I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in their affliction; often, and again, have I listened to the wind playing its music in the branches of the girdled trees; and I have heard the lightning cracking in the air like the snapping of blazing brush as it spitted forth sparks and forked flames; but never have I thought that I heard more than the pleasure of him who sported with the things of his hand.
The huge creature broke the previous Missouri record of 60 pounds and 9 ounces for a pole-and-line striped bass, set in 2011 on the same lake. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the largest striped bass in Texas was a 53-pounder caught May 27, 1999, on the Brazos River.
The previous state record for a fish caught on a pole and line weighed in at 60.9 pounds, and was caught in 2011 on the same lake. The Missouri Department of Conservation pointed out that striped bass are most common on the Atlantic Coast, but have been stocked in reservoirs across the U.S.