IMAGE: Mac Weakley with his 25.1-pound Floridian strain largemouth bass caught in Dixon Lake, California.
Dottie was a 25.1-pound monster largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) that did not make the record books because back in 2006 Mike Weakly the angler who hooked her did not hook her in the mouth. As a result, he released her back into Dixon Lake, which is a southern California reservoir amongst other southern California impoundments that are known for monster largemouth bass.
After her capture and release, Dottie proved a sensation and the Dixon Lake turned into a prime fishing attraction. Some anglers traveled from other countries for the chance to catch the freshwater beast and as a result make the record books. However, the chance to hook the monster has passed since she was recently found dead on the morning of May 9, 2008. Dottie was named after a “distinctive birthmark spot below her jawline” which helped in identifying the dead largemouth bass.
Largemouth bass are prized for their fight and the resulting excitement they produce when hooked, so hooking a 25-pounder would be sheer ecstasy or euphoria and certainly evoke a lifetime of nirvana. To give an idea of what catching a 25.1-pound largemouth bass would be like – I know anglers including myself that would be excited to hook anything over 7, 8 or 9-pounds. Any largemouth bass approaching just 15-pounds is uncommon especially on the east coast.
According to an ESPN article dated March 28, 2006, out of the top 25 largemouth bass hooked in Dixon Lake at the time, there had been “a 19.44-pounder, at No. 15; a 20.75-pounder (No. 9); and a 21.69-pounder (No. 4).” The monster status of the largemouth bass swimming in Dixon lake has been attributed to the stocking of rainbow trout which the bass fatten from, the voluntary practice of catch and release and fishing pressure which seems to be sustainable at the moment. A current and more in depth story can be found at the San Diego Union Tribune:
The fish with a worldwide reputation as the largest bass ever hooked was found floating yesterday morning on Escondido’s Dixon Lake.
The Florida-strain largemouth bass, nicknamed Dottie for a distinctive birthmark spot below her jawline, had been dead about a day.
She measured 29½ inches long and weighed about 19 pounds. That was a far cry from the world-record 25 pounds, 1 ounce she weighed when caught – and then released – by Carlsbad angler Mac Weakley on March 20, 2006. Then she was bulging with eggs; this time she apparently died shortly after spawning.
NOTE: The current official world record largemouth bass is from 1932 and still stands. Images regarding the current official world record largemouth bass can be seen here.
