by Bob Johansen, October 22, 2007
This story is cloaked in secrecy so the names of persons involved will not include any last names. And, it is also requested that no information about this secret lake ever be exposed to the public.
It was August 7, 2007 when I got the phone call from good buddy and “would be bass angler” Dick S. Dick is a very wealthy writer who lives on Mercer Island. He amassed his fortune by writing articles for Bass Master Magazine. Dick had known for years about this secret lake and had been invited to fish it several times.
The lake was on his neighbor’s 200 acre llama ranch that included a beautiful little 25 acre lake. Rumor has it that his neighbor, George W., had made his fortune in oil while living in Texas. He decided to retire in Washington State after a disastrous couple terms in politics. He had also become a little senile -- even claiming that he had once ran for the office of president of the United States.
Anyway, one of his few good traits was that he liked bass fishing. With his huge fortune, he was able to buy anything he wanted. Rumor has it that he had paid a professional bass angler $100,000.00 to catch a 20 pound bass from one of the famed southern California lakes and illegally transport it to his little lake on the llama farm. The huge Florida strain largemouth was named “Ol’ Jaws.”
Only a few very privileged anglers were ever allowed on the lake. Among those known to fish it were world famous bass anglers like Rowland Martin, Bill Dance and Hank Parker – And, of course Dick S. of writing fame. All were sworn to secrecy and had to promise to return Ol’ Jaws unharmed and un-photographed back into the lake-- even if he had grown to a new world record size. George W. had insured that Ol’ Jaws was well fed by adding blue gill and rainbow trout to his lake. Many of Ol’ Jaws eight to 10 pound off spring had been caught but Ol’ Jaws had not been seen or hooked since his release into the lake.
I felt honored to be invited into this elite group. I guess it was because, I, like Dick S. am a world famous outdoor writer. Although I still have a keen, analytical mind, I sometimes think that Dick is slipping a bit. I recall one time we fished together up in Hells Canyon on the Snake River. Dick caught two little smallmouth bass – one about 7 inches and the other about 8 inches. Later that evening, back at the lodge, I heard him tell Harvey M. that he had caught a seven pounder and an eight pounder. Now, I’m not accusing him of lying, he probably just got his inches and pounds mixed up.
But I digress. Moving right along I met Dick at his huge, elaborate mansion on the morning of August 8, 2007. We then went over to the neighbor’s pond where 2 canoes were waiting on the shoreline. Both Dick and I are expert canoeists. Dick has a little problem with arthritis in his knees but otherwise is as spry as a young gazelle. I had a knee problem at one time but had it replaced with a cast iron replica. It works quite well but squeaks a little. I think it may have become a little rusty in spite of the fact that the Doc had painted it with 2 coats of rust preventive. He told me I should just cut a little hole in the skin and squirt a little WD-40 into it. I may try that later.
My many years of fishing for trophy bass should help me quickly locate Ol’ Jaws. I knew that he would find the best ambush point on the lake and that it would be near deep water. There were no docks or floats on this private lake but there were a few old stumps and trees in the water. With no depth finder on the canoe, I started casting a 3/8 ounce black jig around the stumps and trees and noting how long it took to reach the bottom. Within minutes I had discovered a deep hole just off the top of the largest tree lying half submerged in the lake. This should be an ideal hang out for Ol’ Jaws.
What would tempt this behemoth elusive fish to bite an artificial lure? I knew he had probably feasted on bluegill and trout but that he also probably enjoyed a different treat in his menu now and then. I had heard a bull frog croak just before we launched the canoes and decided that maybe -- just maybe he would come up and take a frog lure. I tied on the biggest frog lure in my tackle box and lubricated it thoroughly with some special “Bull Frog Pond Lotion.”
Ol’ Jaws was probably in tune with all the wildlife around this little lake. He had seen the Great Blue Heron stalking the shoreline and had heard frogs leaping into the water. I figured that the splash would attract him and the sight of a swimming frog might be just too much to resist. I made a fairly long cast up near the thick vegetation growing on the bank. It looked like it could be a bull frog hangout. The frog splashed down and I began the twitching to make it look as if the frog was swimming. The lure had only “swam” about five feet when I saw a huge “V” shaped wave streaking toward the plastic frog.
With his huge mouth wide open Ol’ Jaws grabbed the lure and started his dive into the tree branches. I reared back on the rod setting the hooks with all the force I could muster. The rod arced into a “U” shape and the 30 pound test Power Pro braided line stretched as tight as a fiddle string. I yelled to Dick who was across the lake casting an old Chub Creek Fintail Shiner lure. These lures are rare now but Dick is a collector of old lures and had about a dozen of them in his collection.
When he heard me yell out excitedly, “I’ve got Jaws,” Dick quickly reeled in his old lure and paddled across to watch the action.
With that strong line and my heavy duty bass rod I was barely able to keep Jaws from tangling in the tree branches. I even gained a little line before he took off again with the power of a 40 pound Chinook. Again the rod arced and about 10 inches of the tip snapped off and slid down the line. Damn, I thought, he is probably gone now. However, the fishing gods were with me on that day and I finally got Jaws back to the canoe. It was lucky I had brought my salmon scale with me with its 50 pound limit.
I put Ol’ Jaws on the hook and he pulled the scale down to 26 pounds, 7 ounces. A quick measurement showed he was 29 ¾ inches long. Dick was absolutely amazed how quickly I was able to find and capture this huge elusive fish. Per agreement with George W. we released the fish and captured no photos.
George Perry’s record had finally been broken after all these years. As all you bass aficionados recall, George Perry set the world record on June 2, 1932 with a 22 pound, 4 ounce bass while casting a Chug Creek Fintail Shiner lure into Montgomery Lake. I now am the world record holder but probably no one will ever recognize my outstanding achievement. Dick had promised not to tell and so had I. George W. may even be a little upset that I have put this true story down in print.
And now it is time to separate some fact from fiction. Fact: Dick S. is a real bass angler that lives on Mercer Island. This story was written especially for him because he pooh, poohed my catch of “Kong,” a beautiful 5 pound largemouth, caught earlier this summer -- kind of indicating that Kong was nothing more than a chubby dink. Fact: Dick and I both belonged to the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association and we did fish for smallmouth bass on a hosted trip up the Snake River. Fact: Dick is an avid collector of old bass lures. Fact: Harvey M. is a real bass angler and is an absolutely, totally nice fellow. Fact: George W. is a real person but I doubt very much if he will ever own a llama farm on Mercer Island. Fact: Roland Martin, Bill Dance and Hank Parker are real pro bass anglers but probably have never fished in any waters called Llama Lake. Fact: I do have a titanium knee but it does not squeak and I doubt very much that Doc Miller would ever recommend squirting it with WD 40. And, of course the bit about George Perry is really true as far as I know. And, last but not least, my bass fishing skills were probably slightly exaggerated in this story. And, Ol’ Jaws is probably a real largemouth bass that may live in some southern California lake. He will be hooked someday but unfortunately it will probably not be by me.
By Bob Johansen – August 2007