MRO Chronicle #5: Bass to Kill For!
by Carleton L. West
(This article was published in the State Journal, Frankfort, Kentucky on June 12, 2005 and also in the "Lines and Leaders" the Newsletter of the Bluegrass Chapter of Trout Unlimited, July 2005)
Thanks to Carl for his permission to post here!
Zanesville, Ohio- Southeast of here are thousands of acres of reclaimed strip-mined land that would win grudging admiration from conservationists habitually skeptical of anything to do with coal. After all, coal's legacy with both deep and surface mining is of outrageous environmental destruction- scalped mountains, streams buried by debris, poisoned by acid run-off, or otherwise ruined by land slides and erosion.
But strip-mining's ugly scars are a distant memory here. The company that owned the land, American Electric Power, turned the rolling grasslands and wooded hills that boomed when coal was king 30 or so years ago into chiefly a center to advance conservation through research and education.
It's called the Wilds- most fitting because its remoteness and isolation far remove it from shopping centers and housing developments. Even cell phone signals are not readily available.
It's home to a number of exotic or endangered species- giraffes, white rhinos and camels from the Gobi desert. There are deer extinct in their native China, American bison, sable antelope, musk ox, Asian wild horses, oryx, and zebras. There's a program to introduce trumpeter swan to Ohio and more than 150 species of birds.
There are picnic areas, campgrounds and open-air bus tours to view and photograph the animals and watch the birds. It's billed as North America's largest preservation and science center for endangered species. It's operated by it's own board and the Columbus Zoo which provides administration and operational services.
But it wasn't birds or white rhinos that drew me here. It was bass- lunker largemouth bass. For among the remnants of the strip mines are 150 or so lakes and ponds stocked years ago with bass, bluegill and other species. Nobody except for employees and a few others fished for them so they grew in abundance to trophy size.
Meanwhile, Mad River Outfitters, a fly fishing shop and guide service in Columbus, negotiated access to The Wilds and its bass fishing for clients. The outfitters offer weekends of more or less exclusive bass fishing- all catch-and-release in keeping with the conservation theme- on really prime waters, some say the nation's best.
That capitalizes on the rage today for bass. It's no longer just another weekend recreational pursuit, but a multi-billion dollar industry what with bass boats, bass shirts, bass shoes, bass rods, reels and oodles of other items. There are also the nationally-televised bass tournaments wit their big buck prizes that are predicted to soon compete for even bigger money, in the ranks of the PGA.
There's another dimension to today's bass fishing scene that makes it exciting and a hot news item for the outdoor public- the quest to break the world record for largemouth bass. That was set 63 years ago this month in Georgia by George Perry. It weighed 22 pounds and 4 ounces. (Perry cooked and ate it, in case you're wondering if it's mounted and on display somewhere.)
Ever since, there's been an effort growing each year in intensity to break it. Some bass anglers have become so obsessed with a new record- it may be worth a million in endorsements and speaking fees- that it's cost them their marriage along with a ton of money for the latest in lures and electronic technology. So far, its all been for naught. The closest was a California bass that fell two ounces short.
Dramaticizing the interest even more is a new book, Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass by Monte Burke. It's a journal of the maddening frustration and heartbreak many anglers have suffered trying to break Perry's records.
There was none of that last weekend as I paddled about the Wilds' waters in a float tube wielding a fly rod and a bass bug. What struck me was not the numbers but the size of the largemouths.
In most fishing subcultures- Frankfort's no exception- a five or six pound bass is a topic of conversation for weeks. For many, a fish that size is a once-only experience. But at The Wilds, five, six or seven pounds is standard fare- and the question of the day is not did you get one, but how many? Bass that hard core anglers would kill for are, well....ho-hum.
Moreover there were the unforgettable scenes like Brian Flechsig, Mad River guide, standing in a square-stern canoe pointing "There's a five pounder....there's a six pounder" in the same tone he'd use at his fly shop showing rods to a customer. Once, with a 14 or 15 incher on my line, a much larger bass tried to eat it. So imagine the size of the second fish. (15 inches is the minimum legal bass size in lots of lakes and there's been many a day when I've been happy just to catch one of those.)
Then there was the bass that came straight out of the water like a missile launched from a sub to well over my head, shaking vigorously enough to shed the hook. The jaw-dropping, once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of sitting in a canoe looking up at a lunker bass eased the pain of the loss- and brightened considerably a jaded perspective on reclaimed strip-mined land.
There was none of that last weekend as I paddled about the Wilds' waters in a float tube wielding a fly rod and a bass bug. What struck me was not the numbers but the size of the largemouths.
In most fishing subcultures- Frankfort's no exception- a five or six pound bass is a topic of conversation for weeks. For many, a fish that size is a once-only experience. But at The Wilds, five, six or seven pounds is standard fare- and the question of the day is not did you get one, but how many? Bass that hard core anglers would kill for are, well....ho-hum.
Moreover there were the unforgettable scenes like Brian Flechsig, Mad River guide, standing in a square-stern canoe pointing "There's a five pounder....there's a six pounder" in the same tone he'd use at his fly shop showing rods to a customer. Once, with a 14 or 15 incher on my line, a much larger bass tried to eat it. So imagine the size of the second fish. (15 inches is the minimum legal bass size in lots of lakes and there's been many a day when I've been happy just to catch one of those.)
Then there was the bass that came straight out of the water like a missile launched from a sub to well over my head, shaking vigorously enough to shed the hook. The jaw-dropping, once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of sitting in a canoe looking up at a lunker bass eased the pain of the loss- and brightened considerably a jaded perspective on reclaimed strip-mined land.
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Mad River Outfitters- Your Online Resource for Fly Fishing for Largemouth Bass!
Exclusive Trophy Largemouth Trips to The Wilds
614-451-0363 888-451-0363 toll-free
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