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RAY
SCOTT OUTDOORS, INC. "There's
Gold In Them Thar Gills" As the 71st anniversary of George Perry's world
record largemouth bass catch of 22-pounds, 4-ounces approaches, the fact
the mark still stands the test of time If records are made to be broken, as the sport's cliché suggests, George Perry's all-tackle 22-4 largemouth record is seemingly bulletproof. On the historic day, June 2, 1932, Perry and a fishing buddy Jack Page launched a homemade wooden boat on a small oxbow body of water known as "Lake Montgomery" off the Ocmulgee River in southern Georgia. The pair reportedly possessed a single artificial lure between them. A Creek Chub Wiggle-Fish, a perch scaled, jointed-body plug with a metal-hinged tail that vibrated on the retrieve. As the story has been repeated in magazine accounts, young George W. Perry was more concerned about losing their only plug than getting the huge fish into the boat. This was the "Depression Years" and hard times for redneck farmers. The fact Perry bothered to weigh-in his landmark largemouth is a wonder considering the economic times. The record fish was destined for the frying pan. But, by chance "Field & Stream" magazine had announced a fishing contest for big fish entries. Perry, at the urging of Page, carried his trophy to a local general store in Helena and the 22-pounds, 4-ounces weight was recorded. The magazine entry blank completed and the rest is history, as they say. Today, such a fishing feat-breaking the world black bass record-will send the fishing world into a spin. Optimistically, the record wrecker will be an instant millionaire. Rich in fame and fortune. On the other hand, George Perry's windfall amounted to a two-dollar rod and reel. George Perry really never enjoyed the limelight of a fishing legend. He died in an airplane crash near Birmingham, Alabama in 1974. Bass fishing had yet to make it into the modern-day mainstream of sports and the tremendous growth of the fishing industry. Will George Perry's 22-4 mark ever be toppled? With the ever increasing number of trophy bass anglers and efforts by state fishery departments to spawn a "SuperBass," the logical conclusion is "any given spring." The magic 20-pound barrier is formidable, but reachable. Perry's mark eclipsed the 20-pound, 2-ounce record established in 1923 in Florida by Fritz Friebel. Modern fishery management has stepped into the
picture. The success of In Texas, Lake Fork has been the dream destination for trophy bass hunters. The amazing East Texas fishery has yielded 17 of the state's top 23 bass catches. The Lone Star bass record stands at 18.18 pounds, a whopper landed by Barry St. Clair in 1992. But, there's some question as to the timeline and the window of opportunity still open for record seekers. The California "gold in them thar gills" seemed to have peaked in the 1989-1991 period at Lake Castaic. Such is the similar situation at the Texas big bass factory, where monster bass catches have dwindled in the past 10 years. Adding to the dilemma is the mysterious Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) that fishery experts say has spread to 17 states. Lake Fork has been hit by the deadly virus. Sam Rayburn in Texas, likewise. Reportedly the ailment first appeared in 1995 in the Santee-Cooper reservoirs in South Carolina. Fishery scientists are concerned, but as yet puzzled for answers. Recently, a third LMBV workshop summoned fishery folks to Little Rock, Arkansas. What's known is that the virus appears to attack the swim bladder of infected bass. The fish are observed floating on the surface and swimming in circles. There are no external sores associated with the virus. The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens is state of the art and holds out hopes of genetically engineering a super strain of trophy largemouth bass. Matter of fact, they've adopted an "Operation World Record" program to do just that-end George Perry's 22-4 world record reign. But, as yet they're still grasping to reach the 20-pound class bass. There's good reason to believe the "Holy Grail of Bassdom" will be caught, but not in public waters. The locale will be a private, well-managed lake somewhere in the Deep South. The longer growing season. The lack of fishing pressure on a private body of water. And, the advent of forage (feed) production to grow bigger bass, faster. Pellet-fed bass will take bass fishing