Fisherman makes 51-pound catch at Lake Austin

AUSTIN, Texas - There are some big fish swimming around in Lake Austin apparently!

A man caught one that weighed 51-pounds Tuesday morning.  That's Reis Bond middle name "James"James Bond. 
               
"It is really, my Dad said he had to do it to one of us so I got it," Bond said.

Bond was born in England but lives in California now.  He's visiting family here in Texas and thought he'd stop by the lake Tuesday morning.  He's from a family of passionate carp anglers so he's got a pretty sweet setup.

"This is kind of called a Euro setup and so we have alarms to know when we're getting takes or drop-backs is what they call when the fish picks up and swims towards you," Bond said.

When the big fish latched on, Bond said the alarms started screaming.

"I didn't think it was my personal best when I netted it but sure enough when I put it on the scales, 51 pounds so I was well happy with it," Bond said.

Yes, this is the biggest fish Bond has ever caught.

"Yeah and I've fished France, my biggest carp out of France is 48 pounds so yeah this tops everything," Bond said.

Bond identified the fish as a Smallmouth Buffalo.  Texas Parks and Wildlife confirmed for Fox 7 and they said it's a member of the "sucker" family, not to be confused with a carp.

Bond has a policy, he doesn't kill and eat the fish he catches, and he just lets them go.  So he was keeping the big catch in a retaining sling just until his brother could check it out then he'll set the fish free.

"If you kill all the fish off, then you're not going to have anything to catch and the way I look at it, if you catch a 50 pound fish or a 20 pound fish and you kill it, it's never going to grow any bigger and if I catch a 50-pound fish and I put it back in a couple of years’ time it could be 60 or 70. You never know.  Us, as carp anglers, we're always out there chasing the big one," he said.

Bond said now he'll be looking for that 60-pounder.
               
And he may find it.  According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the largest Smallmouth Buffalo caught in Lake Austin weighed in at 70.5 pounds back in 2008.