http://www.njworks.com/bass/world.html

Now here is another thing that kinda gets me. Anyone remember this? Paul Duclos caught this fish and weighed him on a bathroom scale at 24 lbs, then he released it. I wish I could find the story that explained it more. He was basically criticized for not keeping it and having it checked and certified. An IFGA official made a statement that he was sad to say , but a world record fish would almost certainly have to be killed to be checked correctly. Yet they commended Weakley for releasing this other fish and are still considering the record. They could have checked the scale he used, which also wasn't certified and seen if it read correctly. He also has good pictures....  

It is typical in Southern Cal. for those fish to spawn that deep. I have seen it. Makes it hard to judge where your bait is that deep down. One method we used to use was to simply drag dropshot in those depths with the wind just moving you along. Or cast on shallow and let them drag out slowly as you moved forward.

But...that info is why it taints the record for me. NO doubt is it an awesome fish. It's just all the prior knowledge before hand that makes it seem a little unfair. Blindly casting and hooking into her would have made me more impressed that's all. What about next year when they catch her again and she ways 27lbs because they know she is going to be there? I think it takes a little excitement out of the record.

Count on Smitty to set the record straight.  Good information and he is correct, what a toad.  I do love the photos.  Amazing that everyone knows about this fish.  Was the fish spawning at 20'?  Is that typical for SoCal?  Just looked at the photo again, and all I can say is wow!

He still selling that boat?  He had first posted in Nov of last year.  Its a Cougar FTD actually, pretty similar to a Puma  though.

He's got that bright yellow bumble bee colored Puma for sale.  Want his number to make an offer?

Smitty

Good info Smitty.  Terry is a good guy, Cat owner too 

There are two different classifications of passes sold that allow access to the Lake on a daily basis.  The 1st is for fishing only and the 2nd is for camping & fishing.  If you possess a camping and fishing pass you are allowed early entry to the park and launch area.  There was no "racing around traffic in the parking lot" in order to cut the line of waiting anglers and circumvent a legal entry into the park.  My source for this information:  San Diego Tribune online, Bass Fan, and Terry Battisti a well known writer in the publications Bass West and Inside Line.  Terry is also the consummate authority on the hunt for the world record bass and a member of the Northwest Shimano Pro-Staff.
I talked with "Tater" (his nickname) for over 40 minutes last night about this catch and all the hoopla that it has generated.  He told me that the fish is well known among local anglers having been caught several times in the last few years by different anglers.  This fish has gained about 5-6 pounds over the past 5 years according to records kept.  She is an easily identifiable fish that has a distinct mark on her lower right gill plate.   There have been several scale samples taken of this fish and her genetics are very well known in the scientific fishead circles in Southern California.
The ironic thing is that once she spawns, she will lose nearly 6 lbs in egg weight. WHAT A LOAD!!
The anglers that caught her are among a group of well known So-Cal big fish hunters that target the large fish that ply the waters of the San Diego County drinking water reservoir system.  When he foul hooked the sow, he was sight fishing in nearly 20' of gin clear water.  He set the hook when his jig disappeared as the fish moved over the bait rather than inhaled it as he thought.

Smitty

I know you ALL find the HARD to believe, but I have an opinion about this.   This fish did not "take" a jig.  I can promise you that they were knocking this thing along side of the head just to force her into striking with a 1+ ounce jig.  After being caught once, and in her condition she had no intention of going through all that again.  On top of that, the guys raced around traffic to get into the parking lot first, because there were a bunch of guys wanting to do the same thing.  How is that fun?  Sort of like shooting a buck in my back yard that is eating my apples and calling it hunting.  That is more like revenge.   The whole thing just smells kind of bad.  I want to see the record broken, but in a more legit manner.  Rob is right.  The whole county knew that fish was there.  Only in Califoooornia.

I think this discussion gets down to the nitty-gritty on why we all like tournament bass fishing...

It's not about hunting and catching big fish, it's about adjusting to the conditions of the day and fooling fish better than everyone else around you! That is not the same as going after a world-record fish.

Chris

No doubt would I work that fish over in a tourney or just fun fishing. The record just doesn't seem to have the same appeal to me catching it that way. It just doesn't seem like enough work for a world record as big as that one.

I understand what your saying.  No one of us would pass up the oppurtunity though, in a tourney situation or for a record.  It was either going to be the group of big bass hunters like they were, or some other schmuck.  The record will be broken in the next few years, there's tons of little trout stocked lakes down there.

I agree with you Rob, not very sporting at all.

I agree with you on that Rob. That's not right.

I'm not...I lived down there and fished plenty of those same lakes. You don't come across those that big all that often. And when you do you have to get a hook in them. It just bothers me to catch the same fish spawning in the same lake every year, probably in the same spot and get a world record out of it. Those guys know that same fish will be there so they go looking for that fish. Maybe I can't put the feeling quite into words.

Lake Dixon is 4 acres smaller than Lake Desire. Now put a 25 lber in Desire with gin clear water and tell me someone won't see it spawning. You can trolling motor around the whole thing in like 2 hours. What chance does that fish have of not being caught? I guess I'm feeling that there just isn't as much sport in it, and it would be hard to see the world record go down like that. Anyone else kind see what I'm saying?

Its ok to be jealous, I wish I lived in Cali catching fish like that.  I give the guy some credit for landing it.  God knows I wouldn't even be able to make a cast I'd be shaking so bad