21 pound 13 ounce Florida Bass

[Basswhippa]

Pictures and description.   Fish caught by Lew Childres cousin.  If link is not allowed please feel free to look on the auction site.   I think the fish is an actual skin mount. JMO.   People of Florida never certified much of anything back in the day.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175258608351

[A-Jay]

It's listed as a replica on that E-Bay auction. 

Not sure what the replica weighs.

A-Jay

[Basswhippa]

Yes, due to the auctioneer calling it a replica.  I'm not sure auctioneer is right.  I suspect the plate on the mount is accurate but who knows.  Either way, taxidermy has come a long way.

[WRB]

That is the ugliest painted FLMB replica mount ever!

By the length for heavy bodied FLMB it could weigh a maximum of 17 lbs. The issue with the mount is native Florida LMB are only 80% girth to length....

Tom 

[Basswhippa]

Archie Phillips replicas are still lacking.  But replicas were in their infancy and I'm sure there were very few blanks for 21 plus Florida LMB.   

 

If accurate,  a meal away from a world record.   It's northern Florida location has Juniper in the location that Doug Hannon suggested a world record  could come from, Northern Florida.  This was before the onslaught of inhabitants moving to Florida  of course.  Interesting to ponder this giant fish, ugly replica or not.

 

[WRB]

Having caught 5 between 17 to 19 lb FLMB consider myself knowledgeable regarding the length to girth weight and general body mass configuration. 

The one element about this bass mount is the gill plate shape isn’t right, more like a baby giant Black Sea Bass.

mouth closed to end of tail = length. Widest measurement around the body, fins down = girth.

L x L x G divide by 1200 = weight in pounds within 10%.

Tom

[Bubba 460]

 

 

Last time I saw something that ugly it had a hook in it's mouth!

 

(Said a famous comedian)

[Basswhippa]

Terrible replica.  Not sure there were any 22 pound bass blanks in the 70s.   Cool they were trying to replicate an almost world record.

[Captain Phil]

Back in the seventies, people started selling fiberglass replicas of George Perry's world record bass.  I bought one and used to keep it in my boat to pull out at tournaments.  It was ridiculously huge and not that lifelike.  It always got a lot of laughs and quite a few comments from people who didn't know better.  I don't remember what I did with it, but you may see one of these on EBay.  I also have a mounted 11 1/4 pound bass done by Archie Phillips from back around that time.  Archie's bass were some of the best skin mounts ever done.

 

Rumors of giant Florida bass are common.  The largest real bass I have seen myself was reported to be 17 pounds and it came from a private orange grove pond.  Two bass this size have been caught in the last few years, one from Rodman and one from Lake Rousseau.  The current certified Florida State record bass was 17.27 pounds caught by Billy O'Berry.  Since I was a kid in the fifties, there were tales of a thirty pound bass being displayed at one of the World's Fairs.  No one has ever found a photo of that fish. Multiple claims have been made, but none certified.   George Perry's fish was witnessed and weighed on a postal scale.  Still, there are those who doubt it's actual weight.  

 

The current Texas record bass is 18.8 pounds. California bass were artificially engineered by transplanting Florida strain bass and feeding them hatchery trout.  There is nothing wrong with this as Florida fish have been transplanted all around the world.  A world record largemouth bass will never be caught in Florida public waters.  Far too much fishing pressure and habitat loss.  However, if your goal is to catch a bass over ten pounds, you could not do better than fish in my neighborhood. This bass was caught three blocks from my home. 

 

[Basswhippa]

Great stuff Captain Phil.  So many 18 ti 20 pounders not properly documented.    I recall the 18 pound 13 ouncer taken from the St. JOHNS in the 80s.  It was caught on a buzz bait and was in BASSMASTER  magazine.   I have seen a 16.75 taken from Orange Lake.  It was swimming with a 14 and change in a bait tank.  I remember the 19 pound Lake Tarpon record too.  Not properly documented  way back when nor was the Big Fish Lake fish.   I have read an account of a fish bigger than the current state record simply caught and released due to not caring for the publicity and not wanting to kill it.  

 

Maybe an Orange Grove will give one up, but like you, I'm not betting on it.

[N Florida Mike]

I’ve heard the story behind this fish. I agree that it isnt a very attractive mount.

 Sometimes when you get older , your memory becomes a jumble of old facts and stories you’ve heard all your life. I’m going to research these big fish and report back when I get a chance.

I agree that for some odd reason, people did not properly certify huge bass caught in Florida . There are several fish I can remember being caught that were bigger than the current record. I would swear a 20.8 was the Florida record for many years. Not sure how that got nullified.

