Lie negates angler's record catch

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LONGMONT, Colo., May 17 (UPI) -- A Colorado angler says his big bass won't land him a state record because he lied about where he caught it.

Isaac Sprecher, 18, of Longmont told the Longmont Times-Call Wednesday night the 31-pound, 8.4-ounce striped bass he caught April 20 didn't come out of McIntosh Lake, but from a pond at Pella Crossing in Boulder County where catch-and-release rules are in effect.

Sprecher said he wasn't sure he could keep the fish and couldn't immediately reach a wildlife officer so took the fish home. When a wildlife manager came to his home several hours later, Sprecher told him he had caught the fish in McIntosh Lake.

"It was a different lake, a different place," Sprecher said, describing his actions as "stupid and immature."

"I wasn't honest. I'm greatly sorry for all this," he said. "It's a good life lesson. It wasn't right for me to lie about it."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill told the newspaper that since officers were unable to determine where the striped bass was actually caught, they would be unable to officially award it state-record status.

So Colorado's official striped bass record-holder remains a 15-pound, 11-ounce specimen caught in 2009 at CF&I Reservoir No. 2 in Pueblo County.

While he lost out on the record, Sprecher didn't break any laws so he gets to keep it and intends to have it mounted.

"Even if I did screw up the whole process, it was a blessing to reel it in," he said.