Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S-Series LEADERBOARD

Pitt smashes MLF records with 13-6 largemouth, bags 39-15 five-fish limit on Toledo Bend

by Major League Fishing 9 Feb 2023 19:17 UTC
Pitt smashes MLF records with 13-6 largemouth, bags 39-15 five-fish limit on Toledo Bend © Major League Fishing

You know you're in the midst of a good fish story when the teller catches a 7-pounder and follows it up with "that wasn't it, though."

Saturday, in the second Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Cowboy Division event of the season, Toledo Bend stick Cody Pitt sacked up 39 pounds, 15 ounces to win $8,107. He also had the big bass of the event, a 13-6, which is now the biggest bass ever weighed in BFL competition. His bag is the biggest ever in FLW and MLF competition on Toledo Bend, and the sixth biggest single-day catch of all time.

Pitt has now won three BFL events on Toledo Bend, and firmly established himself as the man to beat there in the winter. Practicing a week before the tournament, he caught a 10-pounder, two 7-pounders and a 4-pounder in a quick check of the juice. But, things had changed by derby day.

"I checked a bunch of stuff [Friday], we got a bunch of rain the last three days, and the water has been rising a pretty good bit," Pitt said. "It seemed to scatter the majority of my fish. I had places that had eight or 10 fish, not giant schools, just places with a handful of big ones, and they went down to about two [fish]. I thought I could still get some good bites, but I figured I would have to work for them, which I did, it wasn't pretty by no means."

The end result is gorgeous, and Pitt was headed back to the weigh-in an hour early with nearly 40 pounds of largemouth. His magical day didn't start great, though.

"I fished for the first two hours, and all I had was like a 10-inch Kentucky," Pitt said. "I left that place, and went and checked another spot, it was probably the deepest I've ever caught big ones, and I caught a 6 in about 32 feet."

From there, Pitt made perfect decisions for the rest of the day.

"The next spot I went to, that's when I caught the 13, and I think I caught a 6 off that place," Pitt said. "After I caught the 13 and the 6, I went to another place. Those fish had moved, and I relocated them. My co-angler caught the first one, he caught a 6, and then I caught a 4 and about a 3 3/4. I left that place, and I knew my co-angler needed to fill his limit, so I brought him to a numbers hole, and he filled out his bag."

With two limits riding in the boat, Pitt decided to pour it on.

"I felt like I should have had enough to win," he said. "But, some of them guys that LiveScope, Cole (Moore) and Tater (Reynolds), they whooped my butt too much last year. So, I knew I had to get rid of that one 2-pounder.

"So, I went to another place, and my co-angler caught a 7-9 off of it, and then I caught my second biggest, which was I guess a 7. That wasn't it, though. I had one more little place, I probably shouldn't even have fished it, I don't know why I did. I ended up catching a 6 and a 5 half, and the 6 culled one out, and the 5 half didn't help me. So, I went in after that."

And about that 13-pounder...

Fishing offshore, from 12 feet to 32 feet, mostly for small groups of fish, Pitt did his damage with a V&M Pacemaker Football Jig trailered with a V&M J-Bug and two Strike King crankbaits - a 6XD and a 10XD.

Pitt's 13-pounder fell for the football jig, and it topped his previous personal best by about 2 pounds.

"When I set the hook, I couldn't move it," Pitt said. "I said, 'If this is a bass, it's ginormous.' Because that 10 I caught last week was nothing compared to that thing. I couldn't move it. She couldn't even come out of the water - she tried to jump, but her front was as high as she got.

"She come up a pretty good ways out there the first time. By the time I got her to the boat, [my co-angler] was sitting there waiting with the net. She come up about 5 or 6 foot before the boat, just under the surface. When I saw her, I thought she was at least 12. Then, she ran back down, and 10 seconds later I got her coming back up - that one deep pull when I got her to the boat was all she did."

Leroy Dee Sheperd did the honors with the net job, and naturally also earned the win on the Strike King co-angler side.

The end result for Pitt was a record-breaking day on the water and one more reason why he loves Toledo in the wintertime.