I think a new state record will happen before long in Florida, based on the size of the current one. Not so sure about a world record though, but there are still some lakes that are remote and inaccessible enough  where it could happen…

[Captain Phil]

6 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I think a new state record will happen before long in Florida, based on the size of the current one. 

 

Rodman or Lake Apopka...  

[cyclops2]

State records should be on the increase if Gobies are present.  All we have is loads of big SMB up here. Gobies eat all smaller sized fish. Big  SMB eat the Gobies constantly.  

 

Guess who will survive as time goes on.

 

My money is on Gobies & the big Jumping Carp. Neither has enough big animals eating them.

 

  Oh well.

[Tennessee Boy]

This one looks more authentic and is only $15

 

 

[N Florida Mike]

51 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Rodman or Lake Apopka...  

Rodman maybe. Has Apopka come back ? I know the state was working on reviving it.

I think Kingsley lake has a good chance at it too. This fish was caught there a few years ago. 15.11.

[Basswhippa]

Thank you N Florida Mike.   We can't wait to hear what you discover.   I remember the 20 pound state record too. Big Fish Lake in the 1920s I think.  Not properly weighed.   Probably fried. ? 

 

Thanks for sharing knowledge that dive we deep into history of giant Florida bass.

[J Francho]

Those singing fish plaques look more realistic. 

[N Florida Mike]

2 hours ago, Basswhippa said:

Thank you N Florida Mike.   We can't wait to hear what you discover.   I remember the 20 pound state record too. Big Fish Lake in the 1920s I think.  Not properly weighed.   Probably fried. ? 

 

Thanks for sharing knowledge that dive we deep into history of giant Florida bass.

Yes! That’s what I remember too. 

If someone else gets to it before I do , please go ahead and share with us.

[Captain Phil]

6 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Has Apopka come back ? I know the state was working on reviving it.

 

Apopka is an interesting subject.  Back in the 40s and 50s, Apopka was one of the greatest bass fisheries in the world.  The 17 pound bass pictured on Heddon lure boxes of the time came from Lake Apopka. There is much on the Internet about it's demise, so I won't discuss that here.  For a long time, Apopka was the secret honey hole of some of our local tournament fishermen who would make the long run to the lake.  At that time, the fish were concentrated around one spring on the southwest side of the lake.  If you got there first, you were almost guaranteed a check. Otherwise, you could fish Apopka for a week without a strike.  If you got a strike, it was a monster.   Apopka went without fishing pressure for many years.  This started to change when it was stocked with a million bass fry.  The water is still dingy and the bottom is muddy, but there are fish to be caught.  We fished it as an experiment a few years back and caught some very nice fish.   There were a number of bass caught out of Apopka in the last major TV tournament.  Due to a lack of fishing pressure and all the nutrients and food, I wouldn't be surprised if a State record bass is swimming in that lake. 

 

 

[Zcoker]

I think the next Florida state record bass will come out of Headwaters Lake in Fellsmere, Florida, maybe even the world record! That place is producing some crazy numbers. About the only place that I know of that is producing double digit fish on a consistent bases. Like most great fisheries across the land that have produced record fish, Headwaters shares much the same in that it was specifically designed and sculptured for bass and then stocked with over a million of them. It was basically untouched for years. Now open, it's loaded with giants. It's loaded with shiners. It's a bass fishing paradise, literally. It has all the ingredients to produce true giants and one day a true record. Mark my words!

[Aaron_H]

5 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Rodman maybe. Has Apopka come back ? I know the state was working on reviving it.

I think Kingsley lake has a good chance at it too. This fish was caught there a few years ago. 15.11.

 

Good lord that fish is amazing. Apopka is on the up and up but it still has a way to go IMO. It's a healthy fishery again with lots of big fish, but I don't think it will be a potential record producer for many years. FWC did have that tagging program recently where they tagged and released a 13 pounder in Apopka so...it's getting there, but 13lb is a far cry from 17+.

[Captain Phil]

One thing that I find curious, why don't we find giant dead bass floating when they die?  I know alligators and birds clean up the water, but if a world record exists you would think someone would find one floating.  

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

One thing that I find curious, why don't we find giant dead bass floating when they die?  I know alligators and birds clean up the water, but if a world record exists you would think someone would find one floating.  

They can sink too 

[N Florida Mike]

This is much of what I’ve heard about Florida’s biggest bass and then some.

https://sites.google.com/site/biggestfloridalargemouthbass

[N Florida Mike]

See above post^^^