Lucky Fisherman Catches Giant 57-Pound Striped Bass on the Sacramento River

It was on April 7 around 6:30 pm when Billy Driessen hooked the catch of the lifetime on the Sacramento River below Chico, CA. After the fight of his life over ten minutes, Driessen landed a massive 57-pound striped bass. It was the catch of a lifetime.

Check out the picture of the beast:

The giant fish measured 46 inches long and 32 inches in girth. Driessen carefully released the bass back into the water after taking his coveted trophy fish photo.

Driessen used a custom setup to land the fish. He hooked it on a 11″ Hiroshima Customs Glidebait, paired with an 8′ Elite Styx – SW Glide 9614 XXHeavy Mod/Fast 6-14 oz. and Okuma Komodo 463 bait casting reel with 100-pound Power Pro braided line.

This is an incredible story and it begs the question – is this the biggest fish caught in Northern California this year? Is this the largest striped bass caught in the country this year?

We couldn’t find any documentation of a larger bass being caught in the country this year. That’s quite an accomplishment for Driessen.