Potential Tennessee Bass Record
Darrel Nunley caught a potential Tennessee state record largemouth bass weighing 15.75 lbs and measuring 29.5 inches in Nickajack Lake. The catch has sparked excitement among anglers and could officially break the state record. Big bass baits are seeing a resurgence with tips circulating on trophy hunting techniques.
The pending record largemouth bass, caught by Darrel Nunley on February 28, 2026, is set to outweigh the current Tennessee state record held by Gabe Keen by over half a pound. Keen's record, a 15.20-pound bass, was caught on the nearby Chickamauga Lake in 2015. Before the record is official, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) must complete a routine review. Nunley met with TWRA biologists who weighed and measured the fish, which will also undergo DNA analysis. The certification process is expected to take at least two weeks. Nunley was fishing with his friend and guide, Hensley Powell, when he landed the massive fish. He was using a green pumpkin-colored, half-ounce Z-Man Hammer bladed jig with a Hog Farmer Spunk Shad as a trailer. The fish reportedly did not jump and initially felt like a dead weight when hooked in the hydrilla grass. The impressive size of both the potential new record and the previous one is attributed to the introduction of Florida-strain largemouth bass into Tennessee reservoirs like Nickajack and Chickamauga. These bass grow larger than the native northern-strain largemouth, and their hybridization can result in what biologists call "hybrid vigor," producing exceptionally large fish.