"The first [BFL] I won was actually on my birthday, I was like 'Man, that was a pretty good birthday,'" said Pitt. "This one was pretty special. I love these couple weeks here - we need to talk somebody into a Toyota Series in January or February on Toledo."

Top 10 boaters:

1. Cody Pitt - 39 - 15 (5) - $8,107 (includes $2,500 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Tater Reynolds - 31 - 14 (5) - $2,436
3. Cal Cameron - 23 - 02 (5) - $1,623
4. Michael Powell - 20 - 07 (5) - $1,137
5. Casey Tate - 19 - 13 (5) - $974
6. Raymond Anselmo - 17 - 08 (5) - $893
7. Dylan Smith - 17 - 02 (4) - $812
8. Cole Moore - 16 - 11 (5) - $731
9. Cody Ross - 16 - 05 (5) - $650
10. Joe Beebee - 16 - 01 (5) - $568

Complete results

Top 10 MLF five-bass limits of all time:

1. Keith Combs - 2010 - Falcon Lake - 41-1
2. Rogne Brown - 2013 - Lake Chickamauga - 40-14
3. Casey Martin - 2017 - Lake Guntersville - 40-11
4. Derek Mundy - 2021 - Sam Rayburn - 40-10
5. Anthony Sharp - 2020 - Sam Rayburn - 40-6
6. Cody Pitt - 2023 - Toledo Bend - 39-15
7. Greg Hackney - 2008 - Falcon Lake - 39-11
8. Derek Mundy - 2021 - Sam Rayburn - 39-7
9. Richard Cathey - 2009 - Falcon Lake - 39-1
10. Terry Bolton - 2008 - Falcon Lake - 38-15

Related Articles

Top 10 baits from the Harris Chain
While many anglers didn't rely on whole tackle box, a lot of different baits worked for the field The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event at the Harris Chain on March 27-29 was dominated by two things: Dylan Quilatan and Lake Apopka. Posted on 3 Apr
Top 10 baits from Lake Chickamauga
Minnows were the name of the game at Chick, but there were other big players The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division tournament on Lake Chickamauga was a big success, with heavy weights and lots of fish caught. Posted on 26 Mar
Top 10 baits from the Lake of the Ozarks
Breeden's consistency triumphs in Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event at Lake of the Ozarks was one of the toughest events seen in a long time. Across the field, limits were almost impossible to come by - even the Top 10 couldn't guarantee full stringers. Posted on 6 Mar
Top 10 baits from season opener on Sam Rayburn
A variety of baits worked in frigid wintertime temperatures As usual, the season-opener of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division on Sam Rayburn Reservoir was a good event. Posted on 30 Jan
Best baits for wintertime bass fishing in Florida
There's no such thing as wasted money when it comes to fishing Browsing your local shelves or the internet for tackle is always an enjoyable and rewarding task, with no downsides. There's no such thing as wasted money when it comes to fishing - at worst, you're "eliminating water." Posted on 9 Jan
Wheeler's cranking approach for fall and winter
It can feel impossible to talk about bass fishing without also talking about forward-facing sonar These days, it can feel impossible to talk about bass fishing without also talking about forward-facing sonar and soft-plastic minnows rigged on jigheads. Posted on 4 Dec 2024
Top 10 baits from Toyota Series Championship
The jighead minnow accounted for yet another big win While the infamous jighead minnow proved to be the winning lure for rising star Hayden Marbut at the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Bass Boat Technologies, it was far from the only way to catch bass on Wheeler Lake. Posted on 13 Nov 2024
Top 10 baits from Lake of the Ozarks
What you were doing really didn't matter, just so long as you were fishing docks with a jig or worm If you want old-school fishing, there might not be a better place for it than Lake of the Ozarks late in the summer. Posted on 2 Oct 2024
Top 10 baits from Santee Cooper
An interesting variety of baits and techniques worked The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event was not a catchfest, but there were still some highlights to be had in the Santee Cooper showdown. Posted on 25 Sep 2024
Top 10 baits from the St. Lawrence River
Many traditional St. Lawrence baits played, but a few extra things also worked this time around This year's Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event on the St. Lawrence River was one of the best ever, with zero room for doubt. Posted on 28 Aug 2024
Palm Beach Motor YachtsMaritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTER