foulshot
06-16-2003, 06:03 PM
By Ed Zieralski
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 16, 2003
One key fact separates Jed Dickerson's San Diego County-record largemouth bass from Dave Zimmerlee's mark that stood for nearly 30 years.
No controversy. None.
Dickerson caught and released a 21.70-pound largemouth bass at Dixon Lake in Escondido on May 31, shattering the county-record bass caught by Zimmerlee on June 23, 1973, at Lake Miramar.
Dickerson isn't suspected of being a trout-chucker, a big-bass angler who illegally uses live rainbow trout for bait. The bass didn't have a lead weight in its belly. It wasn't reported to have been snagged. And it wasn't rumored to have been caught in the dark of night, tethered to a stump and "caught" again at first light.
And that not only distinguishes Dickerson's bass from Zimmerlee's bass, but it also lifts it high above many of the other bass caught on the all-time Top 25 list of bass heavyweights.
In other words, it's, without question, the fourth-heaviest bass of all time, the biggest bass caught in the country in 12 years and the most significant freshwater catch ever in San Diego County. The county now owns 11 spots on the Bassmaster Top 25 All-Time Heaviest Black Bass list. Los Angeles County is second with six.
Dickerson, a rabid big-bass hunter who fishes three to four times a week, missed the California state record by half an ounce and the world-record 22.25-pound bass caught by George Perry by just over half a pound.
Zimmerlee's controversial catch was the biggest bass caught and recorded in 41 years. It was second only to the famous 22.25-pounder caught by George W. Perry on June 2, 1932, at Montgomery Lake in Georgia.
But the urban legend and buzz about Zimmerlee's catch was that it was a "floater," a big bass that was belly-up when Zimmerlee happened along.
A check of the report by former San Diego Union outdoors writer Rolla Williams on June 26, 1973, shows why that urban legend grew scales and an odor.
Williams quoted a fisherman who reportedly saw Zimmerlee lift the dead bass out of the lake.
"My wife and I were trolling for trout, getting ready to leave when we passed this big dead fish in the water," said Ed Metcalf, then of Spring Valley. "I didn't want a dead fish, but then I thought maybe I should carry it over to the dock and let somebody examine it. So I turned around, and here comes this guy who lifts it out of the water. He didn't have a fishing rod or anything. And off he goes to the dock. You know the rest of the story."
Zimmerlee, a weekend angler and virtually unknown at the time, insisted he caught the big bass on a night crawler.
Department of Fish and Game biologist Mike Lembeck said the bass was "fresh" dead when he arrived about an hour after it was caught. Lembeck verified the fish's weight at 20-15. It was 26 inches long and sported a hefty 28-inch girth.
What distinguished Zimmerlee's catch from Perry's at the time was that, not only did Zimmerlee have photos of his fish, but he also had the fish, dead, some said, on his arrival.
There are no photos of Perry's bass, only artist's renderings and such. Perry and his family dined on the bass, digesting history and forcing bass historians to wonder forever what that fish really looked like.
Like Perry, Zimmerlee never really cashed in on his own historic catch, mainly because of the rumors about it being a floater. He couldn't be reached for comment for this story.
The controversy swirling around Zimmerlee's catch is just another zany fish story in a long line of whopper fish tales attached to many of the catches on the Top 25 bass parade.
The king, George W. Perry, is not without his detractors. His all-tackle world-record bass was weighed on a postal scale and was said to be 32-1/2 inches long, 28-1/2 inches in girth. Those suspicious of that catch say no one has caught a bass over 18 pounds in Georgia since Perry's catch. That's 71 years and counting.
The modern big-bass king, Bob Crupi, owns four of the International Game Fish Association line-class world records in the largemouth bass division, including two over 21 pounds.
Arguably, no bass angler has caught more largemouth bass over 10 pounds than Crupi, although Mike Long of Poway certainly is gaining.
Crupi's 22.01-pounder that he caught on March 12, 1991, at Lake Castaic, however, isn't considered the California state record by the Department of Fish and Game because it was never verified by a DFG official.
Mike Arujo's 21-12 bass he caught one week before Crupi's catch is recognized by the DFG as the state record because it was checked by the DFG.
