Bill Hartman took home a wire basket full of fish – and a giant fish story – after a fly fishing trip Thursday to a beautiful pond in the Kansas Flint Hills.
He used a black marabou jig under a strike indicator to catch crappies and largemouth bass. But it’s what he found when he lifted his fish basket out of the water that will stay with him.
A 2-pound largemouth seemingly tried to eat a bass only slightly smaller while in captivity. It had the smaller bass’s head and part of its body in its mouth before it got stuck.
“Nobody will believe us on this one,” Hartman said with a laugh. “They’ll think we staged this or something.
“But you’re my witness.”
Hartman smiled, then added, “I’ve been fishing for a long time, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. I guess that bass was trying to get one last meal.”