hook, an Ambassador 7000 reel and a catfish Ugly Stik rod with Berkley Big Game 30-pound test line to catch this monster bass. He fought with the fish for 20 minutes before he landed it in his boat.

The fish was 45-1/2 inches long and had a girth of 37-3/4 inches. In fact, Bramlett’s bass was so big that it topped the previous state record by 15 pounds. The previous state record was set in 1959 by a bass that was caught on the Tallapoosa River.

There is talk that Bramlett’s bass may also be a world record, which was set in 1992 by a bass that weighed 67 pounds, eight ounces.

All of this makes me wonder about some of the big fish swimming around out there in Conecuh County’s waters. There’s bound to be a few large fish out there, but I don’t know how many of them would set any records. It should go without saying that if you land one anywhere near as large as Bramlett’s bass, you should bring it by The Courant office for a picture. You might not set a state or world record, but you might set the Conecuh record and earn bragging rights for years to come.

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Also while out at the park, I ran into The Courant’s reigning Sportsman of the Year – Justin Nared.

Many of you will remember Justin from his record-setting career as Hillcrest’s five-year starter at quarterback. He’s now the starting quarterback at Tuskegee University.

Last Thursday, Justin was in Evergreen enjoying the last few days of spring break. He was set to return to Tuskegee on Monday where the football team would begin spring football drills.

At that level of football, there’s always stiff competition for playing time, but Justin enters spring practice with two years as a starter under his belt. I know everyone here is wishing him good luck as he prepares to lead the team in his junior season at the college level.

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Team USA is still hanging in there in the ongoing World Baseball Classic. On Sunday, they beat Canada, 9-2, in Phoenix to earn a spot in the quarterfinals round of the tournament.

As of Monday, the Netherlands, Cuba, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the United States were the only teams left in the tournament. China, Brazil, Korea, Australia, Spain, Venezuela, Canada and Mexico didn’t make it out of the first round.