The Quest For The World Record Bass

Bart Crabb's "The Quest for the World Record Bass" includes profiles on the individual states that stock the Florida Largemouth Bass, along with their stocking programs and State Record catches. There is also a summary of lakes for the individual states that have the potential to land a world, state or line classification record. Additional topics include rules and regulations, biological information, interviews with bass anglers who have caught as many as 50 bass over 12 pounds and an explanation of why the big lure concept works. This book contains numerous photos of bass, a fully documented list of the "Top 25 Bass" of all time and tips to give every fisherman a fighting chance to catch the World Record.

In 1932, a farmer named George Washington Perry decided it was too rainy to plow and went fishing. That day, George landed the largest largemouth ever recorded—twenty-two pounds four ounces. The fish has inspired and frustrated hundreds of anglers for decades. They’ve dedicated their lives to the pursuit of “Sowbelly”—a nearly mythical fish, whose swinelike girth holds the key to their dreams. From an L.A. cop who came within ounces of besting the record to an Alabaman who has lost his marriage and his daughter to this pursuit, Burke takes readers along for the ride in this legendary race.

From the bestselling author of Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly comes the thrilling, untold story of the quest for the world record tarpon on a fly rod—a tale that reveals as much about Man as it does about the fish. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, something unique happened in the quiet little town on the west coast of Florida known as Homosassa. The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon. The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party. Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entaglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control. It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again. It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike. In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment. He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish. When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it. Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery. Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.

Following the model of Bob Clouser's classic Fly Fishing for Smallmouth, this book provides important information geared specifically toward Western anglers. • Features the best smallmouth bass rivers, lakes, and streams throughout the Western United States • Reveals important details about the smallmouth life cycle • Introduces readers to the best smallmouth bass flies for every Western state • Includes 280 full-color photos, with over 60 photos of fly patterns

The Biggest Fish Ever Caught will tell the tales behind the International Game Fishing Association's record-holding fish, including where they were bagged, what lines/lures the anglers used, and other tips and tricks. The dozen stories here are filled with amazing action and intriguing characters. They'll take you to lakes, streams, and oceans around the world and explore catch and release vs blood sport fishing, stocking and bioengineering, conservation – and controversy. All the while revealing the sorts of secrets fishermen don't usually like to share.

This completely updated edition of Paul Weamer's guide to the Upper Delaware includes new interviews with some of the river's most renowned guides and outfitters, including the legendary Al Caucci. Includes information on the latest dining and lodging options in the area, as well as access points and the hatches and patterns that work best.

"American BeheMouth" is a timely literary work that depicts American moral equivalencies and excesses. For fishermen, baseball fans, book lovers, sports enthusiasts, and economists alike, the novella is highly entertaining and insightful. Full of true fisheries science and sports history, "American BeheMouth" tells the greatest bass fishing story of all time while giving an insight into what America has become. On the surface, the story is about a literature student and his fisheries biologist girlfriend who raise the world-record bigmouth bass in a Kentucky lake. Underneath, the novella is much more than a fishing story; it is a metaphor for many other things: life, family, sacrifice, commitment, and dreams. In addition, it raises ethical questions about modern American sports, American businesses and consumerism, and our quest for the elusive. "American BeheMouth" is a metaphor for many things that are wrong in American culture, including the relentless pursuit for more, mirroring and predicting the many bubbles in the American economy. In the big picture, the author may be asking all the existential questions while writing about fishing. In all, everyone can glean something from the story with humor and inquisitiveness.