Could one fish be worth $1 million?

This question has been asked and answered about a million times - but whether or not it is worth a million bucks, I don't know.

The world record bass weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces and was caught on June 2, 1932, by George W. Perry, a 19-year old farm boy. It has become America's most famous fish.

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exceeded the existing record by more than 2 pounds and has retained its world record status even today.

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 fish was caught on a Creek Chub Perch Scale Wigglefish, Perry's only lure, and was 32 1/2 inches in length and 28 1/2 inches in girth.

The weight and measurements were taken, recorded and notarized in Helena, Ga., and Perry's only reward was $75 in merchandise as first prize in Field and Stream magazine's fishing contest.

The longstanding record is one of the reasons that the largemouth bass was made Georgia's Official State Fish. Montgomery Lake is today part of the Department of Natural Resources' Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area.

It has been said by many people in the fishing industry that breaking this world record could easily be worth a cool $1 million in cash. I would take it a little further than such a broad open statement.

If the angler that caught the new record bass was in a named brand bass boat powered by a named brand outboard, he would be on his way. Next, of course, would be the equipment that was used. If the angler was using a name brand line with a name brand rod and reel, his dream would even be closer.

Last - and most importantly - would be the artificial lure that was used to catch this record. This one item by itself could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars alone. I can't imagine in my wildest dreams how many lures would be sold. Even lures that were used to win the Bassmaster Classic have sold well into the hundreds of thousands.

Every self-respecting bass fishermen would probably be required by law to have at least two and, according to BASS, there are close to 15 million bass fishermen.

Now let's be practical and turn this around and look at the opposite scenario. Suppose the angler who caught the new world record bass was fishing off the bank and he was using a cane pole with a bobber and live minnow. What would it be worth then?

I don't know exactly, but I would guess it would only be worth about 5 percent of what the previous angler would have received. Don't fret about going out and buying a new boat and name brand tackle, just in case you want to try to catch the record bass around here. Other than Perry's record, the top 18 out of 20 record bass have all come from California Lakes. Next time I'll tell you why the bass are so huge in California.