Johnstown fisherman reels in the catch of a lifetime
Man was on trip for son’s hockey tournament
When Johnstown resident Matt Carlson and his family took a trip deep into the heart of Texas a few weeks ago for Carlson’s son’s hockey tournament, Carlson couldn’t help but kill two birds with one stone.
The local fishing hole — 20,000-acre O.H. Ivie Lake — was a bucket list lake for Carlson, as it is for many avid bass fishermen.
Arguably, there isn’t a lake in the country — much less the bass-rich Lone Star State — that is hotter right now when it comes to producing fish of a lifetime.
And the Florida-strain largemouth bass Carlson reeled in on Feb. 17 certainly will provide Carlson, and his family, memories that will last a lifetime — not to mention a lifelike replica of the giant bass that will likely last just as long.
Flying down to Texas for his son’s junior hockey tournament with the Colorado Junior Eagles’ travel team, Carlson booked a fishing trip with Texas guide Dalton Smith.
In the final moments of that trip, Carlson hooked up with a 13.29-pound behemoth — a true O.H. Ivie lunker.
“My son was fishing with us, and he and Dalton were getting hungry, ready to eat,” Carlson said. “So Dalton said, ‘Hey, we’re going to hit this next spot up here. There’s a chance a big one lives here, but we’re gonna hit these two points and we’ll go in for lunch.’ … I cast right where he tells me to, and he goes, ‘You got one following it.’ He’s watching on the electronics, and then he goes, ‘You got it.’ And then next thing you know, I just feel dead weight.”
This was Carlson’s first time fishing in the famed state of Texas — home of many of the top big-bass fisheries in the country.
But it wasn’t his first time reeling in a largemouth weighing double digits, the type of fish most anglers work a lifetime for.
Carlson had previously caught three bass in the 10-pound range in three different states — Florida, Nebraska and right here in Colorado. The big bass caught in Colorado and Nebraska are in the state-record range.
Carlson is a member of the Johnstown Scheels pro staff, advising fishermen on gear and technique selection. He’s also an active tournament angler and the individual tournament director for the Centennial Bass Club, based out of northern Colorado.
He runs an Instagram page — @fishingcolorado — with more than 3,000 followers.
So, suffice it to say, Carlson is a bit more advanced than your average weekend angler.
Still, even with his vast experience, when he reeled in his 13.29-pound monster from O.H. Ivie, Carlson felt like a child catching their first fish all over again.
“Once you hit the 10-pound mark, every pound over 10, the bass just grow wider,” Carlson said. “They don’t grow longer, like a muskie or a pike. They just start getting taller and wider.”
Perhaps the most nerveracking moment during his epic and triumphant quest for this monster bass was when Carlson was convinced the bass had shaken his hook and wiggled loose after making a beeline to the surface of the water.
“It was too big to even get out of the water — it just kind of belly-flopped,” Carlson said. “Then I thought we lost it. My line went limp. The fish actually started swimming straight toward the boat.”
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Carlson’s catch was the 643rd addition to the state’s Sharelunker program.
Through the program, fishermen that catch a 13plus pound bass can loan it to the TPWD for a selective breeding and stocking program. Fishery biologists will harvest the eggs of the genetically superior fish and put them back into the fish’s home water, with hopes a famed reservoir like O.H. Ivie will continue to provide anglers with catches of a lifetime for years to come.
The Sharelunker program offers four levels of participation: the Lunker Class for bass at least 8 pounds or 24 inches, the Elite Class for bass 10-plus pounds, the Legend Class for 13-plus pound bass and the Legacy Class for 13plus pounders caught during Texas’s spawning period from January-march.
As tense as the battle was with the magnificent fish, Carlson didn’t exactly have a chance to calm his nerves in the moments immediately after the catch. He and Smith — who also has a 14.76-pound Sharelunker and two Legend Class Lunkers on his resumé — worked urgently and feverishly to keep the fish healthy as a TPWD official quickly made their way to the dock where Carlson and Smith were.
“We get to the boat ramp — I’m still shaking — and the next thing you know, people are coming in off the lake to see the fish,” Carlson said. “To be honest, it was a blur. I was shaking so bad. Once I saw that fish in the net, I knew it was big. We just didn’t know how big.”
In exchange for loaning his bass to TPWD, Carlson will receive a kit filled with merchandise, a Legacy Class decal and a high-quality replica mount of his fish.
Also, Carlson is invited, with VIP access, to the Toyota Sharelunker Annual Awards, which will take place in the next few months.
Carlson plans to, again, squeeze in a few hours of fishing when he returns to Texas.
“Dalton also has a Sharelunker for the year,” he said. “So, yeah, there is a good chance he and I are going to head back out for another fun trip.”