Fish Story: 400 lb Largemouth Bass

When I was a kid, I spent any money I got to buy Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. I read them cover to cover, even the funny ads at the end about making money raising earthworms. At that time and in my part of the country, I was the only female present on opening day of trout season.

Breaking the world record for the largemouth bass seemed to be the Holy Grail of fishing. I wanted to catch the biggest bass ever and dreamed about it during those long stretches between bites. What if I caught a 400 lb. bass? No one would ever break that record, especially since the current record was 22 1/4 lbs. Impossible, of course, but hey, I was a kid.

Today I painted my world record largemouth bass. I mounted it, of course, and put it over the mantle, where it takes up as much room as a swordfish. I added the harpoon I used to get him, because the hook and line required to catch a 400 lb. bass only exists in certain heavy-duty salt water rigs and I don’t have that. I don’t have a mantle either, but why quibble?

I added beer bottles on the mantle because good fish stories always involve beer in some way. 🙂