McKinney, 19, wrecks ‘em as Fork comes alive; 11 year old reels in 13 pounder out west.

Story and photography by Matt Williams

Age is certainly no barrier when it comes to reeling in the big ones.  Just ask Stetson Davis of Tuttle, Okla.  Davis is only 11. On March 6, the 5th grader went fun fishing at Lake J.B. Thomas with his dad, Brodey. It turned out to be a blast of a trip.

About mid-morning, Davis got the bite of a lifetime and reeled in a 13.31 pound Legacy Lunker. The youngster caught the big bass on a chartreuse six inch swim bait guided by forward-facing sonar.

The bass ranks as a new Junior Angler Water Body Record for the 7,300 acre reservoir near Snyder. At the time it was the second Legacy Class entry of the year from J.B. Thomas and the 11th overall entry of the statewide collection season that runs through March 31 each year.

Davis is in pretty tall cotton and knows it. You can watch his reaction after catching the giant bass on video at www.facebook.com/brodey.davis/videos/383516791095603.

Davis is among the youngest ShareLunker donors since the program began in 1986. The youngest is Jesse Roberson of Richland Springs. In March 2007, Roberson caught a 15.54 pounder from a private lake near Goldthwaite. He was only nine years old at the time.

The big fish apple apparently doesn’t fall very far from the tree in the Davis clan. In February 2022, Davis’ father caught a 17.06 pound Legacy Lunker at Lake O.H. Ivie. The ‘Ivie lake record currently ranks as the No. 7 heaviest Texas bass of all-time.

Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., is another young angler who knows all about catching big ones in Texas.  McKinney took his big fish catching to different heights at the age of 19. In March, he became the youngest angler in Bassmaster history to win a big league Elite Series event and the $100,000 pay day that comes with it.

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