Nick Dulleck caught an 11 lb 4 oz black bass at New Bullards Bar Reservoir on February 12, 2017. The catch was certified and reported at the time as a spotted-bass world record. Later taxonomic work—and IGFA’s 2024 record changes—separated Alabama bass from true spotted bass, changing how the historic catch should be described today.
The 2017 catch
Dulleck’s fish weighed 11 lb 4 oz, measured 24.5 inches long and had a reported 20.75-inch girth. He caught it at New Bullards Bar in northern California during the early hours of February 12, 2017.
The fish ate a Dirty Jigs Finesse Football Jig paired with a Gary Yamamoto Double Tail Grub. Dulleck released the bass alive after documenting the catch for record certification.
What Nick told Bass Fishing Facts in 2017
Bass Fishing Facts interviewed Dulleck a few months after the catch. His answers provide a useful snapshot of the angler behind the record rather than just the measurements.
- His favorite Gary Yamamoto soft plastic was the original 5-inch Senko.
- His favorite Dirty Jigs setup was a 3/8-ounce Tour Level Pitching Jig.
- He believed northern California still held more than one lake capable of producing another record-caliber fish.
- He said his interest in bass fishing became serious around age 12 or 13, when he rode a bicycle to local ponds and lakes with his rod and tackle. Later he fished float-tube tournaments and considered competitive fishing more seriously.
- He knew the fish was unusually large at the hookset, but said the true size did not register until it reached the net.
- Because the fish was released, he planned a 360-degree replica mount rather than a skin mount.
- The catch increased rather than satisfied his interest in records; he was already thinking about lake, state and world-record possibilities.
His closing advice was short: “Fish for yourself, DREAM BIG and follow your heart.”
What changed after the catch?
The biology did not change, but the names used by record books did. Questions about whether California’s giant “spotted bass” were actually Alabama bass were already being discussed in 2017. In 2024, IGFA formally added Micropterus henshalli—Alabama bass—as a separate record species after updated black-bass taxonomy and record review.
That means older articles calling Dulleck’s fish a spotted bass preserve the terminology used when the catch was certified, but modern coverage should explain the Alabama-bass distinction instead of silently repeating the old label.
What is the California record now?
California’s current state record table combines spotted and Alabama bass. It lists Nathaniel Hilligoss’ 11 lb 5 oz New Bullards Bar fish from February 20, 2022, one ounce heavier than Dulleck’s 2017 catch. That kind of category change is why Bass Facts keeps species, rules and source dates explicit; see our record-verification methodology.
Sources
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife — state fishing records
- IGFA — 2024 changes to black-bass records and Alabama-bass recognition
- Major League Fishing — 2017 discussion of the Alabama/spotted-bass identification issue
- Bassmaster — contemporary coverage of Dulleck’s catch
- Bass Fishing Facts original interview with Nick Dulleck, published June 5, 2017; migrated and summarized here.