on private waters to the next level of fishery management. To a dedicated bass angler, it sounds like an unnatural act to toss "pellets" to largemouth bass instead of a lure. But, in these days of fast foods, instant coffee and do-it now satisfaction, bass fishing managers and pond builders expect faster results. The old-fashioned methods of stocking lakes with fingerling-size bass and bluegill forage is being challenged by largemouth bass trained to eat pellets from birth. Such diets of heavy 40 percent protein food adds weight and no spent energy in gobbling down a ration of pellets. As a rule, a bass can grow to 1.6 pounds on artificial feeding in 18 months. At a 40-acre lake in southern Oklahoma, pellet-fed bass have reached the 8-pound mark in just four years. You may be asking: "But, do these pellet eating bass bite lures?" Yes, they attack a bait. Wanting to see for myself, I asked for a demonstration. The fish manager tossed out a handful of pellets and the surface on the two-acre hatchery pond erupted with a feeding frenzy. Then, he handed over an old Zebco 33 spinning reel, spooled with kinky monofilament and tied to the heavy line a bare jighead. That's right a bare hook. The jig barely touched the surface and BAM! The 1 1/2-pound largemouth slammed the lure and showed its muscle. Six casts and six fish latter I was more than sold that these pellet-eating critters will strike a lure. These hawg-lot raised bass are shaped like footballs, thick in the shoulders and mean on the end of a line. An interesting sidebar to consider is that fishery researchers are becoming aware that the stocking of pure strain Floridas can be a problem. The "Floridas" are much more difficult to catch. However, by introducing the pellet-fed bass to an established pond, the bass population will become more aggressive and bite. Will a largemouth stuffed to the gills on high-protein pellets be the demise of George Perry's record? The jury is in the waiting room. The verdict will probably be "not guilty" as a record wrecker. But, the prospects of growing bass in the 8- to 10-pound range is mind-boggling. Make no mistake about it you can grow trophy-class bass in small waters with the right management. Barry Smith of American Sport Fish Hatchery located in Montgomery, Alabama has worked with his neighbor Steve Honaker to develop a seven-acre trophy bass waters. His best from the lake is 15-pounds, 13-ounces and another dozen double digit bass over the 10-pound mark. According to Barry Smith, the management plan for the 7-acre lake is to "sacrifice quantity for maximum size." The objective is to produce bass in the 12-to 18-pound range. And, Honaker's immediate goal is to break the Alabama state bass record of 16-pounds, 8-ounces. If so, a George Perry record assault may be next on the agenda. --------------- SOUTHERN PONDS and WILDLIFE is the title of a new
pond management To subscribe, contact: SOUTHERN PONDS and Wildlife,
P. O. Box 240729, Montgomery, AL 36124-0729 or telephone (334) 281-7770.
The annual subscription rate is $28. --------------- For the pond owner seeking to turn his waters into a big bass factory, a copy of biologist Bob Lusk's book-"RAISING TROPHY BASS"-is must reading. Based in Whitesboro, Texas, Lusk runs the Texoma Hatchery consulting services. Over the past 20 years he has learned the hard way the do's and don'ts of raising 10-pound plus bass. Compiled along with writer Mark McDonald, editor of "Pond Boss" magazine, Lusk's handbook on big bass covers the basics from pond building, the "Cradle of a Lunker," to understanding the food chain for bass to establishing a super gene pool for growing lunker largemouths. To obtain a copy of Bob Lusk's "RAISING TROPHY BASS" from Pond Boss, P. O. Box 12, Sadler, TX 76264 write or telephone (903) 564-6144. The cost is $22, including shipping. --------------- How-to Create "GREAT SMALL WATERS" is a three set series of videotapes available from Ray Scott Outdoors, Inc. The over two hours of video instructions takes the landowner and pond builder from designing and constructing the lake, adding bass-holding structure, stocking and establishing the food chain to steps for proper management for a world-class bass fishery. For more information or to order "GREAT SMALL WATERS" call 1-800-518-7222. The three-set series is priced at $89.95, but a special offer to BassFan readers for a limited time is $69.95, plus a $6.95 charge for shipping and handling. |