Do you think George Perry's record is legit?

[jimmyjoe]

42 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I think the most logical explanation is he lied

 

   I would be careful with that. There are a good number of possibilities having to do with this matter, but calling someone a liar without any proof is not constructive.                 jj

[Mobasser]

Part of what makes this record so interesting to learn about is the mystery of it all. As Catt has said here, rural Georgia in 1932 was a whole different world. We may never know the correct answer here.

Part of what makes this record so interesting to learn about is the mystery of it all. As Catt has said here, rural Georgia in 1932 was a whole different world. We may never know the correct answer here.

[the reel ess]

8 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

There were no records at the time.  Field and Stream started keeping fishing records a few years later and at that point declared his fish as the world record.

So it was a record, no matter what it weighed. Just likely not 22 lbs.

[Dwight Hottle]

At the time it was accepted by Field & Stream the premier sporting magazine as the new record. There was no governing body to establish weight records until IGFA came along a few years later. It is what it is. I have always accepted it based on history & the credibility of both Field & Stream & IGFA. Postal scales have always been the US standard for accuracy.  

[NoShoes]

As someone from Georgia, I have my doubts on it. Look at the biggest from the surrounding states (all known for big bass as well), and the next biggest bass is 18lbs, GA included. 
 

We have big bass here, not typically in the rivers though. 
 

I live about an hour and a half from where Perry caught it, the bass pro here has a replica of the fish. Very impressive by any measure. 

[Tennessee Boy]

9 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   I would be careful with that. There are a good number of possibilities having to do with this matter, but calling someone a liar without any proof is not constructive.                 jj

I'm not calling the man a liar.   We will never know the facts on this.  I'm saying it's the most logical explanation. There are many possible explanations.  Today a world record is a big deal and would be worth a lot of money in endorsements to the angler.  To try to make a fraudulent claim to a world record largemouth today would be a serious crime.   Perry was not claiming a world record at the time.  He was entering a Field and Stream contest for catching the biggest fish of the year.  He obviously won and he won this contest again in a later year.  Field & Stream did not keep world records at the time.  They started doing that a few years later and awarded the record to him because he submitted the fish in the contest. 

 

I don't think they should take the record away from him.  There is no evidence to support doing that.  It would have been nice if someone (Field & Stream or IGFA) had done some research when witnesses were still alive before awarding him the record.

 

My question is this.  What's more likely?  A 20 year old lied to win a shotgun or he caught the biggest bass ever caught and a fish 4 lbs bigger than the 2nd biggest fish ever caught in the state.  We will never know the truth.

 

 

[ironbjorn]

I don't know, but I count Dottie and the Kurita bass because with Dottie, she was legitimately that fat regardless of the hook being slightly out of the mouth, and Kurita's fish was legitimately that fat regardless of live or artificial bait. I don't look for ways to not count their weight.

[David 7]

One thing that makes me think it could be true is that for nearly 40 years the Great Sacandaga Lake had the world record pike, and though many big northerns have come out since, none nearly as big as the 46.2 lb one in 1940. I live about 35 minutes from there. 

[Bird]

What is the proper definition of foul hooked. 

The Weakley bass " Dottie " was said to be ACCIDENTALLY foul hooked so that tells me that treble hooks were involved. Idk

It would be next to impossible to foul hook an engulfed bait like a plastic worm. 

 

I feel bad for Mac Weakly because if a purposeful attempt to snag the fish wasn't made, this big fish tried to eat his bait and he still landed it with a hook.

 

So basically, all fish that swipe at a Jerkbait or crankbait and are landed with trebles outside of mouth can't qualify as a record fish?

 

[Bassin' Brad]

9 minutes ago, Bird said:

What is the proper definition of foul hooked. 

The Weakley bass " Dottie " was said to be ACCIDENTALLY foul hooked so that tells me that treble hooks were involved. Idk

It would be next to impossible to foul hook an engulfed bait like a plastic worm. 

 

I feel bad for Mac Weakly because if a purposeful attempt to snag the fish wasn't made, this big fish tried to eat his bait and he still landed it with a hook.

 

So basically, all fish that swipe at a Jerkbait or crankbait and are landed with trebles outside of mouth can't qualify as a record fish?

 

He was actually using a jig and was bed fishing at the time. Here is a screen shot from the article. 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bassfishingfacts.com/world-record-chaser-the-story-of-dottie-the-25-pound-largemouth-bass/amp/

 

[roadwarrior]

"Recognized" by the IGFA or not, Dotti is still the largest bass EVER caught. 

Also, the "2 oz rule" is silly. If I catch a 12 lb smallmouth it will be the World

Record whether IGFA recognizes it or not.

 

 

[CrankFate]

No idea. But one lie that is extremely very likely, would be a lie about the actual location where any record fish was really caught.

