Huge bass!

An Alabama resident has reeled in a 70-pound striped bass that shattered a 54-year-old state record and could land the angler in the book of world records for the heaviest striper ever caught in a landlocked fishery.

James R. Bramlett, 65, reeled in the behemoth on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. 

Bramlett told Joe Songer of AL.com that he credits his wife, Janice, for urging him to go fishing. She was scheduled to undergo a hospital procedure in a few days and would need him to be around and take care of her.

The catch, weighed on a certified scale, exceeds the previous record, set in 1959, by 15 pounds. (Bramlett and his catch are pictured at right.)