Fisherman Lands MONSTROUS 52-Pound Striped Bass on the Sacramento River

Striped bass fishing season is off to a HOT start in Northern California, with pictures of monster fish flooding social media. One photo seen in the Facebook group NorCal Fishing Report was so incredible that many of the people thought it was photoshopped.

Thomas Fitzpatrick shared a photo of a 52-pound striped bass that was one of the biggest we’ve ever seen. It’s proof that these bass can grow to unbelievable sizes in the Sacramento River:

“I’m a pretty sentimental person and spend an extreme amount of time chasing these creatures and would like to just recognize and appreciate what this fish has had to over come in it’s ever changing environment for over a decade,” Fitzpatrick wrote on FB. “Very thankful for every ounce of the fight she put into the battle …. hopefully she gets to hunt the shallow riffles just the same as she did before we shook hands for a lot more years.”

The fish was so big, that the comment sections was filled with people saying it was photoshopped. While we can’t officially confirm the photo is real, we’ve seen plenty of photos of fish that are near that size on the Sac. It’s reminiscent of this 55-pound bass caught in November 2021 by Nathan Barbour:

Congrats to all the bass fishermen killing it in NorCal right now. Keep on rippin’ lips!

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

82 Comments

  1. Hope there’s more maybe a picture’s and release nice fish remember those a brood stock for future I would think ?

  2. Some people don’t realize that the fresh water strpped bass record was caught in O’Neil forebay not far from Sacramento. It was 66 1/2 lbs salt water is 77lbs in new jersey. Those two strippers are VERY believable.

  3. Definitely photo shopped. False story and strippers don’t get that big. Where is his left hand? What’s holding the fish up? Look at the edges.

    1. They don’t? Funny how I have caught stripers close to that size but will never tell you where. Last year I landed and released a 56 inch lunker. My scale wasn’t heavy enough to get a weight but it was every bit of 50 lbs. If you kill one that big you will go to hell

  4. I dont beleive it’s photoshopped, the beads of water dripping from the fins leaving ripples on the water is a detail most would forget. But judging by the size of his right knuckles, he is holding the fish out in front of him making the fish look larger than it realy is. One or two feet closer to the camera than the person holding it would make a huge difference.

  5. Some people are so anal . my cousin caught a 42 pound stripe on the sac just down from the isleton bridge . about 45 minutes later a guy caught a 47 pound stripe . my belief is fish school when small and it believe they school when they grow bigger . anyone who calls me a liar , can kiss my A Z Z . oh both fish were weighed at vieras resort .

    1. Lol yeah what Waylon said.. it is 2different people… you can plainly tell..why the ball cap looks the same their facial features are highly different… anyways tight lines enjoy and be safe!!

  6. These pictures are definitely photoshopped. a fish of that size would be at least 200 lb. A 50 lb fish would be a lot smaller than these two fish. Look at the length of the body of the fish, it’s robustness and then look at the person holding the fish and his size. Each one of those guys are well above 150 lb so how could the fish be two thirds less in weight? If there’s official record that they caught a 50 lb fish then all they did was Photoshop it to make you look a lot bigger here that’s all.

  7. Yes, Stiped Bass DO get that big. But this looks photoshopped to me. Like others have mentioned, where’s his left hand holding the fish?

  8. Ummm…. record is 78 lbs. And in the O’Neil forebay, Los Banos CA (San Luis res)which was the record for a very long time was 66½ lbs. Being from CA I’ve seen some monster stripers caught.

    1. But I do believe this is fake as it can be. While it may be the same guy (has the same smile anyway) its obvious that it’s not the same day. Pic 1 in boat, has way not facial hair. Pic 2 on shore, left hand kissing and his right hand grew substantially larger. There are fish this big in the sac so it’s not unbelievable. Just these poorly photoshopped pictures are fake

  9. Funny how the non Fisherman are saying the pic is fake, your fake! Instead of criticizing the man for a great catch, you need to congratulate him and get your a** out there And tighten some lines up then maybe you’ll see that there are big fish out there! My personal best is 43 lbs. Caught in ny. I personally know people who caught fish over 50lbs. Stop hating and start fishing!!!! Good catch brother!! ????

  10. Honestly, who gives a f*ck?
    It’s a striped bass.
    He’s not claiming a world or IGFA record.
    It’s just a good fish.
    Why would anyone give a damn if it was adoctored phot or not?

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  12. I’ve fished the Sacramento river for years. Never heard or seen a striped bass so large. Is it real?

  13. Yeah brah, i agree its real. I have a wireless bridge for sale. You I interested in buying it. Its sweet comes wifi ready! Being used to cross the American river by sac state right now! What you think?

  14. I’m 66 yrs old and when I was under 6 yrs old I remember when a neighbor would regularly come home with usually a pair of very large stripers. So large, as a 5-6 yr old i climbed into the cleaned out belly and scared the crap out of my dad.

  15. Hopefully he killed this salmon smolt killer. The government is spending millions and wasting our water shutting down hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland to restore salmon. This fish along with black bass and sea lions need to be controlled. No limit on either fish. I would rather catch a fish that’s good to eat.

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