12 minutes ago, Bankc said:

I'd be fine with any of the above.  I'd be thrilled with a 6.3 lb large mouth!  But I'd probably pick that largemouth, just for the shear size.  

Oh, bring on the haters!  I'm completely fine with that.  If I cared what other people thought, I'd have never made it out of high school!  So long as I have the love and respect of my family and a few close friends, the rest is just white noise.  

I would mostly agree, but the man that actually crossed this bridge said all he got from catching it was “trouble” 

 

field and stream magazine, the biggest thing going at the time, called him and home to tell him how embarrassed they were 

I would choose the largemouth. If you could catch that fish, your life would never be the same.

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

The Largemouth. Your life would change. For me, it would mean I could pay everything off, help my family and help others in need. 

It would be the pinnacle of the sport.

I assume you would get lots of speaking opportunities, endorsements, etc. that would enable you to fish all those places you never could before, not to mention meeting all the legends of bass fishing.

 

Bingo, the LGM WR is worth millions and millions of dollars.

 

As long as I could release her, I'd be morally okay with getting rich off a fish.  

 

None of the other fish sadly are worth the money a LGM would be worth.   The Spot wouldn't even make news outside fishing circles. 

 

The recent 17lb fish from OH Ivie made national headlines and it was only 17lbs.  

 

You'd be the most famous Bass fisherman in history as well, your name would be cemented into Bass fishing history.   Boys would be talking about your fish long after your gone.   A 27lb LGM makes one immortal in some ways.   

6 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Bingo, the LGM WR is worth millions and millions of dollars.

 

As long as I could release her, I'd be morally okay with getting rich off a fish.  

 

None of the other fish sadly are worth the money a LGM would be worth.   The Spot wouldn't even make news outside fishing circles. 

 

The recent 17lb fish from OH Ivie made national headlines and it was only 17lbs.  

 

You'd be the famous Bass fisherman in history as well, your name would be cemented into Bass fishing history.   Boys would be talking about your fish long after your gone.   A 27lb LGM makes one immortal in some ways.   

Bingo, the LGM WR is worth millions and millions of dollars.

 

As long as I could release her, I'd be morally okay with getting rich off a fish.  

 

None of the other fish sadly are worth the money a LGM would be worth.   The Spot wouldn't even make news outside fishing circles. 

 

The recent 17lb fish from OH Ivie made national headlines and it was only 17lbs.  

 

You'd be the famous Bass fisherman in history as well, your name would be cemented into Bass fishing history.   Boys would be talking about your fish long after your gone.   A 27lb LGM makes one immortal in some ways.   

 

And the thought of it make you stutter too... While it certainly could be very profitable, I don't know about "millions and millions"...

5 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

 

And the thought of it make you stutter too... While it certainly could be very profitable, I don't know about "millions and millions"...

Wasn't there a Million dollar bounty on the next WR in the 90s.

 

Only a fool wouldn't be able to capitalize on catching the most famous fish in history 

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Wasn't there a Million dollar bounty on the next WR in the 90s.

 

Time machine much?...

18 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Bingo, the LGM WR is worth millions and millions of dollars.

 

As long as I could release her, I'd be morally okay with getting rich off a fish.  

 

None of the other fish sadly are worth the money a LGM would be worth.   The Spot wouldn't even make news outside fishing circles. 

 

The recent 17lb fish from OH Ivie made national headlines and it was only 17lbs.  

 

You'd be the most famous Bass fisherman in history as well, your name would be cemented into Bass fishing history.   Boys would be talking about your fish long after your gone.   A 27lb LGM makes one immortal in some ways.   

Yeah people still talk about George Perry’s world record LM all the time……

 

only problem is the only thing that comes out of their mouth is denial 

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah people still talk about George Perry’s world record LM all the time……

 

only problem is the only thing that comes out of their mouth is denial 

I can't say I ever heard another angler demean or discredit his record.   I've heard many people including myself say that it was likely broken a time or two since then.   

 

George Perry is still the king in my book.   Maybe I'm the only one that believes in fairy tales ?

I cannot even begin to imagine what a fight with a LMB of that size would be like. I’ve never caught anything north of 5lbs before, let alone 20. TN state record is less than 20. Hope the drag on my reel is set right if it ever happens.