When he heard all the doubters, all the trash-talk and rumors that he was a renowned trout-chucker, Crupi, a former Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle cop, said: "In any big-fish story, there's going to be some trash."
Of all the bass listed in the all-time Top 25 list, the 19-1 bass caught by Sandy DeFresco on March 14, 1988, carries the most incredible story of all.
DeFresco, a concession worker at Miramar Lake, caught a bass that first weighed 21-10 at Miramar. It was the largest bass caught in 56 years, dating back to Perry's 22-4 in 1932. DeFresco's bass measured 27.9 inches long and sported a 25-inch girth.
DeFresco became an instant celebrity. People posed with her for pictures. The manufacturer of the plastic worm she used flew in from Florida and took her to dinner in Del Mar. Magazines called for cover photos. Syndicated columnist Mike Royko phoned from Chicago and wrote a column on DeFresco and her catch.
She was on the radio, and even hired the late Kevin Mineo, an attorney and avid angler, to represent her, handle product endorsements and arrange a speaking tour and appearances on TV.
But that all came crashing down when the bass was cut open at Lyons & O'Haver Taxidermy in La Mesa, and Huey Lyons found a 2-pound, 8314-ounce lead diving weight in its stomach. That reduced the "natural weight" of DeFresco's bass to 19 pounds, 1 ounces.
The state Department of Fish and Game refused to recognize DeFresco's bass as a state record. The catch received no recognition from the IGFA. But to this day, the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame lists DeFresco's 19-1 bass as the world record for 15-pound test line.
No one knew how the weight got there. One source said her husband put it in there to bust Zimmerlee's big-bass bubble. But to this day, it remains one of the many mysteries in the county's storied big-bass history.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/images/030616defresco_sandy.jpghttp://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/images/030616dickerson_jed.jpgAt left, Sandy DeFresco's whopper bass was first listed at 21 pounds, 10 ounces, then found to be packing a 2-pound, 8-ounce lead weight. Jed Dickerson's 21.7-pounder, caught May 31 at Dixon Lake, is the heaviest bass taken nationally in 12 years and No. 4 all-time.
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 16, 2003
One key fact separates Jed Dickerson's San Diego County-record largemouth bass from Dave Zimmerlee's mark that stood for nearly 30 years.
No controversy. None.
Dickerson caught and released a 21.70-pound largemouth bass at Dixon Lake in Escondido on May 31, shattering the county-record bass caught by Zimmerlee on June 23, 1973, at Lake Miramar.
Dickerson isn't suspected of being a trout-chucker, a big-bass angler who illegally uses live rainbow trout for bait. The bass didn't have a lead weight in its belly. It wasn't reported to have been snagged. And it wasn't rumored to have been caught in the dark of night, tethered to a stump and "caught" again at first light.
And that not only distinguishes Dickerson's bass from Zimmerlee's bass, but it also lifts it high above many of the other bass caught on the all-time Top 25 list of bass heavyweights.
In other words, it's, without question, the fourth-heaviest bass of all time, the biggest bass caught in the country in 12 years and the most significant freshwater catch ever in San Diego County. The county now owns 11 spots on the Bassmaster Top 25 All-Time Heaviest Black Bass list. Los Angeles County is second with six.
Dickerson, a rabid big-bass hunter who fishes three to four times a week, missed the California state record by half an ounce and the world-record 22.25-pound bass caught by George Perry by just over half a pound.
Zimmerlee's controversial catch was the biggest bass caught and recorded in 41 years. It was second only to the famous 22.25-pounder caught by George W. Perry on June 2, 1932, at Montgomery Lake in Georgia.
But the urban legend and buzz about Zimmerlee's catch was that it was a "floater," a big bass that was belly-up when Zimmerlee happened along.
A check of the report by former San Diego Union outdoors writer Rolla Williams on June 26, 1973, shows why that urban legend grew scales and an odor.
Williams quoted a fisherman who reportedly saw Zimmerlee lift the dead bass out of the lake.
