Immanuel Barela was officially recognized as the new catch-and-release waterbody record holder for Guadalupe bass on Inks Lake. Barela caught a 4-pound, 4-ounce, 19.25-inch fish on a 7-inch swimbait while fishing from a kayak.
“I was fishing on Inks with my brother-in-law, Cornell H. Dixon II, and we were on our way back to the dock,” Barela explained. “It was early afternoon, and we had been fishing since daylight. We had caught several nice fish throughout the day, and I decided to make one stop on our way in.”
Barela said they pulled up to a point along a retainment wall that usually holds some fish.
“The spot can be a little tricky to fish, but if you can cast your lure at the right angle, you can usually get a bite,” he said. “I told Cornell to make a cast, but it was really windy and he wasn’t able to get into position to cast his lure at the right angle in relation to the point. So I decided to try.”
Barela chunked the swimbait past the point and quickly retrieved it at an angle toward the retainment wall. As soon as his lure crossed the point in front of the wall, a fish crushed it.
“I saw a big swirl as soon as I felt the strike,” Barela said. “I set the hook, and started fighting the fish while also fighting the wind that was blowing my kayak around. I finally landed it, and realized it was a Guadalupe bass. I knew I had just landed a special fish.”
Barela couldn’t believe he had landed a Guadalupe bass of that size.
“I’m not one that really keeps up with records, but I knew this fish was worth documenting,” he said. “I took all of the appropriate and necessary photos before releasing it, and then filled out the paperwork and sent it all in.”
Because his scale was not certified, the fish only qualified Barela for the catch-andrelease waterbody state record for Inks Lake, which is measured by length. The previous waterbody record Guadalupe bass for Inks by weight is a fish that weighed 3.60 pounds and measured 18.25 inches. The state record is 3.71 pounds.
“The Guadalupe bass is the Texas state fish, and it’s just a really awesome feeling to be able to hold a record for the state fish as a kayak angler,” Barela said. “I’ve caught a handful of Guadalupe bass in Inks before, but none like this one.”
