The 25lb Bass

[J Francho]

That's a fish of a lifetime, WRB.  I can't even imagine it.

[paul.]

i think this is a picture of wrb with a replica mount of the bass he has been talking about. not sure though.  

correct me if i'm wrong wrb.

[fishizzle]

Thats why I'll never swim in California

[fivesixone]

Good lord!

[mattm]

Holy mother of god.

[Micro]

I wonder if this really is Perry's bass...

[WRB]

i think this is a picture of wrb with a replica mount of the bass he has been talking about. not sure though.

correct me if i'm wrong wrb.

That is the fish.

WRB

[Catt]

Y'all need to learn how to shrink pictures down  

[WRB]

The Perry photo surfaced a few years back. Perry stated he and a freind caught the bass late in the afternoon and it was stormy with rain, took the bass to a post office to weigh it and went home and ate the bass. This photo was taken during a sunny day and no one has identified it as Perry to the best of my knowledge.

WRB

[Ready2Fish]

that is some fish...i think that is it

[Micro]

Perry himself said there were photos.  At least this site quotes him as saying it...

http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

[Muddy]

A few more questions

Why should we discredit the Perry and Crupi bass , by their photos and not this one?

Why are their fish on the accepted lists?

Why wait over 15 years to get your bass on the list?

[Still a Bigbuckifan]

WRB what did you catch your bass on. were you bed fishing or what. You cant tell a story like that without a little more details.

[WRB]

The Perry bass has been questioned for decades. The bass is listed as having a length of 32 inches and a girth of 28 inches. The bass in the photo doesn't appear close to those measurements using the boy and the man as references. I have always said the 32" length must have been measured with the mouth open, today that would be about a 30" length with the mouth closed. The bass in the photo looks like 15 to 17 pound fish, big head with average body mass, IMO. The bottom line; Perry's bass is the offical world record.

The Crupi bass wasn't witnessed or inspected by a fish & game person, therefor California doesn't accept it as a state record catch.

Big bass have a habit of swallowing heavy objects. To be validated, the bass must be checked by the DFG.

Right now it is pre spawn in SoCal and the time I fish for giant bass. All my giant bass over 17 lbs were caught on custom hair jigs, during pre spawn, to date.

There is an old saying " the whale that surfaces gets harpooned". It's better to keep under the radar when fishing our small trophy bass lakes. I don't make my living fishing, therefor no advantage in going public. I did write a few In-Fisherman articles serveral years ago.

WRB

[Muddy]

Thank you for answering, do you think the time frame will hinder your chances as to  getting on the list? That would be a shame.

[-HAWK-]

A little off topic but, Question:

How is it that on this website http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=f_fea_bass_top25list

It shows Two Bass from Florida that exceed the state record.

Here it shows the state record being 17.27lbs. http://myfwc.com/FISHING/record.html

So what exactly is the real state record for Florida?

[bassmaster3000]

I watched that a few nights ago. I had always known about the bass from google images, but never new why it wasn't a record. Oh well.

"DOTTIE THE 25 LB LARGEMOUTH BASS, DIXON LAKE, CA."

                                 R.I.P

                                      :'(

[Muddy]

Just a thought: Be a great move if the trophy guys convinced everyone Dottie was dead, to get them off that lake. That would be a Brooklyn Move for sure ;D

[Fishing Doug]

I just now got around to watching the National Geographic show this evening and something that stuck out at me is the fact that once Dottie was found floating, they all felt relieved due to the fact that the bass that could be a new WR is now dead. My question is, why are they assuming that this was the only potential WR bass in Dixon? If 3 other bass have been caught in that lake that weighed north of 19lbs (assuming these 3 were not all Dottie caught multiple times and that I have this fact correct) seems to me that there could still be WR size bass in Dixon....Did they simply have an obsession with one bass (Dottie)?

FD

[paul.]

muddy i think i remember reading that there was a rumor intentionally circulated that dottie had been found dead shortly after the second time she was caught .  supposedly it was to take the heat off the fish (dottie) and the lake.  i'm not sure if the weakly, wynn, dickerson trio was behind this or not.  somebody with a faster computer than me can probably find it somewhere.  obviously it was not true because she was caught again at the 25 pound mark.  i think dottie was caught 3 times, once by mike long, once by dickerson, and finally by weakly.  2 out of those 3 times, she was allegedly a world record.  

but what if those boys have staged this whole national geographic thing, faked the photos, and conned the entire world?  what if she's still out there and these dudes have manipulated the media to pull off the ultimate bassin' hoax?  now THAT would be a brooklyn move. ;D ;D ;D

[Mattlures]

WRB when Dottie weighed 25.1 it was on thier hand held scale. When Jed caught her at 22.7 she was weighed on the certified scale at the lake in front of wittnesses. Then later rewighed at 21.11 by the fish and game.

