Chasing the bass record has ruined lives, wrecked marriages and shattered friendships, but it’s also revolutionized how we fish for largemouths. Here are some of the best tips from those still in the hunt.
May 13, 2008
"Drink, ye harpooners! Drink and swear…God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death" –Herman Melville
Comparing the obsession for catching the world-record largemouth bass to Captain Ahab's monomaniacal quest to kill the white whale might be a bit over the top—but then again maybe it's not.
Untold numbers of anglers are fixated on "The One," as big-bass specialist Jed Dickerson refers to the mythical record fish, and although the quest has not claimed the ultimate sacrifice—a life— it has cost some anglers plenty. In Southern California, ground zero for the world-record bass chase, dynamics are as complex as a presidential election campaign. The serious commit to sleep deprivation, eschew home life, keep atop the endless stream of fishing intelligence reports and rumors, interpret weather implications and maybe even look for mystical signs.
For the rest of us whose goals are less heady than the record, methods employed by the cult of the obsessed can be applied to catching big bass wherever they live. Whereas during the 1980s, focus in California was on fishing live crawdads on pre-staging spots on lakes Castaic and Casitas, present emphasis is focused on Lake Dixon and jig-fishing beds and giant swimbaits.
The Players Who's Who—the Latest Leading Lights in the Quest for Moby Bass
Bob Crupi: His 1991 catch of the 22-pound, No.2 bass from Old S---house Cove, Lake Castaic triggered, today's big bass madness. The quintessential predator, Crupi holds the IGFA 2-, 4-, and 12-pound line-class records for bigmouths as well. A taciturn motorcycle cop, he says he's burnt out; then he slyly hints about getting back in the game.
Mike Long: Arguably the most consistent producer of big bass and heir apparent to Crupi's record-contending crown, Long also claims to have caught "Dottie," the ostensible world record with the black dot on her tail, in 1991. He weighed her at an ounce heavier than Perry's record—before she purged eggs and was certified at 20 pounds, 12 ounces.
Jed Dickerson: One of the "Three Bassketeers" of Lake Dixon, this quiet young angler has the focus of a laser. By catching Dottie in '03, he slapped the Big Bass Crown right out of Mike Long's hands when she weighed 22 pounds, 9 ounces on the lake scale. But again, the egg-laden record lost roe and fluids and officially went 21 pounds, 6 ounces.
Arthur "Mac" Weakley: He could have been the new world-record holder after catching the sow bass with the black beauty mark in '06 and weighing her on a new Berkley digital scale at 25 pounds, 1 ounce. But he released the fish. It had accidentally been foul hooked. In the fast track, this Bassketeer drives a '72 custom DeTomasso Pantera and whoops the glitterati in high-stakes poker. He's not going to go away soon.
Mike "Buddha" Winn: Third member of the Bassketeers, Winn alternates with his buds on the electric motor and the rod between stints in the casino gaming rooms. A former big-fish saltwater mate, he has a slow-to-boil demeanor that belies his pit-bull tenacity.
Mickey Ellis: A once rage-driven ex con who found religion, Ellis says he was "called" to form his custom Biblical 3:16 Lure Company. The big bass mob lusts for his lures including the $310 Armageddon swimbait, the world's most expensive.
Jerry Rago: It's not hand-to-hand combat, but the fierce competition between Rago and Ellis for king of the big-bass baits crown is likened to a blood feud coupled with mutual respect. His Rago Rat, along with exquisitely crafted hard- and soft-plastics is "gotta-have" bait among the big-bass Mafioso.
Todd & Rod Thigpin: They spawned the giant, soft-plastic Stocker Swimbaits in the '90s, undisputed Lake Casitas killers that are finding their ways into more SoCal record hunters' arsenals. And when these guys get time to fish, they are a double force with which to reckon.
Dottie: Dottie-They call her other things too, like Cash, Big Bertha, The One, Queen Kong, The Beast and Big MF, depending on who's naming and his mind set. But the beauty dot below her "chin" on the right side convinced anglers the giant bass is the same fish caught by Jed Dickerson in 2003 and by Mac Weakley, proof that catch-and-release works. No one knows if she's still alive, though bass can hit the quarter century mark. Nor do they know if she'll again slide into the shallows for another go at dropping eggs with the built-in genetics to build another super largemouth. Bass anglers are waiting.
George Perry: Still the world-record holder who has likely flipped in his grave.
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Bob Crupi: His 1991 catch of the 22-pound, No.2 bass from Old S---house Cove, Lake Castaic triggered, today's big bass madness. The quintessential predator, Crupi holds the IGFA 2-, 4-, and 12-pound line-class records for bigmouths as well. A taciturn motorcycle cop, he says he's burnt out; then he slyly hints about getting back in the game.
Mike Long: Arguably the most consistent producer of big bass and heir apparent to Crupi's record-contending crown, Long also claims to have caught "Dottie," the ostensible world record with the black dot on her tail, in 1991. He weighed her at an ounce heavier than Perry's record—before she purged eggs and was certified at 20 pounds, 12 ounces.
George Perry: Still the world-record holder who has likely flipped in his grave.
