| Search Fishin.com |
Member
Senior Member
UNION TRIBUNE
March 22, 2006
For almost 74 years, George W. Perry's name has been associated with the most famous largemouth bass ever caught, and for a while this week it looked as if John MacArthur Weakley's name might take the old Georgian's place. But not now.
George W. Perry, you can stop rolling over in your grave.
Late last night, the man better known as Mac Weakley decided he'd had enough of the controversy behind his potential world-record catch, that 25-pound, 1-ounce Queen Kong of a bass he foul-hooked at Dixon Lake on Monday. He decided not to submit the catch to the International Game Fish Association for approval as the all-tackle, world-record largemouth bass.
“To tell you the truth, the three of us have been talking to friends and family the last day and Mike (Winn) has been checking the Internet, and we're seeing that it's 50-50 in terms of support for the catch standing as a world record,” Weakley said.
“It seems 50 percent feel it should stand as a record and 50 percent say it shouldn't. That's why Jed (Dickerson), Mike and I have decided not to submit it as a world record to the IGFA. We don't want to go out breaking the record with so many people doubting it. We want it to be 100 percent – or more realistically 90 percent – being behind it with no controversy. We plan to be back with a world record bass everyone will get behind.”
So ended this crew's current long and grueling quest for the world-record bass, for now. Weakley, Dickerson and Winn watched yesterday as Weakley's controversial catch went national and international. News services and sports shows and even the Drudge Report, for goodness sake, ran with the story like a bass that just gobbled a stocked rainbow trout.
“It's been more mayhem than any of us expected, believe me,” said Mike Winn, who manned the motor of the boat while Weakley and Dickerson alternated casts at the huge, egg-laden female bass. But it was Winn who posed for all pictures taken of the bass before it was released back into Dixon Lake.
Weakley caught the female from a nest she was patrolling in 12 to 15 feet of water, no more than 15 yards from shore and 15 yards from Dixon's fishing dock. The fact Weakley foul-hooked the bass from a nest in clear water kicked in the more than century-old debate over whether it's ethical to fish for spawning females by irritating them into a frenzy so they smack or inhale a lure.
“I have mixed emotions about fishing for spawning bass and I respect other's opinions who feel they shouldn't be fished,” Weakley said. “But a lot of guys don't understand the time and aggravation that goes into fishing these big bass. The stars really have to be aligned. Conditions have to be perfect. Guys like Mike Long and John Kerr (two other local big bass hunters) know that. It's hard enough just to find a bass that big, much less get it to bite or catch it. Only the people who have caught and fought these big bass know that.”
Besides the ethical question of fishing spawning female bass, the bigger issue for Weakley's bass and Dixon Lake was whether the catch would have been approved as the all-tackle world record by the IGFA. Now that's not an issue.
Earlier yesterday, Jason Schratwieser, conservation director for the IGFA, commended Weakley and crew for releasing the bass, which, had it been approved, would have shattered Perry's nearly 74-year-old record of 22 pounds, 4 ounces, the weight of the lunker the Georgian caught June 2, 1932, at Montgomery Lake in Georgia.
Schratwieser said yesterday that Weakley's catch, like all potential record catches, would have been considered for the all-tackle world record had he submitted it.
Weakley was putting the components of the application together, but the gaping holes included the fact that Weakley unintentionally foul-hooked the fish, didn't take measurements of its length and girth and didn't weigh it on a certified scale.
“We don't have any information on the fish right now, so we don't have any comment,” Schratwieser said yesterday, not knowing Weakley was going to change his mind about submitting the catch for approval. “But if it's submitted, it's something we'll discuss and look at. Absolutely. One thing we never want to do is penalize a recreational angler for releasing a fish. I commend the guy for releasing such a big, spawning female because she'll contribute a lot to that lake.
“A big female like that will produce more eggs, but more importantly, more quality eggs. There may be a genetic component that she passes on to subsequent generations of larger, healthier fish.”
Schratwieser added that the fact Weakley didn't take measurements of the fish – length and girth, an integral part of the IGFA's application process – wouldn't have mattered if the photos and video of the weigh-in he took substantiated the bass' monstrous size.
“We like to have the measurements for several reasons,” Schratwieser said. “One is for scientific purposes, so we can get a better understanding of the size of the species. Measurements also help confirm the dimensions of the fish if the pictures are lacking in the application.”
One of the key issues would have been the foul-hooking of the bass. By IGFA rules of angling, so long as Weakley didn't intentionally foul-hook the bass, his catch would have been viable. But because the catch wasn't legal by California Department of Fish and Game regulations, it violated one of the IGFA's main principles, which is that anglers must comply with “equipment or angling regulations.”
