Do you think George Perry's record is legit?

[schplurg]

One more thing for me to add.

 

The question in the thread title is about the records legitimacy. If it does not meet the requirements of that particular record then it can't really be legit. Whether or not I personally believe the fish actually weighed what is claimed is not the issue.

 

If I catch a fish today that does not meet those requirements then it is not an official record. It would then follow that if this catch that occurred 20 years before the record rules ever existed cannot meet those same requirements then it should not be an official record either.

 

However, if whoever is in charge of all this wishes to make special allowances for pre-existing catches then who am I to say they can't? Do I accept it myself? I don't know.

 

I would probably care if I thought I'd caught a world record fish. If money was at stake all of this might matter. Other than that, pfft. It's good forum talk.

 

 

[NoShoes]

8 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Some people get mad when they realize they cannot beat someone no matter how hard they try. It takes a humble man to admit someone is better than they are at something they are good at, sadly many prefer to bash other's legitimate achievements to make themselves feel better about themselves. There will always be someone better than you in a Sport and even if you are the best there might come a day a person might beat your best effort.

I hardly think perry “lucking” into one giant bass makes him better than some of our memembers who caught them regularly, even if the supposed bass was bigger. 

[Alpster]

Many years ago, I read an article by a genetic scientist, who was also bass fisherman. He hypothesized that the fish caught by Perry was a genetic/mutation anomaly that caused it's unusually large size. A 1 in a billion occurrence but similar to the giant humans recorded with excess HGH, etc. He sites "Andrea the giant" and Robert Wadlow who was almost 9' tall. No matter what you believe about Perry's fish, you will have to catch a bigger bass to hold the record. I searched for, but can't find the article.

[David 7]

Personally I’ve never understood comparing myself to other anglers, I chase my PB. But then again I’m not a very competitive person, I just like fishing lol.

[gim]

I consider myself to be a competitive person.  However, I've accepted the fact that no matter how hard I try and how much time I invest into any one activity, there will always be someone better than me at it.  It still isn't going to stop me from trying.

 

Until his record is beaten, it will remain the record whether it is legitimate or not.  There is literally no way to verify the validity of it it at this point now.

[DitchPanda]

3 hours ago, NoShoes said:

I hardly think perry “lucking” into one giant bass makes him better than some of our memembers who caught them regularly, even if the supposed bass was bigger. 

Who said he only caught 1 giant bass? We are talking about his record but how do you know its the only big bass he ever caught? I understand your point but I'm just making on of my own. Was he the best bass angler ever? Probably not but how can you know?

 

In response to some of the shade getting thrown his way...none of us were there to see it so its not fair to make a judgement call. Do I think his fish was that big? Maybe...maybe not. I'm definitely not going to insinuate its was done falsly or he was lying or any other dumb crap like that. Besides it really doesn't matter what my opinion is because it is the record. Only way to dispute is to legitimately beat it...everything beyond that is a moot point.

[volzfan59]

It's just not a big deal for me. If the  "powers that be" grandfather it in as a worlds record, I'm good. Like all record's, sooner or later it will be broken.

[NoShoes]

3 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

Who said he only caught 1 giant bass? We are talking about his record but how do you know its the only big bass he ever caught? I understand your point but I'm just making on of my own. Was he the best bass angler ever? Probably not but how can you know?

 

In response to some of the shade getting thrown his way...none of us were there to see it so its not fair to make a judgement call. Do I think his fish was that big? Maybe...maybe not. I'm definitely not going to insinuate its was done falsly or he was lying or any other dumb crap like that. Besides it really doesn't matter what my opinion is because it is the record. Only way to dispute is to legitimately beat it...everything beyond that is a moot point.

Him and his Buddy brought one lure that day and took turns casting it. They snuck off the farm to fish for the day. When the bass hit, they thought they hung up their only plug on a log and that their fishing day was over. 
 

Doesn’t sound like a consistent fisherman to me, let alone a consistent big bass guy. 

[Zcoker]

Back in the day a man’s word was as good as gold and some could even take that word to the grave. It is what it is, the IGFA Perry record. And there’s nothing no one can do about it other than to change it with another fish 2 ounces bigger. Those are the IGFA rules--period. Perry’s fish could’ve possibly even been much heavier than what it was officially weighed at. We had a similar situation here in Florida back in ’64 at the Cherry Grove pier where Walter Maxwell caught a tiger shark around 2000lbs. But once it was officially weighed next day, it came in at 1780lbs. It lost weight after its death, you see, water weight, etc. Which was expected. Still the world record to this day. 

