There is a new mystery brewing over the world's most famous fish, caught 71 years ago this week by a 19-year-old farmer from south Georgia.
The young angler, George W. Perry, landed the monster of all largemouth bass on June 2, 1932, when he cast his only lure - a Creek Chub Wigglefish - into an Ocmulgee River oxbow known as Montgomery Lake.
A few hours later, when the fish was weighed on certified scales by the proprietor of the general store in nearby Helena, Ga., the 22-pound, 4-ounce fish was well on its way to becoming the world record.
Perry, of course, did what most Depression-era anglers did with their catch: He took it home, and he ate it.
In the decades since, no one has published a photo of the fish, and Perry received nothing more than $75 in merchandise from Field & Stream magazine - and a place in history.
But documents that surfaced recently from the Creek Chub Bait Co., which corresponded with Perry after learning one of their lures was used to catch the fish, indicate the record fish might indeed have been photographed.
"These documents certainly imply that he photographed the fish," said Ken Duke, an editor at Game & Fish Magazines, publisher of Georgia Sportsman.
Duke, a self-professed Perry bass aficionado, bought the envelope of letters and other material off eBay for $380. The seller had acquired a quantity of old paperwork from one of the heirs to Creek Chub Bait Co.
Within those letters and photos was correspondence between Perry and the company, along with a signed, original photograph of a 13-pound, 14-ounce bass Perry caught in 1934 and entered in a Field & Stream contest.
One letter in particular, dated June 3, 1935, caught Duke's eye:
"You will remember that in 1932 I landed the present worlds record Large Mouth Black Bass that weighed 22 1/4 pounds," Perry wrote to Creek Chub. "You will also remember me sending you a photo of the 22 1/4 -pound bass.
"The photo was, however, not a real good photo," Perry continued. "I now have a real good picture of myself and the Big Bass together, so if you would like to have a copy, I will be pleased to let you use it in your advertising."
All Perry asked for in return was a handful of Creek Chub lures to fish with. In a response dated later that month, Creek Chub accepted Perry's offer.
"We would like to have a picture of the big bass you mention for our filed and will be glad to reimburse you for it," the company wrote.
To date, no such picture has ever been found, although - with Perry's world record remaining intact today - it would be an important bit of angling history if someone could locate it.
Bill Baab, who retired in 2000 after 35 years as a sports writer and outdoors editor for The Augusta Chronicle, interviewed Perry in 1959 and has authored numerous articles on the Perry bass.
But he never heard Perry mention any photos of the record fish.
"I'd also talked with his widow, two daughters and a son - and none were aware of a photo of the big fish," Baab said.
Perry spent his adult years in Brunswick, Ga., where he became a self-taught pilot and businessman. He died in 1974, at the age of 61, when the plane he was flying crashed into a hillside near Birmingham, Ala.
With him, perhaps, died the details we'd like to know about his famous fish.
Reach Robert Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rpavey@augustachronicle.com.
