Big Ed Outdoors

08/26/2026

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08/26/2026

🚨Andy Kilen was fishing with his grandson last May when he landed the big bass, which would set a new record in his home state.

For a guy who didn’t start fishing seriously until he was in his 50s, Andy Kilen is certainly making up for lost time.

Now, 76, he has his own boat, fishes whenever he can with his grandson Gabriel, and loves to cast for northern pike and largemouth bass.

But no day will match the one he experienced in late May. Fishing with his grandson, on Lura Lake in southern Minnesota, he began casting an orange spinnerbait over the top of a w**d bed. He detected a distinct hit and felt the line grow heavy as he began to reel in the fish.

When the largemouth bass at the end of his line came up, though, he knew he had something special. Gabriel lipped the bass once his grandpa worked the fish to the boat, then they both stared at the monstrous catch.

The bass measured 22 ½ inches long – a true trophy, especially in the Northwoods where largemouth seldom grow that big. They snapped a few pictures, then released Kilen’s catch.

Gabriel later began investigating Minnesota’s relatively new catch-and-release state-record system, and he urged his grandpa to see if the fish would qualify.

They followed requirements and submitted a clear photograph of the fish on a measuring board, a witness statement, and testimony that the bass was released alive and unharmed.

In mid-August, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that Kilen’s largemouth bass was a catch-and-release state record, the first one in the books. It barely surpassed the minimum qualifying length of 22 inches.

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/4qz5wuc

✍️: Brent Frazee

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🚨 THE 25-POUND LARGEMOUTH THAT DIDN’T COUNT! 🎣😳

This is Dottie, possibly the biggest largemouth bass ever caught.

Dottie lived in tiny Dixon Lake in California and was already famous among trophy-bass hunters. In 2003, she was caught weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces and released.

Then on March 20, 2006, Mac Weakley caught her again.

⚖️ 25 POUNDS, 1 OUNCE!

That was nearly 3 pounds heavier than George Perry’s legendary 22-pound, 4-ounce world record. (Los Angeles Times)

There was just ONE problem…

👉 Dottie was foul-hooked below the dorsal fin instead of being hooked in the mouth.

Because the catch didn’t comply with California’s rules, Weakley released her and ultimately didn’t submit the fish for world-record consideration. (Bassmaster)

Dottie went back into Dixon Lake, and anglers traveled from all over trying to legally catch the giant bass.

Sadly, in 2008, Dottie was found dead.

Imagine putting a 25-POUND LARGEMOUTH in the boat…and it DOESN’T COUNT! 🤯

👇 Do you think Dottie should still be considered the biggest largemouth bass ever caught?