The 25lb Bass

[The_Natural]

I just watched 'Hooked on Bass' on the National Geographic Channel, which features Jed Dickerson and his two compadres. National Geographic highlighted a section about the famed 25lber, and how jed had been relentlessly persuing the world record. The boys recounted the day they found it. They said they found the fish the day before, but since the park was getting ready to close,  they decided to camp out and fish for her the next day. In actuality, they weren't the ones to find the fish at all. They had gone back to the dock and heard of a guy trying to catch a 'huge' bass that was on a bed. They motored over to the guy and looked down. They saw it was 'jed's fish', and offered the guy money and Gloomis fishing rods if he would leave. The guy wouldn't leave, and continued to fish for the bass. Jed and the boys decided to camp out by the entry gate of lake Dixon until the next morning, to beat the guy who was fishing for her, or anyone else for that matter. I had to roll my eyes a bit when I heard them recount their story; seems like they left that part out because it steals from their thunder a bit.

[Mattlures]

I dont see anything wrong with the way it realy went down. I do think it looks bad to say the "chose" not to fish for it because of the weather, That is just not true. I see nothing wrong with them offering to buy that spot. It would have been much worse had they just started casting at the fish while the other guy was fishing for it. I would like to see that show.

[Muddy]

That is when you take it outside the realm of good sportsmanship and it gets outta line.No matter how you want to put it pressuring and paying people off spots for a shot at the record is over the line.

You can't paint ugly nice.

[SirSnookalot]

I agree with Muddy.  It wasn't Jed's fish, Jed had an obsession, not possession.

[UrbanRedneck]

I say there is one 25 lb in texas and it will come from Lake Fork or Gibbons Creek,more than likely Lake Fork.

LOL!  I guess everybody has dreams......

[The_Natural]

I dont see anything wrong with the way it realy went down. I do think it looks bad to say the "chose" not to fish for it because of the weather, That is just not true. I see nothing wrong with them offering to buy that spot. It would have been much worse had they just started casting at the fish while the other guy was fishing for it. I would like to see that show.

I edited my original post. I missed parts of the show the first time I watched it, and so I re-watched it. It is actually the narrator talking, and he said the boys found the fish the day before, but the park was closing...and so they camped out by the gate to be the first ones there. I am ambivalent about the money and rods offer; I think we all debated that a while back.  I just think that the story should be told correctly when told in a documentary. Great show though...I really enjoyed it.

[The_Natural]

I watched it..I know one thing-G.W.Perry is happy. ;D

I say there is one 25 lb in texas and it will come from Lake Fork or Gibbons Creek,more than likely Lake Fork.

I honestly think it is near impossible for a bass to reach 25lbs unless it is eating trout.  

[fishfordollars]

I watched it..I know one thing-G.W.Perry is happy. ;D

I say there is one 25 lb in texas and it will come from Lake Fork or Gibbons Creek,more than likely Lake Fork.

I honestly think it is near impossible for a bass to reach 25lbs unless it is eating trout.

X2

[Mattlures]

They did not find it the day before. They found the guy(cant remember his name) fishing for it and offered to pay him to let them fish for it. I dont think there is anything at all wrong with that. There is nothing unsportsman like about it either.The guy didnt have a problem with it either. Now if the guy said no and they persisted then thats where it would cross the line. Just throwing an offer out there is a nonissue. When the guy said no he asked them if he could borrow thier phone and he called his girlfriend to tell her he was coming home late. The guys watched him fish for her. Now if they would have casted at it it then that would be a huge problem and I would probably hurt somebody over that. After that they bought a camping permit which allows them to get onto the water a few minutes before the fisherman waiting at the gate. They werent the only ones that knew that fish was there. They were smart enough to get the permit and get to the fish first the next day.

I have fished around those guys and I cant say I like them but I dont think they did anything wrong. If I rolled up on a guy bedfishing for the world record and I had money to offer I would probably polightly make an offer to.

The realy strange thing about this whole story is when Jed caught her she weighed 22lbs 7ounces on a certified scale with several witnesses including the lake ranger. But when the fish and game weighed her she had lost some eggs and barfed up some food. When the F&G weighed her she was only 21.11. I still dont know why the second weight is the one that counted or why Jed never submitted the paper work to the IGFA. He broke the record. I dont get those guys.

[Muddy]

Matt: I have some strong disagreements with some of the behaviors of the big bass guys. this does not mean I do not respect them  I don't know them, so I do not have issue

I have a problem with paying someone to come off a fish the way a have a problem when I am first to a spot, and some tourny guy comes and tries to explain me off it because he has money on the line and that makes his "right " to the spot more important than mine, it's happened and more than once

I don't care if there is a dad and his soon fishing that spot with Zebco 33's and crawlers, if they got there first  and are within the law, these guys who are in the hunt for the record d o not have the right to bother people and pressure them or pay them off spots, period the end

It's like some of the catch and release discussions here where all the trophy hunters  berate folks who legally fish for the pan, and withing legal limits

I am firmly committed that my enjoyment on the water is just as valid and equally deserved as pros and big fish chasers. Neither group has the right to pressure me as to their needs and wants being more than mine.I will never change my mind about this, and I think it's pitiful that other fisherman tolerate this stuff at all

The money is the problem: the endorsements, the baits to sell, the boat space for sponsors to hang their name om. Look I do not take part in any of that, I say good for those who do. I also say that we casual fisherman have the same rights to fish where we want and do not have to alter our lifestyles and ethics to support the big fish and tourny guys.

