Gregg Gallagher caught this 10.15-pound smallmouth bass on Lake Erie Thursday, setting a new record for a Great Lakes smallmouth.

A 10.15-pound smallmouth bass caught Thursday on Lake Erie set a new record for a Great Lakes smallmouth.

In the video below, Gregg Gallagher and his son, Grant, can barely contain themselves as they net the super-sized smallie.

**GIANT FISH ALERT** Father/son from OH catch 10.15-lb smallmouth bass on Lake Erie, biggest Great Lakes smallie ever. https://t.co/x2memBss8p

The following is an edited account of the record-setting catch from a press release posted online by Gregg Gallagher:

“On Nov. 3rd my son Grant and I, both teachers, woke up with a surprise day off due to fog. The flat calm conditions were perfect for the western end of Lake Erie. The goal was to catch a giant smallmouth bass, seven pounds or better.”

Gregg Gallagher (right), along with his son, Grant (left, with fish), caught a 10.15-pound smallmouth bass on Lake Erie Thursday, setting a new record for a Great Lakes smallmouth.

“The countless time Grant has spent scouting, graphing, and working on fine-tuning our smallmouth techniques all paid off when he located what we both knew was a unique and likely un-fished spot. With an abundance of baitfish located and unique bottom content, we dropped down our forward-facing sonar.”

Gregg Gallagher caught this 10.15-pound smallmouth bass on Lake Erie Thursday, setting a new record for a Great Lakes smallmouth.

“My bait got hit before it even hit the bottom and my rod quickly doubled over. I honestly thought I had hooked into a sheepshead. We quickly learned we had just caught the smallmouth of a lifetime. After a quick weight in the boat, we knew the fish was approaching at least nine pounds. We needed to get the weight verified on an official scale. After a few more phone calls we were able to meet Travis Hartman (Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources).”

Gregg Gallagher caught this 10.15-pound smallmouth bass on Lake Erie Thursday, setting a new record for a Great Lakes smallmouth. Here the fish is weighed on a certified scale by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“Once the paperwork is finished, it will be the new Ontario Province record smallmouth bass, breaking a 68-year record. I think the video of both of us screaming like school girls over what ended up being the largest documented smallmouth ever caught on the Great Lakes says it all. The ability to do it with my son, who has become the captain of the boat and a much better fisherman than me, made it even more special.”

“The official weight was 10.15-pounds, and [it] measured 23 3/4 x 19 3/8 inches.”

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Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.

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