State fish and game regulations in California clearly say that a fish, to be legally caught, must be hooked in the mouth while it tries to take a bait, lure or fly. Weakley didn't violate the law when he accidentally foul-hooked the bass, but he and his crew did violate the law by not immediately releasing it.
“The fish has to voluntarily take the bait or lure in its mouth, and if it didn't, it's not a legal fish,” said Erick Elliott, Julian-based game warden for the Department of Fish and Game.
“By the letter of the law, it's a violation because it's been illegally taken and not supposed to be in possession. But in the spirit of the law, a fish that big, it's human nature to want to document that catch. I don't know if I would have written a ticket for that even if I was watching it.”
Jim Dayberry, who is supervisor of rangers at Dixon Lake, said yesterday that he and his staff respected the way in which Weakley, Winn and Dickerson handled the bass after it was caught and dealt with the massive publicity the catch produced.
“They saw how much Jed's 21-pounder (the 21-pound, 11-ounce fish caught in 2003 and also believed to be the same bass) was stressed by being out of the water so long,” Dayberry said. “They knew keeping it out of the water would have been the kiss of death for that big bass. They wanted to do minimal damage. And there was a lot to be said about their honesty. These are stand-up guys we've known since they were kids. They have a lot of heart.”
__________________
.......... cp
Senior Member
Beware, the fishin.com critics are out.
Junior Member
Well it is all academic now. Mac has turned down entering the fish in the record book. In spite of all the Wha, wha, wha, the truth is, this was probably a world record, and I feel sorry for Mac about all the petty bickering over this. "Spoon fed fish, fish in a barrel, he snaggged it," and so on. Truth is even BASS allows for a "snagged" fish to be legal if it is done when the fish slaps at a lure and not just done by dragging a hook and snatching the fish. Yes I know that CA. says that it was not a legal fish.... But. He did catch it and get it in the boat. And the truth be told, 95 % of all us "sportsmen" would give our left nut to be in his shoes when he pulled her on board. Mac Wheatly has a bevy of legal verified trophies, that should be the envy of all Bass fishermen. He doesn't need to create a "record." I have no doubt he will catch this fish again some day, and this time like it or not, he will be the new world record holder. Mac your class act for letting this trophy go back, to be caught again.
Super Moderator
Sooner or later one of these guys is gonna do it....with the time they have put into the effort one of them deserves it for sure. Let's hope they do it right to include catching and documentation when the time comes so that we don't have to hear about all the negatives and can focus on the positives.
Member
The next time the guy might be more prepared to have a place planned with certified scales, and have DF&W, ABC, NBC and ESPN all there for the weigh-in. That's a shame people refuse to accept things on faith anymore....what a waste. My hats off to the guy for returning the fish. He will catch that fish again.
Member
Here's a hint !!!!!
Correct me if I'm wrong but a Largemouth weighing in at 25lbs should have a mouth big enough to fit 3 fists into. I have seen video of Bill Dance put 2 fists side by side into a 15lb bass. And that is the classic camera angle,(arm extended towards camera) for maximum size appearance. Just ask any professional photographer.
Just my 2 cents....
Keep it Fun & Keep it Safe
Bigboy
Senior Member
Michael Wilbom was saluting the anglers morality at letting the fish go as opposed to killing it and cashing in for over a million bucks. Fortunately,, Tony Kornheiser knew a little of the facts... shame they did not really know the controversy.
Anyway, fishing is becoming more and more main stream.
Danny
Senior Member
got a question, am I the only one to think WOW that big a fish is out there?
OK, so it doesn't qualify for a world record bass on all tackle, but still if the weight proves out to be the truth, isn't it something that has to be at least acknowledged??
People have said George Perry's record would not be broken because a bass could not get that big... here it is.. or supposedly here it is.
I agree, they should not get the record if it is true they bribed a guy to quit fishing, they snuck around the rules to start fishing early, etc.. etc... but the fact is still, here is a 25 lb fish. If the fish were truly 25 pounds, it should still be recognized as the biggest bass ever recorded.
I just wish KY had the possiblility to produce one of these.
Danny
Senior Member
WE do have a chance but she will be brown DW
Junior Member
They snagged this fish. Paid for it's location. It's almost as bad as Jimmy Houston's trick a couple of years ago. they should not get the title.
Senior Member
?
---------------------------
I'd rather be catchin! :7
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote