The Biggest Bass Ever Caught

WHEN A 36-YEAR-OLD Alabama insurance agent named Ray Scott acted on his big idea to elevate a particular fish to superstar status in 1967, he set in motion a fervor that remains today. Bass is the species that launched an industry.

Scott’s concept for national, big-money bass tournaments bloomed into the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, or B.A.S.S, an organization that grew to more than 600,000 members under his leadership. During the nearly two decades that Scott ran high-profile tournaments and seminars around the country, a multi-billion-dollar American industry emerged, centered on the incredible allure of landing big bass. This obsession has also led to countless fishing records being broken as generations of anglers have tried to etch their name in the history books by landing the biggest bass ever caught.

While smallies have diehard fans, the largemouth is still considered the most popular freshwater game fish in America. It’s not tough to see why. Largemouth…