World’s 25 Biggest Largemouth Bass Ever Caught

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Did you know 11 of the top 25 biggest bass of all-time have been caught right here in San Diego County?

And of those, 5 were caught at Miramar Reservoir. Only Castaic Lake of Los Angeles County can claim more of the top 25 catches than Miramar.

Not surprisingly, March tops the list of months to catch one of the top 25 biggest bass of all time.

Want to see your name on the list like Jed Dickerson, Dave Zimmerlee, Gene Dupras, Mac Weakley and Keith Gunsauls? “All” you have to do is catch a bass weighing more than 19 pounds…

The good news? You live in the best county in the world to do it at. In San Diego, the chase for the next world record largemouth bass is always on!

Rank	Weight	Body of Water	Date	Angler
1.	22.311	Lake Biwa - Japan	July 2nd, 2009	Manabu Kurita
2.	22.25	Montgomery Lake, GA	June 2nd, 1932	George Perry
3.	22.063	Castaic Lake, CA	March 12th, 1991	Robert Crupi
4.	21.75	Castaic Lake, CA	March 5th, 1991	Michael Arujo
5.	21.688	Lake Dixon, CA	May 31st, 2003	Jed Dickerson
6.	21.2	Lake Casitas, CA	March 4th, 1980	Raymond Easley
7.	21.01	Castaic Lake, CA	March 9th, 1990	Robert Crupi
8.	20.938*	Miramar Reservoir, CA	June 23rd, 1973	Dave Zimmerlee
9.	20.86	Castaic Lake, CA	February 4th, 1990	Leo Torres
10.	20.75	Lake Dixon, CA	April 27th, 2001	Mike Long
11.	20.25	Lake Hodges, CA	May 30th, 1985	Gene Dupras
11.	20.25**	Miramar Reservoir, CA	March 25th, 1990	Johnny Garduno
13.	20.125	Big Fish Lake, FL	May 19th, 1923	Fritz Friebel
14.	19.7	Lake Mission Viejo, CA	March 21st, 2006	George Coniglio
15.	19.5	Castaic Lake, CA	May 28th, 1990	Mark Balloid
15.	19.5	Lake Casitas, CA	April 9th, 2002	Randy Crabtree
15.	19.5	Miramar Reservoir, CA	February 29th, 1988	Keith Gunsauls
18.	19.438	Lake Dixon, CA	May 20th, 2003	Mac Weakley
19.	19.25	Miramar Reservoir, CA	March 22nd, 1998	Chris Brandt
20.	19.188	Lake Wohlford, CA	February 3rd, 1986	Steve Beasley
21.	19.188	Lake Morena, CA	February 17th, 1987	Arden Hanline Sr.
22.	19.15	Lake Ikehara - Japan	April 22nd, 2003	Kazuya Shimada
23.	19.1	Lake Baccarac - Mexico	January 17th, 1993	Bruce Knutsen
24.	19.063***	Miramar Reservoir, CA	March 14th, 1988	Sandy DeFresco
25.	19.04	Castaic Lake, CA	January 8th, 1989	Danny Kadota

Analyzing the list

Totals by State			Totals by County
Total	State	Top Bass	Total	County	Top Bass
19	California	22.063	11	San Diego, CA	21.688
1	Florida	20.125	6	Los Angeles, CA	22.063
1	Shiga Prefecture, Japan	22.311	2	Ventura, CA	21.2
1	Georgia	22.25	1	6 others appear once
1	Nara Prefecture, Japan	19.15
1	Sinaloa, Mexico	19.10
Totals by Lake			Totals by Decade
Total	Lake	Top Bass	Total	Decade	Top Bass
6	Castaic Lake, CA	22.063	8	1990s	22.063
5	Miramar Reservoir, CA	20.938	7	2000s	22.311
3	Lake Dixon, CA	21.688	7	1980s	21.2
2	Lake Casitas, CA	21.2	1	3 decades appear once
1	9 lakes appear once
Totals by Month
Total	Month	Top Bass
7	March	22.063
5	May	21.688
4	February	20.86
3	June	22.25
3	April	20.75
2	January	19.04
1	July	22.311

 

Disclaimer – This list is unofficial and recognizes catches that were widely considered to be accurate. Catches that lack substantial proof of the bass even existing, or the size of the bass, such as “write-ins” were left off. Catches with unusual circumstances are noted below.

The Asterisk Section:

Any list of the top bass catches of all time is going to have asterisks, even George Perry’s 22.25 pound bass that stood as the world record for 77 years didn’t necessarily have resounding proof as a product of the era in which it was caught.

* – Dave Zimmerlee’s catch was officially recognized as the state record at the time it was caught, which is why it is listed here. However, it should be noted that several people came forward immediately after the catch and claimed to have seen Zimmerlee “scoop” the bass from the water as it floated, dying on the surface. Zimmerlee adamantly denied the allegations. In any case, the bass was verified at 20 lbs 15 ounces, and was the largest in the state at that point.

** – Johnny Garduno’s catch fell under similar scrutiny as Zimmerlee’s. Witnesses came forward claiming that Garduno used a net to catch his 20 lb 4 oz bass as it swiped at a stringer of trout. As an angler that has spent a lot of time on the water chasing big bass, that claim seems even more outlandish than an angler catching a bass that big by traditional means. Again, in any case, the bass was as big as claimed and verified.

*** – Sandy DeFresco’s story is one you’re probably already familiar with – yes, this is the diving weight bass. The monstrous bass “originally” weighed 21 lbs 10 oz at the time it was officially weighed, which was a little more than a half-pound short of the world record at the time, but would have been a new state record catch. How the weights, which were discovered at the taxidermy shop, got in the bass are still a mystery. Adding to the intrigue, and allowing for even more creative theories was that DeFresco worked at the lake’s concession at the time of the catch. City Lake’s Biologist, Larry Bottroff, one of the most respected bass experts in the entire world concluded after examining the bass that the 2.5 lb weight was in the bass for up to 2 weeks, as Bottroff found tissue forming around the weight. The most popular theory is that the bass was the same one caught roughly two weeks earlier by Gunsauls, who was the first to release a bass that big. After its release, someone other than Gunsauls might have obtained the fish, added the weight, and kept it captive within the lake for two weeks until claiming a new catch. However, there is no proof of that, and DeFresco was credited with the weight of the bass, minus the weight.