| RAY
SCOTT OUTDOORS
Presents
SCOTT ONLINE
By Ray Scott
Memories Of A Big ‘UN
Dave Zimmerlee’s California
SuperBass
The package,
postmarked from “Hemet, California,” arrived unannounced. The magazine cover and tear sheets from BASSMASTER
Magazine, enclosed, were from an early-day, forgotten issue, September-October 1973.
At the time,
the cover story on Dave Zimmerlee’s “California SuperBASS” at 20-pounds,
15-ounces echoed through the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society’s ranks like a news flash
of a cure for cancer. The BIG ‘UN
touched off the second biggest rush to California since the gold rush 49er days.
Bassers are
still in search of the “Holy Grail,” the 22-pound, 5-ounce largemouth (or
bigger) that will erase George Perry’s long-standing 22-4 record caught in 1932 in
Georgia.
Dave
Zimmerlee walked up to me recently at the Triton Boat Show booth in Kansas City, Missouri
and reintroduced himself.
"You may
not remember me,” apologized Dave, “but I’m the guy that caught the
20-pound, 15-ounce bass on a Zebco 33 reel, using 10-pound test line.”
After almost
23 years, the details of the catch had faded from memory.
But Dave Zimmerlee recalls the fishing facts as clearly now, as June 23rd,
1973 at 2 p.m.
The “Big
Un,” as Dave described the bass – only 1-pound, 5-ounces off the world record
– was caught at Lake Miramar, a small, clear-water reservoir, near San Diego.
“I’d rented a boat for a day of fun
fishing, using my Zebco 33, Wright McGill rod, 10-pound test line with a treble hook and a
whole bunch of night crawlers for bait,” he recalled.
“I
hadn’t had very much luck that day, so I was moving from one cove to another, when I
noticed a swirl on the top of the water in the deeper part of the lake.
“The
water had to be 180 feet deep where I stopped to check out the movement,” continued
Dave in recounting his story. “With the
lake being so clear, I could see a fish suspended about 10 feet from the surface.
“I
dropped the hook down in front of her and, much to my surprise, she sucked it in.
“The
fish didn’t fight as much as I was expecting, “explained Zimmerlee with a grin,
“but it was quite a challenge to get it into the boat.
I didn’t own a net at the time.
“So,
when the fish broke the surface, I stuck my hand down its throat, grabbed hold and hauled
it into the boat.
“It
wasn’t until I got it in the boat, I realized the fish had grabbed a hold of me, too. I was bleeding from the teeth marks, but was too
excited to notice, or really care, and hauled tail to the boat dock.”
At the
scales, Dave proudly recalls, “The fish turned out to be the second largest bass ever
caught (weighed). It’s still the biggest
bass caught on 10-pound test line on a Zebco 33 closed-face reel. And, the first 20-pound bass caught in California
waters.”
The Zebco
reel was a birthday gift in September 1972 from Dave’s aunt and uncle. They gave him the rod as a Christmas present the
same year.
In the
package with the BASSMASTER Magazine cover showing Dave, his Big ‘Un and Zebco 33
reel and rod was something else.
“This is
a gift to you for all you have done for bass fishing,” said the note. “Every fisherman owes you a debt of
gratitude, and I’m glad to call you my friend.”
Thanks, Dave. If I think about it, I can clearly hear the drag
scream on your old Zebco 33. But, maybe
it’s pleading…”let’s go try for another Big ‘Un, Ray.”
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