Hey guys,
I happened to get my hands on the last taped interview with George Perry, a few months before he was killed in a plane crash. Fascinating interview with a BassMaster Magazine reporter. Get Ray Scott to tell you the story at the conference. It is amazing.
That huge fish was caught in a small public lake. George Perry was poor, and wasn't even planning to fish that day, but he was rained out of his farming job in the field that day. He and a buddy went fishing for food. They needed food for the family and Perry was only about 19 years old as I remember the story.
He had one lure...that's it, one. Caught the fish, didn't care that it was huge except for the fact it would feed his family nicely.
His buddy suggested it might be a "world record" and that Field and Stream magazine was offering prizes. So, if they weighed the fish on certified scales, he could enter the contest. They went to a local meat market, weighed the fish on certified meat scales, had a local witness sign off with them, and entered the contest. He won.
But, the fish was already eaten. Speculation is that it was a pure strain Florida bass, since it was caught in Georgia.
I'll see if I can find the cd with his last interview, in the 1970's, I think. It was a fascinating interview.
Regarding Florida bass in Italy, Ray Scott's right hand man, Jim Kientz, stocked some pure strain Florida bass in Italy in the late 70's early 80's, as I recall. Flew them from a hatchery in Florida. Jim can tell the story. He, too, will be at the conference. Jim was a colonel in the Air Force and those ties helped him get the fish overseas. He can tell you guys the story at the conference.
