On February 21, Ron Casner of Apache Junction, AZ, caught a bass larger than the current state record, but Arizona Fish and Game officials have disqualified the catch.
Casner was fishing Canyon Lake with an 11-inch Uncle Josh worm rigged Texas-style on a 4/0 X-Point hook when he boated a 17.46-pound largemouth.
In order to weigh the fish on a certified scale without killing it, he put it in his livewell and drove to a supermarket nine miles away before returning to the lake to release the fish.
The Arizona Department of Fish and Game denied Casner the record because he violated a state law prohibiting the transport of live fish. In the process, Casner lost the opportunity to make a $50,000 bonus offered by X-Point hooks, given for a state record fish caught on their hooks.