Bass fisherman Joshua Buller caught one of the heaviest black bass in Oregon history on April 27. Buller’s spotted bass weighed a little more than 9 pounds, just 2 pounds shy of the all-tackle world record that came from a California lake. But as things stand now, Buller’s fish won’t be certified as a state record because Oregon doesn’t recognize the spotted bass as a legitimate game fish species.
“What I’ve learned, after talking with [the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife], is that it probably won’t ever be certified as a record,” Buller, 21, tells Outdoor Life. “So, it hurts. But I know I caught it. I know I weighed it. Even though it might not ever be in the actual record book.”
Buller adds that although he’d like the recognition, along with the status it would bring to his home state, it no longer seems worth the uphill battle to get spotted bass re-classified in Oregon. He also theorizes that the state’s fisheries managers are so focused on trout, salmon, and steelhead that they don’t care as much about bass.
“The only way to change this, from what I’ve been told, is to go through the legislative system,” Buller says. “So I would have to get with my local representative and try to get a bill passed … so that ODFW could then set regulations on it, right?”
ODFW did not immediately respond to OL’s request for comment Monday. But the most likely explanation for the record-book snub is that because spotted bass were introduced illegally into the state — that is, without the explicit permission of state fisheries managers — they are considered an invasive species and are therefore ineligible for record-book status.
Oregon does recognize two other non-native bass species — largemouth and smallmouth bass — as game fish. But both of those species were introduced intentionally by state officials to provide more opportunities for anglers. Spotted bass were also introduced legally in California, where the species is classified as a game fish. Interestingly, spotted bass are not listed on ODFW’s bass guide. Nor are they included in the state’s list of invasive species.
Buller explains that spotted bass are rare in Oregon. Native to the eastern U.S., the fish can only be found in two lakes in the Willamette Valley, he says. One of those lakes, which Buller prefers not to name, is where he caught his 9-plus-pound spotted bass.
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“This lake holds some monster spotted bass,” Buller says. “Especially this year. There are so many spotted bass in this lake, it’s insane … and I’ve seen some fish that I think are in that double-digit range for sure.”
Buller’s bass was a fat female full of eggs. He’d been targeting big fish all morning using his Garmin LiveScope, and he was able to tease the bass near his boat using a swimbait. The fish wouldn’t eat the swimbait, but it committed as soon as he pitched out a dropshot rig.
The spotted bass measured 24 inches long with a 19-inch girth. It weighed 9.2 pounds on his hand scale, and 9.3 pounds on another hand scale that Buller borrowed from a buddy. He even had his parents come out to the lake to photograph the fish and serve as witnesses. But after learning that ODFW didn’t recognize spotted bass as potential records, Buller says he didn’t bother with trying to get it weighed on a certified scale. He also didn’t want to kill the fish, and says an Oregon law that prohibits anglers from transporting their fish in livewells made the whole process a non-starter.
Buller can see why there is some controversy around how spotted bass are classified in Oregon. The species was introduced illegally into Oregon waters at some point, and potentially by an angler. Buller doesn’t know the history — only that he’s been catching spotted bass for as long as he’s been fishing there.
“They’ve been in that lake for 20-plus years,” Buller says. “Me and my dad and my grandpa have fished that lake probably as much as anyone else. And the big thing around here was to keep it a secret — to not post photos or whatever. And I’ve been doing that for 15 years.”
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The cat is now out of the bag. But Buller, who fishes competitively in tournament circuits on the West Coast, says he never intended for his fish to end up on social media. A photo of him and the fish was re-shared April 28 in a Facebook post by Bass Manager, which referred to the fish as a “potential Oregon state record” weighing 9.3 pounds.
Buller says the post sparked all kinds of false commentary, including how the photo must’ve been AI-generated because there are no spotted bass swimming in Oregon waters.
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