Hooked on Bass

[Black_Bay]

Did anyone see this show last night on the National Geographic Channel? They talked about the bass fishing phenomenon in the U.S. and focused on KVD, some weekend warriors as they called them on Sam Rayburn, and 3 guys who are targeting the world record bass in California. I thought it was pretty interesting. I did kind of bug me how the guys were targeting the world record. You have to see it to understand what I'm talking about. Basically they are sight fishing spawning bass everyday in a 70 acre lake. It just seems like a no skill cheap way to do it.

It's on again next Monday at 5 and Saturday the 28th at 7 and 10pm.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks for the heads up, I will DVR it.

[East Rush Rules]

It was a pretty interesting show, definitly a good watch for any angler!

[TommyJ33]

Good Show. Great coverage. Dottie was a real hoss-ette.

Not so tough catching a big bass when they see her on the spawning bed and snag her.

[hanson]

Awesome show! Definitely catch it if you can!

I thought the story behind the 3 guys in California targeting the World Record on Lake Dixon was fascinating. They caught the fish, "Dottie", one time and that put the angler 4th on the all time record list. They caught her again a couple years later when it weighed 4-5 pounds more, tipped the scales at 25lbs, but didn't claim the record because they foul hooked the fish. Big tip of the hat to the ethical behavior of those gentleman when that happened. I mean, what would you have done in that situation? And then the sad ending to the story when they found Dottie dead floating in the lake the following year.

[TommyJ33]

Yeah they did the right thing by letting her go. they just should have skipped putting her on a stringer and tying her to the the dock though. Wasn't the fish in their possession for awhile? But it looks like they were pretty chummy with the DNR, though.

[Black_Bay]

I agree the guys were ethical in as much as not claiming the record because it was foul hooked. Maybe it's just me but, no pun intended, it seems like shooting fish in a barrel on that lake. Kind of like shooing a world record deer at a high fence ranch. Even the group that was offering $8,000,000 for the record pulled the money.

I wish they would have spent more time talking about the passion people have for fishing, bass fishing on Sam Rayburn in this case. For as hard core as some guys are for walleyes here they don't hold a candle to the bass guys down south.

[Juan Grande]

I read something about that in Bassmaster I think. Those fish over twenty pounds don't even look real. They're so old and raggedy...

That little 70 acre lake is a private lake, part of a housing complex or something. I think they stock it with trout for the bass to feed on. Seems like basically a large aquarium for them to breed a world record.

[SStracker]

great show! i am going to look later today to see if i can get it on dvd. i actually got 5 phone calls during it with people telling me to turn it on haha i was way ahead of them though.

[grab the net]

The lakes where most of the fishing is done are drinking water reservoirs for cities. No motors allowed and believe the uniformed folks you saw are Park Rangers. A good read is

"SowBelly" Monte Burke. The quest for world record bass. In the book he covers the California quest by these three fisherman, along with stories from Cuba and other places, public and private.

I read the book and as far as shooting fish in the barrel, if it were that easy, the record would have been broken long ago in California. Those fish are some of the most pressured in the world. Even some of our Minnesota Largemouth can seem almost impossible to catch on the bed.

[OLY]

Yeah, no where near shooting fish in a barrel. Those guys fished for that fish every day during the spawn over a six year period and caught it twice!! The second time it wasnt even legit so they basically got it to bite one time. The time and dedication those three guys put into trying to find and catch dottie, to me was really cool, and I think they deserve a ton of respect for the way the handled thier quest to catch the world record bass. Really good show, and the whole thing is narrorated by Tommy Sanders from the bassmasters show.

[Z-520]

Who ever says catching Largemouths off of beds is easy, obviously doesn't do it very often.

[Black_Bay]

Who ever says catching Largemouths off of beds is easy, obviously doesn't do it very often.

Actually I find it quite easy.

[TonkaBass]

I find it easy too cause I snag em! lol

[TonkaBass]

I find it easy too cause I snag em! lol

[ikeslayer]

I find it easy too cause I snag em! lol

yes you can do some good damage with big weighted trebles when they are on beds.

[goblueM]

Sowbelly is a great read, thats for sure. Very fascinating

I too find bed fishing easy, if you are stealthy (biggest component of success imo) and use the right tactics.

[DomW]

I also saw the show and I felt the same way about Weakley and his buddies. I was a bit turned off by their attitudes about being the rightful heirs to the next record. They tried to qualify it by saying it'd be cool if some little kid caught it, but in the same breath, they said that it would be undeserved if some other fisherman caught it without putting in all of the time to catch it. That's not how records work (usually). Maybe someone has a better technique, or maybe just better luck! I got the feeling that they'd be ticked off at me if I were to head out to Dixon to try to catch a record fish. Probably not exactly the ambassadors the sport needs, but their story was definitely interesting and the show was great.

[TonkaBass]

I'm thinking that the main reason they are looking to spend so much time fishing for this bass is for the money. I heard once that the estimated value of a world record bass is $8 million. Thats almost enough reason for all of us to go to this lake for a weekend and try our luck. I think that the actual title to the record is second on their list next to the money.

[Cecil]

I'd take a year for that if I could. Not sure the 7' medium would work on her..