[LooksLikeSinbad]

I still dont know why the second weight is the one that counted or why Jed never submitted the paper work to the IGFA. He broke the record. I dont get those guys.

I believe at the time he said he didn't pursue the record because it was foul hooked.

[SimonSays]

When you say "beat" do you mean physically attack?  that would be rather unsportsman like I'd think  ;D

[Catt]

Sorry Cowboy but Gibbons Creek Reservoir has not produced a ShareLunker in the last 14 yrs. and even the mighty Lake Fork with it's state record 18.18 hasn't produced a bass over 16 lbs since 2002.

I do share your enthusiasm but I have faced the reality that 18.18 is a long ways from 22.04

[mattm]

Posted by: LooksLikeSinbad Posted on: Today at 6:38am

Mattlures wrote on Today at 5:50am:

I still dont know why the second weight is the one that counted or why Jed never submitted the paper work to the IGFA. He broke the record. I dont get those guys.

I believe at the time he said he didn't pursue the record because it was foul hooked.  

That was the second time they caught the fish.

[mattm]

Posted by: SimonSays Posted on: Today at 8:11am

When you say "beat" do you mean physically attack?  that would be rather unsportsman like I'd think  

When you are flipping for the world record bass on a bed, and someone comes up and starts casting at her as well let me know what you do.

[SoFl-native]

After watching that show......I dont think i would want to trophy bass fish in California. It doesnt look like very much fun at all.

[Muddy]

I fish, I have fun and If a catch the fish of a lifetime or some kind of record great, I just do not zero in my efforts on it.

I can honestly say that after bed fishing , for a few days on Lake Fork, it is not my groove.

[Tanker4lyfe]

I guess everyone missed the whole part about how they have all changed theyre live's to revolve around dottie right. theyre was nothing wrong with what they did at all. i mean come on they have watched this fish and studied it for quite some time and they knew it was gonna be a beast so they did everything possible to catch her and they were honest when they knew they had foul hooked her they could have easily kept that a secret those guys are definitly class act BIG ***ATICS. and sorry real cowboy id have to disagree theyre is no way the next record will come from lake fork, id say falcon lake before lake fork, but there two possibiliteis that the NEXT record will come from are lake castiac or lake dixon they regualarly pull 15+ pounders out these bass just devour 10-12'' rainbow trout

[Muddy]

They were honest because they would have had to explain the hook marks in her back, I would think at this point any potential world record would undergo a lot of scrutinity :By the Way Dottie died last year.  Some of the Big Bass phiosophy and the ideas of what the rest of us mortal fisherman should do to support thier causes are over the top and I stick to my guns that there is way too much wierd stuff going on, and a lot of ethical fisherman out there also.

[KYntucky Warmouth]

I thought it was Mac Wheakley that caught her at her largest and released her because she was foul hooked

[hawgchaser]

Its an interesting story but atleast there was no paperwork submitted for the record. I leave big fish alone when I see them on a bed but I guess it might be different if it was the world record.

[KYntucky Warmouth]

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=51335470

[bocabasser]

They did not find it the day before. They found the guy(cant remember his name) fishing for it and offered to pay him to let them fish for it. I dont think there is anything at all wrong with that. There is nothing unsportsman like about it either.The guy didnt have a problem with it either. Now if the guy said no and they persisted then thats where it would cross the line. Just throwing an offer out there is a nonissue. When the guy said no he asked them if he could borrow thier phone and he called his girlfriend to tell her he was coming home late. The guys watched him fish for her. Now if they would have casted at it it then that would be a huge problem and I would probably hurt somebody over that. After that they bought a camping permit which allows them to get onto the water a few minutes before the fisherman waiting at the gate. They werent the only ones that knew that fish was there. They were smart enough to get the permit and get to the fish first the next day.

I have fished around those guys and I cant say I like them but I dont think they did anything wrong. If I rolled up on a guy bedfishing for the world record and I had money to offer I would probably polightly make an offer to.

The realy strange thing about this whole story is when Jed caught her she weighed 22lbs 7ounces on a certified scale with several witnesses including the lake ranger. But when the fish and game weighed her she had lost some eggs and barfed up some food. When the F&G weighed her she was only 21.11. I still dont know why the second weight is the one that counted or why Jed never submitted the paper work to the IGFA. He broke the record. I dont get those guys.

so if a college student does all of the research on a term paper and he sells it to another student that's ok? i say find your own d**n fish and the reward will be that much greater. jmho

[fishizzle]

I didn't realize Dottie died until I saw that show.  I'm glad, George Perrys story is more interesting.

[hawgchaser]

Its an interesting story but atleast there was no paperwork submitted for the record. I leave big fish alone when I see them on a bed but I guess it might be different if it was the world record.

I have not been on this board long-so I will probably get slapped like a red headed step child for saying this -BUT- if you fish anytime during Feb,March,you are catching alot of fish "off of the bed" so whats the difference if you can see them...we chase tails on reds and chunk lures at em all day,whats the difference-not being a smart arse-just curious.I guess what I am saying is-I see alot of bass in the weeds and structures during this time-if I can see them I am suppose to pass on them??

No its a good question. I know that I have caught bed fish before. However, many fish on their beds have lock jaw. They will only bite to defend her bed. I do not target these fish. I also don't tell anyone that they shouldn't. Its a personal decision that i have made.

I also think it is extremely boring no matter how big she is. I watched a guy sit on a fish for 4 houes last year until he gave up. During that time I caught a lot of fish. The fish he was after was probably 8-10 pounds. I would rather actually fishh all day then flip white tubes and lizards at 1 ten pounder.