Short drone documentary of a visit with my young son to Montgomery Lake, an oxbow (slough) of the Ocmulgee River in the southern portion of the state of Georgia, USA and home of the largemouth bass world record — sprinkled with details of George W. Perry’s catch during the Great Depression, June 2, 1932 which fed his family of six for several days. Though he was only seeking food during a wet period when they couldn’t work farm fields, Perry, with help from his fishing buddy of that fateful day, Jack Page, documented it sufficiently to establish the record which still stands to this day (in a tie with another largemouth caught in Japan in 2009). Starring my kindergarten-age son, this short attempts to illustrate the lake’s and the adjacent Ocmulgee River’s beauty and ability to inspire new generations of fishers, photographers, and all sorts of wildlife enthusiasts. Please take a kid fishing.
#TakeAKidFishing
https://www.bassmaster.com/news/george-perrys-world-record-bass
https://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm
Transcription of “World Record Bass”” sign at the 4:30 mark:
“”World Record Bass, Approximately 500 yards from this spot, on June 2, 1932, George W. Perry, a 20-year-old farm boy, caught what was to become America’s most famous fish. The twenty-two pound, four-ounce largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exceeded the existing record by more than two pounds. Perry and his friend, J.E. Page, were fishing in Montgomery Lake, a slough off the Ocmulgee River, not for trophies but to bring food to the table during those days of the great depression. The largemouth bass was 32% inches in length and 282 inches in girth and was caught on Perry’s only lure, a Creek Chub Fintail Shiner in Silver Shiner finish. The weight and measurements were taken, recorded, and notarized in Helena, Georgia. Perry’s only reward was seventy-five dollars in merchandise as first prize in Field and Stream Magazine’s fishing contest. The longstanding record is reasons the largemouth bass was made Georgia’s Official State Fish. Today, Montgomery Lake is part of the Department of Natural Resources’ Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area.”
Correction: Ocmulgee (River) is pronounced OAK mul gee, not Ahck mul gee as in the video.
Are there many alligators in there and did u happen to see any
It would be surreal to be there…hallowed ground, water. I venture to say there probably are not any double digit largemouth in that water today.
Love the video! This fascinates me! You are standing where history was made decades ago!