World Record Bass: Trew Or False?

Have you heard about the pending world record largemouth? If not, don't feel bad. It wasn't until a few outdoor writers picked up on it and a brief account appeared in Bassmaster Magazine that anyone heard about it.

According to the reports, Leaha Trew, a 45-year-old self-employed landscape maintenance worker from Santa Rosa, Calif. caught and released a 22-pound, 8- ounce bass using a Storm Wild Eye Swim Bait and 12-pound test.

You'd think that even a hint of George Perry's 71-year-old record of 22-04 being broken would send shockwaves through the fishing community, especially the prospect of it being surpassed by a woman angler. For all those who keep harping on the earning potential of such a catch, it would seem likely that everyone would be talking.

But that's not the case. The bass was caught nearly 4 months ago from Spring Lake, the same small California park lake that produced a huge – and controversial -- bass for Paul Duclos in 1997. This time around it wasn't a bathroom scale raising eyebrows, but it was nearly everything else associated with the catch.

Not only has Trew been remarkably tight-lipped about her bass, apparently deferring all comments through her 21-year-old son, Javad, the required photographic documentation of bass and tackle is almost non-existent. Only one photo of the bass was submitted to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), and it does not have any of what the organization stipulates: that photos should show the full length of the fish with a ruler for size reference, the rod and reel used to make the catch, and the scale used to weigh the fish.

Javad Trew reportedly commented: "We just weren't prepared."

No preparation? According to published reports, the BocaGrip scale used to weigh the fish was shipped to IGFA by Javad Trew for certification prior to the catch. This is the same Javad Trew who already owns the 6-pound line test catch- and-release record for bass and a 2-pound test record for blue catfish. You mean to tell me that he wasn't prepared?

Apparently he said the lack of photographic documentation was the result of having only one frame left on his disposable camera. Hey, Javad, here's an idea: Tell your mom to hang onto the fish, then run to the nearest mini-mart and buy another camera.

Stretching the imagination even further, Javad Trew has indicated in at least one published account that he didn't think his mom's catch was the all-tackle mark because he mistakenly thought Paul Duclos' alleged 24-pounder was the world record. What? Is there some kind of informational black hole hovering over Spring Lake? You mean Javad Trew – someone who has applied for and received a largemouth bass line class record – never once turned the page in the IGFA record book to check on the all-tackle mark? He simply assumed that his home water of Spring Lake owned the record and never crossed paths with anyone who knew any different?

Since the IGFA hasn't issued any preliminary statement and the angler, Leaha Trew, hasn't been forthcoming with a concise explanation, this is shaping up as yet another cloudy chapter in the world record saga. Admittedly, Perry's bass is the least documented of all, but for better or worse, it is the record. And while it doesn't matter who catches the new record, it does matter how the facts of the catch are reported to the public and the IGFA.

Also, what this catch should make clear to every editor, writer or television commentator who insists on calling it a "million dollar fish," it's not. It is only worth a lot of money to someone who is marketable and brings something else to the table other than the mere fact that they caught the fish. Up to this point, Leaha Trew has done nearly everything wrong to assure that she will reap any great rewards from this catch, if it is accepted.

If the facts emerging about the catch and its documentation are correct, her earning power has already been impacted. Since she didn't keep the bass and only has one photograph of it, what is there to sell? And, if the photo of Leaha Trew's bass making its rounds on the internet is actually the one of the pending record, Mr. X would have serious doubts of its weight based solely on the photographic evidence.

One other thing: If this isn't the record and some day in the future you catch the fish, keep it. Call the local fisheries biologist, tournament director or anyone who may have aerated tanks or other facilities to keep it alive.

Even if the big one succumbs to its ordeal, at least you won't have to endure doubters (like me) who can't quite swallow your screwball story. And the fish has already done its genetic duties, so if any of you armchair record-breakers out there itching to fire off a scathing email, don't. If you think you would let that fish go and applaud others who do, don't start whining when people don't believe it.