Photo courtesy TWRA

A Marion County man is officially in the Tennessee record books after landing the largest largemouth bass ever confirmed in the state.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency announced Monday that Whitwell resident Darren Nunley set a new Tennessee state record for largemouth bass with a fish caught earlier this year on Nickajack Reservoir.

According to TWRA, Nunley caught the massive bass on Feb. 28 while fishing on Nickajack Lake. The fish weighed 15 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces and measured 27 7/8 inches long. Officials said the bass was weighed on a certified scale at a grocery store in Whitwell before genetic testing was completed to officially verify the catch.

The new record surpasses the previous Tennessee largemouth bass record of 15 pounds, 3 ounces, which was set by angler Gabe Keen in February 2015. That catch had broken a state record that had stood for more than six decades.

TWRA confirmed the official results on May 9 after completing the agency’s review and verification process.

Nickajack Reservoir, which stretches across parts of southeast Tennessee, is widely known among anglers as one of the region’s premier bass fishing destinations.