Outdoor Life Newswire

What’s the best way to catch fish? Corn? Worms? A realistic artificial plug? A well-tied fly? Nonsense. If you really want to fill up a stringer, use dynamite. Or, on second thought, don’t.

The practice of explosive fishing is illegal, well, almost everywhere. But that didn’t stop a few fishermen in Russia from setting out to stun some perch. What did stop them was the dynamite accidentally going off inside the train they were taking to their hot spot. No passengers were injured, the train suffered minimal damage and no fish were caught.

The poisson du jour at your local Illinois prison could soon be Asian carp. State officials are looking at the feasibility of adding the nuisance fish to dinner menus. And if prisoners don’t get enough carp at mealtime, they could find themselves knee deep in fish carcasses. Another possibility being explored is using prisons to process carp.

Lawmakers, conservationists, biologists and anglers are all scrambling to address the rapidly increasing population of Asian carp in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Recently a $9.1 million underwater electrical barrier was set up to prevent the fish from moving into the Great Lakes.

Which would you dread more if you were in prison: the showers or endless meals of Asian carp? 

By Jerry Gibbs

John MacArthur “Mac” Weakley’s decision not to submit the goliath largemouth bass he caught and released Monday, March 20,  as a new world record for the species takes the heat off record keepers, and should shortly begin to lessen the harangue which he and his fishing buds have endured since the catch.  But the brouhaha surrounding what might have broken what many consider the mother of all freshwater fish records has again focused a harsh light on the need for eliminating loop holes and vague terminology in record catch rules. It also begs for absolute verification of a catch.

“When money, or the potential for it is involved, everything is going to have to be documented,” says Californian Dan Kadota, holder of the 20 lb. line class largemouth record and former fishing partner of Bob Crupi who owns title to the second biggest largemouth on record. “It’s not just bass fishing, but saltwater fishing, too; when money’s at stake it can get ugly.”

Weakley insists catching the record, not the possibility of  money,  has been his goal and that of his two fishing partners for years. Regardless, facts surrounding the catch engendered so much controversy Weakley was wise in his decision not to submit the fish for record consideration.

The bass was foul hooked in the side, though Weakly insists accidentally. “I haven’t seen it but it’s likely that viewing the video the anglers made you’ll be able to tell if they were swinging the minute the bait was positioned over the fish—that’s snagging—or fishing and striking legitimately,” says Kadota.

A day after Mac Weakley said he would submit his 25.1-pound largemouth to the IGFA and two days after he pulled it from Dixon Lake, the angler has decided NOT to try for the world record, according to an article in the San Diego’s Union-Tribune.

Weakley told the Union Tribune:

“It seems 50 percent feel it should stand as a record and 50 percent say it shouldn't. That's why Jed (Dickerson), Mike and I have decided not to submit it as a world record to the IGFA. We don't want to go out breaking the record with so many people doubting it.”

This is a bold and impressive move on the part of the three friends. They could be turning down over a million dollars to preserve the integrity of the record. While baseball struggles to figure out what to do with its records now that steroid use is common knowledge, it’s good to know that the most American of pastimes also remains the purest. 

By Ernie Cowan

Many questions still swirl around Mac Weakley’s catch of a potential new world record largemouth bass from a Southern California Lake Monday, but the biggest question is why did he release the fish?

“Yep, that’s what everyone wants to know,” said an exhausted Weakley a day after nailing a 25-pound, 1-ounce largemouth from Dixon Lake, located about 30 miles northeast of San Diego. “My phone has not stopped ringing and I feel like a broken record. I’ve probably told the story about 200 times now.”

Controversy surrounds the fish that could shatter the previous world record of 22 pounds, 4 ounces which has stood since George Perry pulled the largemouth from Montgomery Lake, GA in 1932.

Weakley quickly admits his fish was snagged in the side, was not weighed on a certified scale and was not measured before being released. With millions on the line for the person who sets a new world bass record, everyone wants to know why it was not kept.

“That’s easy. We had six witnesses to verify how it was caught, and the size. It’s not like it was just a hair bigger than the world record. It blew out the record at 25 pounds.” Weakley said. “We’ve been after this fish for so many years it was like a pet just laying there and we decided we just had to let it go.”

Weakley has been fishing with buddies Jed Dickerson and Mike Winn for years. Three years ago, Dickerson may have caught and released the same fish, then weighing 21-11. His fish had a distinctive freckle below the right eye, and Weakley’s fish also has the same freckle.

“What really matters, between you and me, is this IS the world record bass and we know it,” Weakley said. “I don’t care about the money. This was personal between the three of us who have been fishing together for years.”

Could this be it? The new No. 1 for largemouth bass fishermen? Mike Winn is holding a 25.1-pound bass caught on Dixon Lake in southern California Monday by his friend Mac Weakley. By all accounts it smashes the standing record, but questions (as always) loom. Jed Dickerson, a bass fishing legend and friend of Weakley's, weighed the big 'un with a digital scale and then released it. Wildlife officials were not involved in the process. Also, reports that the fish had been foul hooked are circulating. What do you think? Will this bass claim the new title of biggest ever?

Ernie Cowan penned a story for the North County  Times on the events yesterday. He's known Jed Dickerson and the other big bass hunters for years. We've got him working on an exclusive for the web, which should be up later today. For now, read his original story.

In the magazine, Bob McNally wrote about where the next record bass might be caught and mentioned Dixon Lake. Read the article, "Finding the Million-Dollar Baby" from our April 2005 issue.

Looks like the movie that all outdoorsmen want to talk about, but few will see, is starting to affect the psyche of anglers. Charlie Meyers, an outdoor columnist at the Denver Post, has a funny column up about how the movie has changed the tenor of his fishing trips. Now whenever he goes for an overnighter on the stream his wife gives him a funny look, and it’s not because he forgot to take the garbage out. Give it a read.

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude are proposing to cover 8 miles of the Arkansas River in drapery. Oh, and call it art. The Bureau of Land Management is soliciting opinions on the "Over the River" project before deciding whether or not to grant permits. The person to contact is the field office director Roy Masinton. Comments must be submitted by February 10. If you do send an email be sure to include some art criticism of Christo's past projects. We don't want to seem uncultured, after all.

Christo is the fella that put up the "Gates" exhibit in Central Park last winter. His mission was to lighten the mood of an otherwise gray and dreary winter. Instead it looked like a giant road construction project. But that's just my opinion, which reminds me of some advice from a friend, "Always call yourself an artist. No one can disprove you."

According to their website, the couple spent several years traversing the Rocky Mountain Range looking for the perfect stream to cover in sheets of fabric. They settled on the Arkansas River in Colorado because it has high banks and a road follows long expanses. Christo doesn't have the best environmental record with his project, and though he claims that the materials will not harm the surroundings, I don't think he can claim to be a river scientist. What happens when stretches of the river will be shrouded from sunlight during a peak season for insect hatches? And, in turn, how will the fish population react? These are issues that need to be brought to the BLM's attention. Also, will increased visitation damage the river banks or cause erosion? A press release from the ArkAnglers says not to bother making fun of Christo's past work or questioning whether "Over the River" is art or not. Though these statements are funny, I'm sure, they don't have any bearing on the decision-making.

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