 

Perry's fish is indeed famous. But a close second is the Dottie fish. I'm sure those guys are crying over that catch/release. Though hearsay, I've heard that the IGFA would've possibly considered it a record regardless of the foul hooking. If I'm correct, the fisherman who caught that fish just "assumed" it would not qualify. So he released it.  She later appeared belly up dead somewhere, months or years later, I don't know. No more fish stories. 

 

But the allure of all this record fish stuff is still fun to dream about! Happy hunting! 

[soflabasser]

6 hours ago, Alpster said:

Many years ago, I read an article by a genetic scientist, who was also bass fisherman. He hypothesized that the fish caught by Perry was a genetic/mutation anomaly that caused it's unusually large size. A 1 in a billion occurrence but similar to the giant humans recorded with excess HGH, etc. He sites "Andrea the giant" and Robert Wadlow who was almost 9' tall. No matter what you believe about Perry's fish, you will have to catch a bigger bass to hold the record. I searched for, but can't find the article.

I read that George Perry's record largemouth bass might have been a hybrid between a Florida largemouth bass and Northern largemouth bass. So many people have tried so hard to beat George Perry's and Manabu Kuirita's World Record bass yet nobody has. Until these records are broken all the whining is nothing but cheap talk which anyone can do.

[Tennessee Boy]

4 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

Who said he only caught 1 giant bass?

He won the same Field & Stream contest again a few years later with a 13 lbs 14 oz fish from the Altamaha River.   

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, NoShoes said:

Him and his Buddy brought one lure that day and took turns casting it. They snuck off the farm to fish for the day. When the bass hit, they thought they hung up their only plug on a log and that their fishing day was over. 
 

Doesn’t sound like a consistent fisherman to me, let alone a consistent big bass guy. 

 

7 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

He won the same Field & Stream contest again a few years later with a 13 lbs 14 oz fish from the Altamaha River.   

Yeah your right...not a good big bass fisherman. Caught the world record bass or at least it was at the time...then caught a 14lber. Definitely didn't know what he was doing.

[Tennessee Boy]

1 minute ago, DitchPanda said:

 

Yeah your right...not a good big bass fisherman. Caught the world record bass or at least it was at the time...then caught a 14lber. Definitely didn't know what he was doing.

He certainly knew how to win magazine contest,  there's no doubt about that.

[RenzokukenFisher]

I definitely meant no disrespect to George Perry himself in my original post. I was more skeptical about the lakes potential for big fish and the accuracy of the scales used to weigh the fish. As others have pointed out though there are no satillite images of the lake in the 1930s which I forgot to consider and lakes can have periods of prime potential for giant bass. I think this record has a chance of being legit but I do think extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Without solid pictures, measurements, and witness testimony to verified weights it makes it harder to believe. Either way I'll accept it as the record since thats what it currently is. 

[WRB]

This is definitely a cabin fever thread better suited for mid winter.

There are more stories circulating around the bass Perry then any other record.

In George Perry own words it was a rainy day to wet for farm work and he along his friend decided to go fish to catch dinner. Perry said it was night when they got back to take the bass to weigh it. After he took the bass home, cleaned and for dinner. George never stated when a photo was taken on this rainy afternoon when they went fishing.

On the contest application George filled out the weight, the length and girth, the lure a Creek Chub Wiggle Fish*  and checked a box photo enclosed. End of Perry story.

Was the bass measured hanging down from tip the open mouth common back then? Girth measurement were not common then or now by bass anglers.

Conjecture and stories and fading memories is all we have.

Tom

* The Wiggle Fish or Fintail  Shiner depending on which story you read.

[jbsoonerfan]

For those who like World Record drama, look at the Milo Hanson buck. The Perry bass arguments are nothing compared to the Hanson buck.

[NoShoes]

2 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

 

Yeah your right...not a good big bass fisherman. Caught the world record bass or at least it was at the time...then caught a 14lber. Definitely didn't know what he was doing.

never heard of the 14 lber. I stand corrected. 

[schplurg]

Quote

Back in the day a man’s word was as good as gold

 

Ya and I have some tincture to sell ya! Cures cancer, baldness, drunkardness, common cold, saddle sores, and makes you better looking! Your horse will even like it! Trust me!

[geo g]

There is no way to determine whether Perry’s fish was legit or not.  I except it!   If you look at the California fish caught over recent years, they are all Florida gene pool fish brought in and feed stocked trout that allowed for their size.  Now that the trout stocking has stopped, sizes have gone down.  Experiments like this should exclude those fish from any records.  Nothing natural about that.  Or should we include bass from giant aquariums hand fed by biologists!  Crazy!

