In Search of a World Record Bass? Try eBay

For as long as anglers have sought a place in the record books, they’ve looked for shortcuts. Reports of record-class fish in Southern California in the early 1970s started a rush of record chasers to that area. Before that it was Florida and Cuba, where rumors of giant largemouth still pop up occasionally.

More recently, the search has gone to the Far East with a new record largemouth (22 pounds, 4.97 ounces — officially tying the longstanding record from Georgia) coming from Japan in 2009.

But with technology, the search has now shifted to … eBay?

Yesterday this listing hit the pages of the giant online flea market:

World Record LargeMouth Bass Location Information

This Listing Is for Confidential information Regarding The World Record Large Mouth Bass, Including the Name and Location of the lake it was seen in, as well as the Coordinates. Catching and any other needs with this fish and this information are up to you. Information will be sent via Email, immediately following your payment. This information is being kept confidential and goes only to the buyer, who must also keep this information confidential. This information in itself is highly Valuable, The fish itself has been rumored to be worth millions, i have no knowledge as to what it would take to catch this fish nor do i have the rods and reels to do so all i have is the information as to where the fish is located. Thank you and have a great day.

Unless someone uses the “Buy It Now” option to pick up this information for $1,000 (or six easy monthly payments of $167), bidding will end on July 28 at 6:56 p.m. ET.

When I emailed the seller (“payout237”) to ask if he would talk about the sale item for the purposes of telling this story, I got the following reply:

The only Information i can give out is to the buyer once the magazine’s have it and publish it the lake will be full of visitors and the chances of someone catching it very well may drop. I believe for this fish to have lived as long as it has to reach this size the chances are its very cautious. Seeing hundreds or so of boats and lines could very well scare off the fish. The price is low enough and when purchased what that person chooses to do with his information will be his or her decision. However thank you for the offer and if not sold we can talk.

Not much to go on there — certainly not enough to spend $1,000.

Initially, the “item location” was given as LaGrange, Ga., very near West Point Lake which straddles the Georgia-Alabama border. There’s certainly no world record there. In fact, the lake record is just 14-2 — respectable, but more than eight full pounds off the world mark.

But on Monday, the location of the “item” was changed to Stockton, Calif. — near the legendary California Delta. Confusing? Definitely. Misleading? Quite possibly. So I asked, “Is this fish in Georgia?” and got the following reply.

Yes it is, However the spot we were in isn’t Boat accessible. We were bank fishing at the time with some of his equipment. I know what the fish is said to be worth and the importance of it. I would love to be able to go out and bring in the record but, With no poles or equipment of my own it just isn’t possible for me to go back and attempt to land it again, which is the reason for the pricing…. But to your question yes it was Ga. Another reason i am so resistant to the article would be the same situation with the fish they named Dottie. With all of these people out trying to land this fish and searching for it a foul hook is a high possibility due to some anglers lack of knowledge as to what it took to catch a fish of this size and knowledge in the first place.

Could the seller be referencing private waters near LaGrange? It would mean he is selling information about a body of water that the buyer might not even be allowed to fish — sort of like offering to reveal a great cache of gold and then pointing at Fort Knox.

But payout237’s response implies that the waters are public. How else could “hundreds or so of boats and lines” (sic) converge on the giant bass?

Serious record fans will recall that “Dottie” was the Lake Dixon, Calif., giant that was caught at least three separate times by trophy anglers in the early 2000s, reaching a top weight of 25-1 in 2006 when she was foul-hooked and caught by Mac Weakley.

Georgia has produced some near-record claims in the past, including a 22-9 in 1967, a 21-2 in 1976, a 22 pounder in 1984 and a 20-1 in 1989. Apart from the Peach State connection, they all had one other thing in common. They were all hoaxes.

And while this type of world record merchandising is new to the bass world, it’s not unprecedented in the hunting arena. State and world record class deer have popped up on eBay and other sites fairly regularly in recent years. An important difference is that these record deer sellers usually offer some form of proof — either a video or photo from a trail camera or some shed antlers.

With a decent image and something to give the animal a little scale, an experienced hunter can make an estimate of how the deer will rate on the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system — the official measurement of most North American big game animals.

In a way, “scoring” a record bass is simpler — straight up pounds and ounces — but it’s far more difficult to make an estimate for two reasons: (1) we see so few record-class fish that it’s difficult to be certain you’re looking at a new record and (2) mere ounces may separate a record worth hundreds of thousands or even millions from a giant fish worth only bragging rights.

For now, it’s hard to believe that “payout237” will get any offers at all on this “World Record LargeMouth Bass.” He offers no reason to believe that the fish is real and weighs in excess of 22 pounds (unless you count a solid eBay feedback record on 22 previous transactions, including one for “Nugenix testosterone booster”). There is no photograph (except the stock image of a jumping largemouth that accompanies the listing), no claim of expertise on such things and little reason to believe that a fish in that region could reach such a size.

And payout237 does not appear to be an angler of much experience. He doesn’t have rods and reels and without them says it’s not possible to go after the bass again.

Who else knows about the fish? Are they trying to catch it or are they also selling what they know? And why is payout237 willing to sell something “rumored to be worth millions” for $1,000 or even less?

Caveat emptor.