World's Largest Largemouth Bass

On March 20, 2006, 32-year-old Mac Weakley of Carlsbad, California, was fishing on 72-acre Dixon Lake near Escondido, California, with his long-time fishing partners Mike Winn and Jed Dickerson when he caught a largemouth bass. This was not just any bass; it was THE bass. It weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce on the men’s hand-held digital scale, making it a potential new world record. By all indications, it could have shattered the most legendary angling record of all time—the 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass caught in 1932 in Georgia’s Montgomery Lake by George Washington Perry.

Unfortunately, the 25-pounder Weakley landed, was unintentionally foul-hooked. The white jig Weakley was casting stuck in the fish’s side just below the dorsal fin when he set the hook. And because of this fact, Weakley quickly decided to release the humongous bass.

On May 8, 2008, Dottie was found floating across from the dock area and is now awaiting Dept of Fish and game officials to pick up tissue sample to determine her true age, although a rough guess at this point is 15-17 years old.

Dottie on assuming lake temperature had lost some weight, probably due to recently spawning, unlike the first catch when she was full of eggs. Dottie at her time of passing weighed in at only 19 lbs.