earthworm77

Sure there would be, Bob Crupi would own it. 22-1

I'm a show me kind of guy. The only photo I've seen of Perry was a shot the following year from the Field and Stream contest. In it he is pictured with a fish of about 6lbs that he claimed was 13.4. That is part of the reason I doubt the credibility of his catch, A- that photo was a fraud and B, for all of the people who said he didn't have a camera, he obviously did. So I still question, where was the photo of the current World Record. If I saw something remotely close to being a giant fish, I would jump into the water with the rest of you who believe it, until then I think it is a hoax that has withstood the test of time.

No, they do it quite regularly....maybe a shade over 250 times a year. Roger I 100% agree with your assessment on big bass. It doesn't matter how much experience anyone has, each fish is different and well, nobody really knows just how big until it is weighed. Those guys who are telling you that they would have done it the right way obviously never casted to a large fish, let alone hooked it.

The more I think about the 25lb bass and the extraordinary amount of people lined up to try to catch it, could the fish have been snagged intentionally to get it off the bed and out of reach of the other people? Perhaps setting up a record for a later date? Now that makes some sense but would that justify bringing it to the dock? I guess we will never know the truth.

BBRC (big bass record club) I believe this organization folded in 2003. Bobo, unfortunately everything these guys did that day is under scrutiny by people who do not have any experience doing what they do. We can all sit here and look at it and pick it apart, saying what they did wrong and how "WE" would have done it. I believe only a tiny percentage of us would have even landed that fish let alone knew what to do once it was onboard. I've taken fish up to 14lbs and I'll be the first to syaI'd have crapped my pants and huddled in the corner of the boat like a scared school girl if I got this thing on the boat. You all would have picked my actions apart and likely anyone else who caught that fish. I don't know these guys, but I've read alot about them before this all happened. But whatever, insulting these guys and calling them rookies is plain ignorant.

I'm not sure anyone is praising these guys as much as defending them/ I don't understand why there are being ostracized. I don't know them, they aren't friends but I think the outcome of this incident has been handled the way it should have been.

the lady that had a weight in the fishes belly. Sandy Defresno I see this from both points. First, I am from the camp that believes Mac did the right thing and I can't fathom how anyone can question his integrity here. Right now besides being known as the guy who caught the largest bass in history, he is the new poster child for catch and release. It doesn't matter what circumstances occurred, who cares what he offered that guy to fish the spot, he caught and released the biggest bass in history. I guarantee one thing, Perry's official "record" hasn't garnered 1/10th of the interest as this one fish has for the sport and its only a few days old. And we all know that it is a true 25lb fish. None of us know if he intentionally snagged this fish. Because his group is persuing a WWR, it wouldn't make sense if he did. Next, I do not care how high and mighty you think you are, how much of a staunch advocate of C&R that you are, if any of you caught that fish, you would be well within your rights to celebrate for 15 minutes with the fish in tow. AND DON'T THINK THAT YOU WOULDN'T. As a former TX director, I take extreme measures to release every fish I or anyone on my boat caught. That said, Mac is a better man than me because that sow would have come home with me or at least gotten weighed and certified the correct way. Now, from the perspective that knows a little bit about Mac and his crew, I can't understand why they were so unprepared. I mean they went to extremes to make sure they got on the water before everyone else, they had the right equipment. Why the heck wouldn't you have some type of livewell for this fish....50qt cooler? Has to be better than a stringer. I like the way that many of you guys second guess the situation. I've read some pretty moronic statements regarding this incident. All some can do is speculate because you are likely never going to haver to worry about catching a 25lb + largemouth. Mattlures, the only point I disagree with is that any large lure manufacturer who learns that this fish was taken on their bait will offer a payday to make that info public. Imagaine a Scuppernong Berkely Power Giblett is the bait that does it, their already signing the blank check. And guys, for those of you who think there guys are inexperienced, read Sowbelly, each of them has a decent write up in that book. 2 of the three of them currently hold tbass in the top 15 of all time. I guess we can argue that now they all do. They may not have the experience that Mike Long and John Kerr have but they certainly have been dedicated to catching a record, despite the mistakes that they made. They didn't start at this a week ago. Look at it this way, normally a mistake costs the angler the fish, these guys are guilty of not having a plan once the fish is landed, can I state that all of us would likely be unprepared to some degree as well, after all, none of us has handled a fish like that. It is easy to sit behind a keyboard and chop at someone without sticking your neck out on the block. My #2 reason is I feel the current WR is a disgrace. I think it is the biggest frad in fishing history. You get an amen from the congregation on that. The only photo of Perry with a fish was a 13.4lber that won the following years fishing derby at Field and Stream, the only thing was that the fish in the photo was clearly only about 6lbs. But not having any valid proof of the current world record is ok and sits well with many of you guys. That's great. I'm only 250 miles away from Georgia and I know its a scam. Viva California bass!

