PROLOGUE
“He is a plucky, game, brave and unyielding to the last when hooked. He has the
arrowy rush and vigor of the trout, the untiring strength and bold leap of the
salmon, while he has a system of fighting tactics peculiearly his own. I consider
him, inch for inch and pound for for pound, the gamest fish that swims.”
Dr. James A. Henshall - The Book of the Black Bass – 1881
It was 1932 and it had been a wet Spring that year, and for the farmers on that
particular day the fields were too soggy to work.
It had been raining that day in 1932 when 20-year-old George W. Perry cast out
into the blue waters of Lake Powell with a Creek Chub Minnow, the only bass
fishing lure he owned. After 4 hours with no activity, George and his fishing
partner Jack Page decided to call it a day and began rowing the old boat back
towards shore. The boys took turns casting the lure and as they headed back in, it
was George’s turn with the rod and reel. He made history when a huge bass struck
the lure.
After a brutal battle with antiquated gear, he landed the 22-pound 4-ounce monster
and unknowingly established a world record that would stand for 85 years.
Then he ate it!
