Buck you are sorta on the right track.

There is a whole subculture of fishermen who only target big fish. That 9.9 was caught by one of those guys. They do it with artificials, but big artificials. Big MS Skammers (up to 12 inches and more) Huddleston, Rago, Mattlures, 316 Lures and other swimbaits. There is another guy who caught two 9+ lb bass a couple years ago in one single outing. He also caught another fish in the spring which weighed 9-2, released it and caught it again in the fall and it wieghed 9-6 and won the Mass Gold Pin award.