Mudd Mike Long "killed off" that fish twice to try and lessen the preasure. Those of us who knew better backed up the story of the fish being dead. Mac and Jed took it as an insult and disputed the fish was dead. Mike found a big floater and said he thought it could be dottie after Jed caught her at 22.7. Mike was trying to keep the pressure awy but it dint work to well. You will see guys out here post big fish on purpose to try and draw attention awy from where they have found a bigger fish.

[WRB]

The 3 anglers listed for lake Dixon all claim Dottie was the same bass, based on the black dot located on the lower gill cover. There isn't any scientific proof the only one gaint bass has a black dot living in Dixon at the time or today, however none have been caught after Dottie died. Dottie isn't resting in piece, she is frozen and being held for study.

Dixon, like most small trophy CA bass lakes is deep and gin clear. After the spawn the giant bass tend to seek sanctuary in deep water or off limit areas near the dam. The giant bass are fairly safe until spring when they follow their spawning urge and migrate into shallower water.

WRB

[WRB]

WRB when Dottie weighed 25.1 it was on thier hand held scale. When Jed caught her at 22.7 she was weighed on the certified scale at the lake in front of wittnesses. Then later rewighed at 21.11 by the fish and game.

Mudd Mike Long "killed off" that fish twice to try and lessen the preasure. Those of us who knew better backed up the story of the fish being dead. Mac and Jed took it as an insult and disputed the fish was dead. Mike found a big floater and said he thought it could be dottie after Jed caught her at 22.7. Mike was trying to keep the pressure awy but it dint work to well. You will see guys out here post big fish on purpose to try and draw attention awy from where they have found a bigger fish.

1.6 lb difference when Jed weighed the fish, wow that doesn't make any sense, unless something was removed, like another fish or something. Back in the day I was hard over trying to release these giant bass alive and healthy, and it only caused more problems and questions then it's worth. Bet the next 20+ ends up on ice.

There isn't anything wrong with trying to drag a few dog turds across the trail, IMO.

WRB

[paul.]

here is the story matt is referring to, or at least one of them.  i had just forgotten it was long who started the story.  

Huge bass found dead at Lake Dixon

By Ed Zieralski

San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Excerpt from:  HUNTING/FISHING REPORT

November 26, 2003

...Dixon: Big news here is that the historic 21.70-pound bass caught by Jed Dickerson of Carlsbad on May 31 may have gone to big bass heaven. Poway's Mike Long was called in by some trout anglers who found a huge bass floating. Long retrieved the long-dead bass and checked it. He said it was hard to tell, but he believes it's the same bass that Dickerson caught and released in May, and the same one Long himself caught and released in 2001.

It's sporting the same black dot on the lower side of its left cheek that Long identified from pictures in June. Long released it as a 20.75-pounder; Dickerson landed it as a 21.70-pounder, now listed as the fourth-heaviest largemouth bass ever caught in the U.S. Long did some post-mortem work, peeling some scales off the dead lunker and measuring it. The bass was 27½ inches long, the same length as Dickerson's bass. Long was storing it in a freezer at a friend's home, but was ordered to get it out because it was stinking up the freezer even though Long wrapped it in a bunch of garbage bags.

...

UPDATE: Mike later recanted this story as he said he came up with it to stop the hordes from coming in to fish for the world record at the lake.  This is especially true since she was caught again 3 years later (recognized by black dot again) and now weighed in at 23#+!!!.

here is the link:  http://www.seewald.com/california_state_record_largemouth_black_bass.htm

[paul.]

i gotta say that at least to me, this has been one of the coolest threads on here in a long time.  interesting to me that it started off with questions on fishing ethics (is it o.k. to offer someone money for a shot at a fish, etc.) and now it has come full circle.  

i guess i can see why mac and jed took the lie as an insult.  because long's timing (after dickerson caught the fish) kinda/sorta insinuates that dickerson might have done something to kill the fish.  mishandled or hurt it somehow.  after all, he was the last one to catch it before long concocted the story.  did long purposely take a shot at dickerson while at the same time trying to mislead a horde of trophy hunters?  who knows.  but i can see why they took offense.  i have read that long and these 3 guys are not exactly best of friends.  

but here, within this same story is another ethical dilemma.  is it o.k.

to tell a fishing lie for the sake of money or a big fish?  how about not necessarily lying, but maybe just misleading or not telling the whole truth?  at what point is it o.k. to sacrifice your integrity?  or is it ever?  different answers for different folks i guess.  i hear polygraph tests are administered at some tournaments now.  wonder if this will become standard before before being able to claim a state, world, or line class record as well?  seems like the higher the stakes, the bigger the temptation to lie.

seems some guys think it's not a big deal to lie in certain fishing scenarios and they are definitely entitled to their opinion.  i guess i'd rather be known as a bad fisherman than a great liar.