"My wife and I were trolling for trout, getting ready to leave when we passed this big dead fish in the water," said Ed Metcalf, then of Spring Valley. "I didn't want a dead fish, but then I thought maybe I should carry it over to the dock and let somebody examine it. So I turned around, and here comes this guy who lifts it out of the water. He didn't have a fishing rod or anything. And off he goes to the dock. You know the rest of the story."
Zimmerlee, a weekend angler and virtually unknown at the time, insisted he caught the big bass on a night crawler.
Department of Fish and Game biologist Mike Lembeck said the bass was "fresh" dead when he arrived about an hour after it was caught. Lembeck verified the fish's weight at 20-15. It was 26 inches long and sported a hefty 28-inch girth.
What distinguished Zimmerlee's catch from Perry's at the time was that, not only did Zimmerlee have photos of his fish, but he also had the fish, dead, some said, on his arrival.
There are no photos of Perry's bass, only artist's renderings and such. Perry and his family dined on the bass, digesting history and forcing bass historians to wonder forever what that fish really looked like.
Like Perry, Zimmerlee never really cashed in on his own historic catch, mainly because of the rumors about it being a floater. He couldn't be reached for comment for this story.
The controversy swirling around Zimmerlee's catch is just another zany fish story in a long line of whopper fish tales attached to many of the catches on the Top 25 bass parade.
The king, George W. Perry, is not without his detractors. His all-tackle world-record bass was weighed on a postal scale and was said to be 32-1/2 inches long, 28-1/2 inches in girth. Those suspicious of that catch say no one has caught a bass over 18 pounds in Georgia since Perry's catch. That's 71 years and counting.
The modern big-bass king, Bob Crupi, owns four of the International Game Fish Association line-class world records in the largemouth bass division, including two over 21 pounds.
Arguably, no bass angler has caught more largemouth bass over 10 pounds than Crupi, although Mike Long of Poway certainly is gaining.
Crupi's 22.01-pounder that he caught on March 12, 1991, at Lake Castaic, however, isn't considered the California state record by the Department of Fish and Game because it was never verified by a DFG official.
Mike Arujo's 21-12 bass he caught one week before Crupi's catch is recognized by the DFG as the state record because it was checked by the DFG.
When he heard all the doubters, all the trash-talk and rumors that he was a renowned trout-chucker, Crupi, a former Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle cop, said: "In any big-fish story, there's going to be some trash."
Of all the bass listed in the all-time Top 25 list, the 19-1 bass caught by Sandy DeFresco on March 14, 1988, carries the most incredible story of all.
DeFresco, a concession worker at Miramar Lake, caught a bass that first weighed 21-10 at Miramar. It was the largest bass caught in 56 years, dating back to Perry's 22-4 in 1932. DeFresco's bass measured 27.9 inches long and sported a 25-inch girth.
DeFresco became an instant celebrity. People posed with her for pictures. The manufacturer of the plastic worm she used flew in from Florida and took her to dinner in Del Mar. Magazines called for cover photos. Syndicated columnist Mike Royko phoned from Chicago and wrote a column on DeFresco and her catch.
She was on the radio, and even hired the late Kevin Mineo, an attorney and avid angler, to represent her, handle product endorsements and arrange a speaking tour and appearances on TV.
But that all came crashing down when the bass was cut open at Lyons & O'Haver Taxidermy in La Mesa, and Huey Lyons found a 2-pound, 8314-ounce lead diving weight in its stomach. That reduced the "natural weight" of DeFresco's bass to 19 pounds, 1 ounces.
The state Department of Fish and Game refused to recognize DeFresco's bass as a state record. The catch received no recognition from the IGFA. But to this day, the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame lists DeFresco's 19-1 bass as the world record for 15-pound test line.
No one knew how the weight got there. One source said her husband put it in there to bust Zimmerlee's big-bass bubble. But to this day, it remains one of the many mysteries in the county's storied big-bass history.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/images/030616defresco_sandy.jpghttp://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/images/030616dickerson_jed.jpgAt left, Sandy DeFresco's whopper bass was first listed at 21 pounds, 10 ounces, then found to be packing a 2-pound, 8-ounce lead weight. Jed Dickerson's 21.7-pounder, caught May 31 at Dixon Lake, is the heaviest bass taken nationally in 12 years and No. 4 all-time.