<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Zffrh_0lRjbnU400" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Zffrh_0lRjbnU400" width="1000" height="600" ></figure><p>Biologists have determined that a 10.15-pound smallmouth bass reeled from in Lake Erie last November was a 16-year-old female.</p><p>The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also stated in a news release Wednesday that the fish caught by Gregg Gallagher of Fremont, Ohio, is the only known 10-pound smallmouth ever caught in a Great Lakes state or province.</p><p>Gallagher landed the bass while fishing last Nov. 3 on Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada, waters.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>The previous Ontario record smallmouth was 9.84 pounds, set in 1984. So Gallagher’s catch is a Lake Erie record, a Great Lakes record, and an Ontario record. (The current Ohio record for smallmouth bass is 9.5 pounds.)</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto%2F%3Ffbid%3D629782722514680%26set%3Da.226403159519307&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=500" style="width:100%; height:100%; position:relative; border:none; overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div><p>Gallagher’s catch measured 23-3/4 inches with a girth of 19-3/8 inches.</p><p>According to the Ohio DNR, the fish was hatched in 2006. Smallmouth bass, the agency added, rarely live beyond 14 years.</p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p>A typical Lake Erie smallmouth measures less than 20 inches and few catches exceed 7 pounds.</p><p>For comparison, the <a href="https://igfa.org/igfa-world-records-search/?search_type=CommonName&amp;search_term_1=Bass,%20smallmouth&amp;search_term_2=AT">world record</a> for smallmouth bass is 11 pounds, 15 ounces, set at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow Lake in 1955.</p><p><i>–Image showing Gregg Gallagher with his record smallmouth bass is courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources</i></p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

Biologists have determined that a 10.15-pound smallmouth bass reeled from in Lake Erie last November was a 16-year-old female. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also stated in a news release Wednesday that the fish caught by Gregg Gallagher of Fremont, Ohio, is the only known 10-pound smallmouth ever caught in a Great Lakes state or province.