BIG BASS CATCH

Recently, an affidavit for the Freshwater Sportfishing Awards came in to the MassWildlife Field Headquarters recording a massive largemouth bass caught by Joseph A. Cerrato, Jr. of Middleborough. His fish, weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces, was caught on a spinner bait in Mary's Pond, Rochester. Cerrato weighed his huge bass on a certified scale at Tom's Bait and Tackle in Middleboro. "This lunker largemouth not only qualifies for a pin from the Sportfishing Awards Program by a whopping 3 ½ pounds, it is currently leading for the gold pin for the year," says Richard Hartley, MassWildlife fisheries biologist and Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program Coordinator. "Joseph's trophy fish also joins a very exclusive list of largemouth bass submitted to the program. Of the nearly 2,500 eligible largemouth bass entries for the program since its inception in 1963, there have only been 17 that were 10 pounds or over and Joseph Cerrato's bass ranks eighth." Information on the Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program for youths and adults, can be found in the Fishing area of the MassWildlife website at www.mass.gov/masswildlife.

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www.mass.gov/masswildlife