Nature's Wonders

By: Mike Axsom

West Boggs Record Bass

Many of us who fish have had the same dream where we land that big one. In our shared dream we are fishing the big money tournament, with all the pros striving for the gold.  We make the perfect cast, into the perfect hole and Bam! The whole world stands still as the monster hits the bait in an explosion of water and dances across the surface in extreme belligerence as it tries to throw the hook.  Our fortune is made and we will spend the rest of our life filming fishing shows on TV from expensive boats in exotic places. That's the dream. This story is about the reality. 

Shawn Johnson is one of the lucky few who gets to live fishing. Not only is he a professional angler, fishing hundreds of tournaments from Florida to Alaska,  he is also the mechanical manufacturing engineer for the company he fishes for. That company knows a thing or two about big fish. Gator Grip® is the manufacturer of the gold standard for fish measuring, the Golden Rule measuring board; among other  well known products for fishing. Shawn not only is the engineer for Gator Grip®, but his professional fishing is done wearing their shirt as well. So we can safely assume Shawn knows Bass, and knows a big 'un from a dink. This also explains why he is more oriented to size measurements than weight, as will become clear in a minute.

With all that big name, big money tournament fishing under his belt, Shawn Johnson caught his largest Largemouth Bass while fishing with his wife Sabrina on a recent quiet weekend get-away with the kids to West Boggs Park. No tournaments, no TV cameras and no prize money.  But he could not be happier, which is the point of the story. The Johnsons often visit 622 acre West Boggs Lake because it offers them things for the whole family, not all of which are as much into fishing as Shawn. They enjoy the large campsites the park offers, and the programs and activities it offers families.  At the time story focuses on, the kids were sunning on the beach while Shawn and Sabrina were enjoying a quiet afternoon of slow fishing around the lake. They were about to call it a day and head back to the campground when the story gets interesting. What happened next sounds better when Shawn tells it, so I'm turning this over to him at this point.

Shawn Johnson:  "That weekend my family and I were trying to decide where to go to get away from the flooding lakes. Monroe was bad, Raccoon was 10ft above flood level, so with children those were both ruled out. I wanted a place where my children could catch fish easily. I didn't even think big fish, just plentiful and away from the burbs. I have fished West Boggs many times with good success. Surfing the net I looked at all that would make this trip a good time for everyone, I had 5 children with me at this time, my oldest being 17. After setting up camp my wife and I found about 2 or 3 hours we could fish together while the kids were on the beach tanning (we used walkie talkies to stay in touch, worked really well too). At first my wife was kicking my butt. She had one keeper and couple smaller ones around 13inchs, also with one crappie. We were just getting ready to head back to camp with about 20 minutes left and I had seen a 4 to 5 pounder working the bank slowly. I threw my bait close to the fish, he nosed up to it but didn't take it. I told myself, keep trying. About 6 feet in front of the fish that I was trying to catch my bait slowly moved down the boat.

I knew it was a good fish (the bluegills were going nuts). This one moved away without even a thump. I hooked it on a ultra-light rod with 10 pound test line. I was fishing with an extremely light bait. I still had no Idea of the size until it rolled next to the boat, I said "Wow! Get the net, get the net!." My wife instantly grabbed and netted this fish, knowing my excitement was well warranted. She has seen me catch a lot of big fish, but knew from my voice this one was different. When it hit the net I was already praying, and thanking God as I knew this was the biggest I have ever seen personally or put in the boat. A lot of those bigger fish don't make it to the net. Ask anyone. They always have the one that got away. This time I prevailed and won. Maybe on more than just having the privilege to catch it and release it. I did make measurement on this one at 23.5 long and 20.0 girth. I already knew this one was going back. I looked at it this way, a fish of a lifetime is now someone else's opportunity. Saved me about 500 bucks and the fishes life."

Author again:  Shawn asked several people on the water for scales to weight the fish, but as luck would have it, none were to be had. Still, the photos and the measurements help establish this as the largest bass to come from West Boggs Lake with any kind of documentation. At least one accepted calculator for determining a fish's weight by length and girth measurements would place this one at about 11.75 pounds.  It could be as much as a pound or so off either direction, but West Boggs bass tend to run fatter than average, not thinner.  They are often described as footballs.
It is a credit to Shawn that he returned this fish to the water. He says that is because he wants others to have an opportunity to catch this genuine big 'un, but I suspect he also wants to think he might feel the same fish on an ultra-light rig again himself sometime.

For you fellow fishing addicts out there, I know you have the standard questions. What was the water like? What bait did it hit on? How was it rigged? Shawn was kind enough to provide those answers too, and I learned a new rig I'll have to try real soon. What snagged this hawg was something Shawn called a green pumpkin trick worm, rigged in what was called whacky style, with a nail in the head. Basically, it is a night crawler looking worm hooked dead in middle with a half-inch penny nail pushed in the head. As Shawn say's "It really looks silly, but worked." I'm guessing some format of that rig is about to be a new offer from Gator Grip. I can't wait. Oh yea, the water was stained and near normal pool level despite rains that flooded other area waters.