Record Largemouth Caught -- And Released -- In California

Danimal -- who is currently blog-less -- referred me to this article (click on the link to check out the picture of this monster):

Mac Weakley of Carlsbad caught what could be the world-record largemouth bass early Monday at Dixon Lake in Escondido.

The bass weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce on a hand-held scale, which – if approved – would shatter the world record, the 22-pound, 4-ounce bass caught by George W. Perry at Montgomery Lake in Georgia in 1932.

The catch will have to be approved by the International Game Fish Association.

That may be a problem, however, because Weakley said he foul-hooked the fish – meaning the hook lodged below the dorsal fin on the fish's side, not in the fish's mouth.

You really have to credit the honesty of these anglers. They followed the law and released the foul-hooked fish, even though a record largemouth would probably be worth at least $1,000,000 in product endorsements.