Dottie was far and away the most famous fish that ever lived. Fished for by thousands of anglers, the monster largemouth bass that could have broken the 22-pound 4-ounce world record, was found floating on the surface of Lake Dixon last May. Doug Brown, the 23-year-old marine sniper who actually found the record fish, remains unknown to even the most devoted Dottie tabloid readers.

On Mother's Day, Brown set out on Dixon Lake for a day of bass fishing. He is originally from Louisiana but is stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. and he regularly bass fishes Dixon. Brown was sight fishing the shallows, trying to pick bass off of their beds when he glanced toward some reeds and spotted a giant fish floating dead. Brown grabbed the fish, having no idea that he was holding the holy grail of bass fishing by the mouth.

"I didn't know the story of Dottie very well, I just saw it was a big dead fish," Brown says.