[David 7]

43 minutes ago, geo g said:

There is no way to determine whether Perry’s fish was legit or not.  I except it!   If you look at the California fish caught over recent years, they are all Florida gene pool fish brought in and feed stocked trout that allowed for their size.  Now that the trout stocking has stopped, sizes have gone down.  Experiments like this should exclude those fish from any records.  Nothing natural about that.  Or should we include bass from giant aquariums hand fed by biologists!  Crazy!

The difference between regions is very important. Up here in New York people chase the NYS record, can’t bother with national or world records up here in the north anyhow. Personally I just chase my own PB. 

[slonezp]

I don't know about the rest of the country but if I walked into the post office, to weigh a fish, here in Chicago, one of 2 things would happen. They would run me out of the store because they thought I was crazy or I would wait in line for an hour and they would ask if I wanted it shipped priority.

[WRB]

The Florida strain bass transplants by Orville Ball San Diego city lakes manager goal was to improve catch rate per man hour fished of bass 3 lb average in lieu of 2 lb average. Giant bass wasn’t the goal. 

Lower Otay, Hodges, Southland and El Capitan lakes for example didn’t have a trout population. San Vicente, Moreno, did. Lake Dixon Dottie’s lake and Miramar* wasn’t part of the initial FLMB stocking program in 1959.

The FLMB program failed to meet it’s original because the bass proved to be harder to catch and fish per man hour dropped significantly.

10 years later giant bass started to show up in all the SD city lakes stocked with FLMB. Everyone want the FLMB stocked in the local lake of California, the rest is history. 2 giant bass 20.4 lbs and 19.8 lbs came out of Hodges and Lower Otay without trout populations. 21.3 lb giant in 1971 was caught at Miramar, yet never stocked*. 

Castaic and Casitas were planted in 1970, both winter trout stocked lakes. The Northern Cal lakes and Delta were also stocked in the 70’s. Clare Lake and the Delta doesn’t have a trout population.

Florida strain LMB in their native range have Golden shiner populations very similar to trout in size and protein. Shad, Crappie, bluegill and crawdads make up food source for Cal lakes without trout programs. 

Texas program is highly managed yet the state Record is 18+ lbs. Private attempts to raise a world record have failed. The last I know of was Camelot Bell in Texas, no state record to date.

I don’t know of any lakes in California were bass are being hand fed trout? 

The Perry bass was caught in Georgia the very northern edge of the Florida strain LMB, just one more anomaly.

Tom  

 

 

[12poundbass]

11 hours ago, slonezp said:

I don't know about the rest of the country but if I walked into the post office, to weigh a fish, here in Chicago, one of 2 things would happen. They would run me out of the store because they thought I was crazy or I would wait in line for an hour and they would ask if I wanted it shipped priority.

I’ve often thought about that myself. I believe grocery stores have certified scales as well. I could only imagine the looks walking into a post office or grocery store holding a bass or carrying a dripping wet weigh in bag with a flopping fish through the store. 
 

I believe @A-Jay has reached out to a local certified scale and put a game plan in place. I wonder if he got a sideways look? 

[slonezp]

4 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’ve often thought about that myself. I believe grocery stores have certified scales as well. I could only imagine the looks walking into a post office or grocery store holding a bass or carrying a dripping wet weigh in bag with a flopping fish through the store. 
 

I believe @A-Jay has reached out to a local certified scale and put a game plan in place. I wonder if he got a sideways look? 

The grocery stores around here had removed the scales in the produce departments some time ago. Probably my fault. When I was in my early 20s, and strictly a meat fisherman, I brought my biggest bass to date into a grocery store to weigh it. It weighed 5 and change. Bought breading and the rest of dinner fixins and had bass for dinner.

[A-Jay]

18 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’ve often thought about that myself. I believe grocery stores have certified scales as well. I could only imagine the looks walking into a post office or grocery store holding a bass or carrying a dripping wet weigh in bag with a flopping fish through the store. 
 

I believe @A-Jay has reached out to a local certified scale and put a game plan in place. I wonder if he got a sideways look? 

While this town is growing pretty fast, thankfully it still maintains the "small town" feel. Probably helps in this situation. The name of the small grocery store is 'Family Fare', if that tells you anything.

Plus, I know a guy . . . .

Fish Hard

A-Jay