4 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

 

Time machine much?...

So what's the record worth then?   $1  

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I can't say I ever heard another angler demean or discredit his record.   I've heard many people including myself say that it was likely broken a time or two since then.   

 

George Perry is still the king in my book.   Maybe I'm the only one that believes in fairy tales ?

That’s because you haven’t been on BR long enough……..

 

I’ve never heard anyone say it was legitimate except you haha. We may be the only 3 people that believe it if you toss @NittyGrittyBoy in with us 

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

So what's the record worth then?   $1  

 

No, as I said above, "While it certainly could be very profitable" I expect it could be worth several hundred thousand dollars, to upwards of a couple of million dollars of income over several years. But that would require working for it, so it compares to a decent job, not $ pouring in passively.

The 27+lb largemouth would be hard to pass up just for the sheer size and the thrill of catching a fish that big. It must feel like hooking a shark.

I read in BASS that the fight from extremely big largemouth bass isn't what you think its like because their enormous size tires them quickly.  The specific article I read stated that it was "like a 300 pound man climbing stairs."  After an initial burst, its mostly just dead weight (a lot of it).  @WRB has caught some enormous largies during his time, maybe he can comment on what it felt like when he hooked into one compared to a 5 pounder.

16 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

It must feel like hooking a shark.

 

Probably more like an out of shape 10 lb grouper or tautog.

It is certainly not a bass, but catching a big Peacock is an experience all bass fishermen would love.  Here in Florida we have them up to 10 pounds, but South America up to 25 pounds.  As soon as you hook one you know immediately it’s not a bass.  The hit is always violent, then they take long runs, and go airborne several times.  It will get your heart pumping fast.  Once you lip one, the fight is not over, they will try hard to get off your thumb.  The Pitbulls of the freshwater fishing world.

LMB please and thank you.  

 

Why?

 

Because it would be so fun to reel that fish in!  I'd let her go though.  Let people argue about if it's real or not.

 

The whole 9 yards ?

Catching a LM bass of this size would be amazing. It may not be good for some folks. They may not be comfortable with all the publicity or hoopla. Some guys might love it, but some would not.

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Bingo, the LGM WR is worth millions and millions of dollars.

 

As long as I could release her, I'd be morally okay with getting rich off a fish.  

 

None of the other fish sadly are worth the money a LGM would be worth.   The Spot wouldn't even make news outside fishing circles. 

 

The recent 17lb fish from OH Ivie made national headlines and it was only 17lbs.  

 

You'd be the most famous Bass fisherman in history as well, your name would be cemented into Bass fishing history.   Boys would be talking about your fish long after your gone.   A 27lb LGM makes one immortal in some ways.   

I wouldn’t just be in it for the money but… it helps !!

I would try to save it alive of course, but a bass of that size wouldn’t have long to live anyway…

1 minute ago, Mobasser said:

Catching a LM bass of this size would be amazing. It may not be good for some folks. They may not be comfortable with all the publicity or hoopla. Some guys might love it, but some would not.

 

Yeah, "fishing" would become a job, it would be something close to heaven for some, and something close to hell for others, something in between for most. I know traveling around talking about fishing full time + is not something I would look forward to. 

8 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

 

Yeah, "fishing" would become a job, it would be something close to heaven for some, and something close to hell for others, something in between for most. I know traveling around talking about fishing full time + is not something I would look forward to. 

Nice perspective…

 

Old man told me marriage cures love everytime 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s because you haven’t been on BR long enough……..

 

I’ve never heard anyone say it was legitimate except you haha. We may be the only 3 people that believe it if you toss @NittyGrittyBoy in with us 

 

I believe this photo, found by the Perry family in 2006:

 

Looks like he’s currently working on a heater as the pic was taken. That makes everything it without a doubt, true

Thread proves I guess why it's such a burden to catch a WR.   People will always think you did it wrong, got lucky, fish was fake, etc.  

22 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Thread proves I guess why it's such a burden to catch a WR.   People will always think you did it wrong, got lucky, fish was fake, etc.  

here’s some light reading on the topic, the search function will reveal all kinds of things