No chance it will be ignored because some bait will catch it and that is a financial windfall for whomever manufactured it. Just like at the Classic.....look at the Chatterbait, Sweet Beaver, Senko. None of these baits has won a Classic yet they recieved exposure and have sold strongly. Catching the WR whether it is under positive or negative exposure will produce millions for that respective bait company. Who the heck is paul tormanem?

Craig dislikes PETA too!

Roger, 100% agree with you, this is THE largest living bass anyone has ever seen. Case closed!

The thing that disgusts me is that the current recognized WWR Largemouth had no documentation at all and is the standing record while this one has video and photos and won't be considered. No certified scale you say??? We saw the video that clearly showed the fish at 25.1 on the scale. IGFA can duplicate a 25.1 weight for that scale and put the weight on a certified scale to get the accurate weight. It is something tangeable, unlike any aspect of George Perry's bass.

take a look at the video on the radlures site. The bait clearly spins....the whole bait, not just the blade. Since there is no swivel, that will cause line twist and problems later on. The blade on the C-B collapses over the hook and at times prevents hookups.

Me

I wasn't sure the show would actually be on the network yet. I knew L-Ville made a deal. This show that I did was one of 2. The one you saw was the pilot episode that was submitted to the network in late 2003 and it got picked up. It was a ton of fun but I was nervous. Once I caught the decent fish, I calmed down a bit and just went about my business. Funny part of the show was once I hooked the big fish I yelled to Mike, who was holding a full camera rig, to get the net. I immediately realized he couldn't and some uneasy laughter followed. I dropped an even larger fish about 5 minutes later, that would have really made the show but it turned out well. If you go to my website and click on the freshwater tackle link, at the end of the first row of links, is a link to watch the show. Check it out. But I'm certainly not a TV star.

Fletch, why not just release it on the water? And come back for it later. Doesn't matter who saw it, you could always downplay the size.

I am a total advocate of catch and release but in this case with a once in a lifetime fish, I can't bash anyone for keeping it if they chose to.

Hey Trap, did you find Perry's photo? kidding man! lol

Mac Weakley, Jed Dickerson and Mike Winn spend a crazy amounts of time hunting for these big fish with the purpose of breaking the WWR. My question is this....if Mac was certain that this fish wouldn't qualify due to being fouled and he didn't go through the steps to correctly record its measurements, why would he break it to the public? Especially if he planned on going back and catching it the "right" way. Everyone and his cousin will now go to Dixon with remote hopes they can catch that million dollar fish......unless it is a smokescreen and wasn't really caught at Dixon which brings back the theory that this fish was actually caught over a week ago when word first was reported. Conspiracy theories reborn.

Where are the Georgia boys now???? i think this fish will be recognized provided it was certified. I wonder why Mac said he foul hooked it because that seems to be a big factor in this fish actually becoming a record. Either way, at least we have a photo of this slob.

April fools day. right around the corner.

More or less, that's it. Like i said earlier, by eliminating the split ring that holds the bait to the blade, like on the original, you eliminate the line twist. I don't know if this bait will have the longevity and fame that the senko has achieved, but at least for the short term, I'm catching a bunch and it's nice to know that they are falling to something I made.

C'mon George, I've never seen another living soul around when this guy is filming. No boat traffic, very few docks if any, no jet skiers, swimmers sunbathers anyone. He absolutely fishes private lakes and ponds. This isn't a breaking story.

Just be happy he fishes all of those private ponds that all of us will never get to try. Also, I guess you can be rest assurred he won't be damaging the fish on your favorite water.

NWG, where are you going bro??

Obviosly it is listed when someone leaves the site but is that member banned from participating on the forum?