Junior Catches a Senior

Ty Cooper’s smile was nearly as wide as the 9-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught during the Bassmaster Junior Series Open at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Academy Sports & Outdoors.

While he and teammate Landon McGlaughlin fished offshore grass in about 8 feet of water, Cooper’s personal best ate a Texas-rigged Bass Gorilla paddletail worm. The 6th grader said the big fish was a real day-maker.

“It was really tough today and we were fishing with every bait we could,” Cooper said. “It was one of those days where you don’t catch anything and you’d get mad and then you catch a 9-pounder!”

Cooper said the best part of the experience was seeing his father/boat captain Ryan Cooper’s reaction: “I’ve never seen my boat captain jump that high!”