New Indiana Smallmouth Bass State Record

Rex Remington, age 60, is retiring from his manufacturing engineering job this spring. However, he was not going to wait until then to go fishing. Remington was quick out of the gate, launching his boat on Monroe Reservoir near Bloomington, Indiana, on March 3, 2024.

On this late winter day, the water temperature was only 45 degrees. Still, it was good to get out. It didn’t take long for Remington to catch his first bass on a Berkley Stunna 112 Jerkbait. It was a small keeper largemouth. Then, he lost a good one before catching a four-pounder.

The Freetown area resident told me, I’ve probably caught ten or twelve smallies at Monroe over the last 30 years. Some were three-plus pounds. You will see a few weighed in during tournaments each year. I’ve seen several over five pounds. I actually weighed a smallmouth at a Red Man Tournament in 1988. This was very rare back then. I caught it near the dam on a Charlie Brewer four-inch Slider worm.

A few cast after his first bass, Rex Remington cast his lure into history. “I had no clue the big fish on my line was anything but another largemouth. It rolled on top when I set the hook and then went down,” he said. Remington continued, “I thought this beast of a smallmouth might weigh six pounds. All I wanted to do was release this beautiful fish, but when it pulled my Berkley Scales to 8.1 pounds, I got on my phone and looked up the Indiana state record smallmouth. It was 7 lbs. 4 ozs. I was holding a potential new state record.? Still, Remington was inclined to release this trophy fish. He had no idea how he could certify his record without killing it, so he called his cousin Dean Remington, who recommended releasing this fish into the live well. At the same time, he got the certification process rolling.

Dean contacted his friend and High School Fishing Coach, Chad Smith. Smith called his friend Owen County Conservation Officer Matt Mauder. The CO contacted Babb’s Supermarket. “Yes, you can use our scales,” the manager replied. Rex brought his fish to Spencer to be weighed on the market’s certified scales.

Officer Mauder said, “I’m a rookie CO and have already helped certify a state record fish.” Most COs will retire without even seeing a live record. He also said, “The photos don’t show what a monster this fish is. Mauder recalled the smallmouth measuring 23 inches with a girth of 17.5 inches. “Her tail was red from trying to spawn, but she was still full of eggs,” he said. Mauder also recalled this big female being quite lively while being weighed.

To become a record, the fish must be witnessed by two independent parties on certified scales. A lady at Babb’s and Officer Mauder agreed on the reading of 8.23 pounds.

Spencer is about 30 miles from Monroe. Word got to District Fisheries Biologist Dave Kittaka, who, with his wife, met Rex at the ramp.

It was always about returning this fish to the lake in good shape. Rex Remington did not just release his record back into the waters of Monroe, but in the same creek arm she came from.