[Captain Phil]

George Perry's bass, whether legit or not, was a natural bass in it's natural habitat.  When you transplant a Florida strain bass to California, Japan, Texas or wherever, it's no longer in it's natural environment.  It should be easy enough to grow a world record bass today if you wished to use DNA manipulation, or you could just stuff a Florida bass with baby trout and get a similar result.  When George Perry supposedly caught that bass, no one knew what a world record bass was.  Why did he land on 22 pounds 4 ounces?  Why not 30 pounds or more?  I believe his story is true, if for no other reason than to give us something to shoot for.

[Catt]

3 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

"Recognized" by the IGFA or not, Dotti is still the largest bass EVER caught. 

 

c'est tout fini - that's it finished 

[Boomstick]

All I'm gonna say on the matter is at least the picture was taken long before Adobe Photoshop existed.

[HaydenS]

4 hours ago, Bird said:

The Weakley bass " Dottie " was said to be ACCIDENTALLY foul hooked so that tells me that treble hooks were involved. Idk

I believe he hooked her in the back with a jig.  She ran across the line, he felt it, and he set the hook into her back. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by HaydenS
Just read some more of the thread, and @Bassin' Brad said it already.

[soflabasser]

There are people who have spent a whole lifetime trying to beat the bass George Perry and Manabu Kurita caught. These 2 men have the World Record for the biggest largemouth bass caught no internet whining will change that.

13 hours ago, David 7 said:

As far as postal scales are concerned, my grandfather caught the second biggest bass recorded in NYS in 1969 (for that year) on Cossayuna Lake. He took it right to the post office and they weighed it there, so that definitely was a thing long ago.

There was no cell phone cameras in 1932 when George Perry caught his 22 pound, 4 ounce bass and he did his best to have it weighed in the Post Office which was 100% acceptable back then. This bass most likely weighed more than what it weighed on the Post Office scale since fish lose weight when out of the water for even a couple of hours.

[schplurg]

So postal scales in 1/4 pound increments (as Tom described) could be the reason for the 2 oz rule. Something like that.

 

Perry didn't need a whopper of a lie to win the Field and Stream contest. I doubt an unbelievable claim like 22 pounds would be necessary.

 

Tom/WRBs story is interesting. Perhaps this record should have a footnote stating that it doesn't meet existing rules. <shrug>

[crypt]

to answer the original question, yes I believe it. I have to believe in something, and that's all I got on it.

[N Florida Mike]

18 hours ago, Catt said:

Plus I've done the length x width x whatever & it has never matched any fish I've weighed.

Exactly!

[N Florida Mike]

9 hours ago, Bird said:

The Weakley bass " Dottie " was said to be ACCIDENTALLY foul hooked so that tells me that treble hooks were involved. Idk

It would be next to impossible to foul hook an engulfed bait like a plastic worm.

 Ive foul hooked bass before while fishing plastics T rigged . I dont think dottie was foul hooked with a treble hook from what I read... If he wouldn’t have been in cali it would have counted in other states. And I think with IGFA rules too. I dont think for a second he intentionally foul hooked that fish. He felt the “thump” , set the hook , and caught the fish. Many would disagree but If IGFA rules said it was legit, I would have at least tried to submit it. . Of course, I would have done everything I could to keep it alive , but It was at the end of its life anyway , and was found floating dead the next year, I think. Thats just my opinion.

As for Perrys fish, it can’t be disproved , so should stand. I know of several fish over 20 in Florida that for whatever reason didnt get certified, including a fish that was 24 pounds. Where perrys fish was caught is only about 90 miles from Florida as I recall... So certainly Perrys record is possible. But it will never be disproved so ... As for Kurita, I agree that it SHOULD be the individual record, because it was legally certified ,  live bait notwithstanding , BUT that isnt the rule. Which leads us back again to dottie ...??‍♂️

[schplurg]

It isn't up to someone to disprove something, it is up to the claimant to prove it. I can't prove there is no Easter Bunny, someone would need to prove that there is one. You can't prove a negative.

 

I caught a 17 pound bluegill yesterday - prove I didn't  

 

This record is old and if the powers that be choose to keep it as such then okay. It won't matter when I catch my 27 pounder. Or my first 10 pounder for that matter.

[E-rude dude]

Why do people insist on trashing people in history? People who have accomplished something? People who made it happen when others said it could not be done ?

ENVY

[WRB]

I Josh Alwine, a BR member and bass book author has a chapter on George Perry’s World Record Bass in his book Lunker Lore. Alwine is a researcher and worth reading his books High Percentage Bass Fishing and Lunker Lore.

Tom 

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, E-rude dude said:

Why do people insist on trashing people in history? People who have accomplished something? People who made it happen when others said it could not be done ?

ENVY

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.