The Quest
Friday, May 13, 2005
by Ray Scott
I confess I'm not much of a reader. Not through lack of desire – mostly a lack of time and the fact that I'm very, very slow. My mouth moves fast but the printed page has been a challenge since I was an antsy kid struggling through 5th-grade English.
Nevertheless, I have in my hand a fantastic read, as they say. And slow as I am, I've read every chapter. I'm talking about Monte Burke's outstanding new tome, eye-catchingly titled Sowbelly and subtitled, The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass.
The next time someone says, "I just don't understand this whole bass fishing thing – how can you be so obsessed with a fish for heaven's sake?" just whip out Burke's book.
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Photo: Tom Montgomery
Sowbelly author Monte Burke (shown) has revealed a world Ray Scott was only "semi-conscious" of.
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My wife, Susan read it like one of her best-selling novels. Angler or not, you've got to be intrigued with Burke's tale of the near-mythical search for the near-mythical record bass.
The pursuit is passionate and sometimes outrageous. Frankly, Burke reveals a world I was only semi-conscious of, being more diverted by the tournament side of bass fishing and the obsessive quest to win fishing tournaments.
And along the way in his tale of the quest, the author provides a concise, entertaining and pretty darn thorough history of the bass and of the entire sport. It's a painless education even for non-anglers. As a matter of fact, it should be required reading for everyone even remotely associated with the sportfishing industry.
When I found out Burke was going to be in Montgomery, I crashed his book signing and hijacked him to dinner with me and my wife. Although I had previewed the book, I had not had the pleasure of meeting this tall, lanky fellow with a wide smile, who claims both southern and yankee roots.
He thrives in New York City where he works for Forbes Magazine as a business writer and freelances for other publications. Yet he is totally at home when he visits family in Birmingham. And he spent a good portion of his childhood in North Carolina where like many of us, he became fascinated with the natural world around him. Like a good southern boy, he completely grasps the mystique of the largemouth.
The book paints in bold strokes the amazing world of the record hunters. They comprise a virtual subculture of the subculture of bass fishing itself. It's an amazing tale set in motion by George Perry's 22-pound, 4-ounce catch in Depression-era Georgia.
Burke captures well the very nature of the elusive, mysterious bass and the irresistible lure of conquest. You'll meet a colorful cast of characters who live their lives in anticipation of the next record and who, for the most part, are out of the well-known and publicized pro world. If you think tournament fishing is an obsession, wait 'til you meet these guys. And there are other characters as well, like the fish scientists feverishly working to genetically produce the largest bass.
As you can imagine, this kind of treasure hunt attracts its share of charlatans. I have found that everyone loves the chapter on cheating in my biography BASS BOSS by Bob Boyle. And Burke's chapter on the cheaters and the hoaxes is fascinating. He borrows a great word from his cousin for these dishonorable pretenders. He calls them "bassholes." I've added a new word to my fishing lexicon.
According to Burke, only 12 bass weighing 20 or more pounds have been documented since Perry's famous catch in 1932. In other words, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than beating the record. Is that a challenge or what?
(Editor's note: To order Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass, click here to visit the BassFan Store.).
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