There is no evidence to support it. Anyone can offer a picture, and claim it represents this or that.
I'm going fishing today, and here to let you know of it. Later today, I will send you a picture of a 17lb small mouthed bass. Does that mean I caught it?
There is simply no hard evidence that any of this took place.
Nope. You could not have caught one in Michigan. The CLOSEST of what the "uninformed" call "bass" was an 11LB 15.04OZ large mouth (which is not a true bass, it is a sunfish), which in the record for that species for the State of Michigan. The state record for the ONLY true bass found in Michigan waters is 6LB 11.84OZ white bass, also known locally on the Detroit River, which in reality is properly called the "Straights of Detroit", since it is NOT a river.
Real facts, real science. Your event could have NEVER taken place in Michigan.