Fishermen Search Kentucky for World-Record “Lake of Dreams”

After reading the new book “American BeheMouth” or visiting the website http://behemouth.com/, anglers are searching for the lake in Kentucky holding a 28+-pound largemouth bass.

At first a trickle of poachers started searching, then entire families in SUVs were pulling over at convenience stores asking for directions. One reader of “American BeheMouth” likened it to Kevin Costner’s “Field of Dreams,” and the lake, full of giant largemouth bass 15-28 pounds, earned its nickname “Lake of Dreams.”

“When I took the job of managing the lake, I thought I would be out there catching huge bass all day,” said Billy Hutchinson, who now secures the lake in addition to feeding the fish. “I did not think I would be crouched in the brush wearing night vision goggles trying to protect the lake with a shotgun, but that’s what it’s come to.”

Billy, who says he has officially fished the lake “just once,” but unofficially, “a few other times,” says his personal record is around 18 pounds, an uncertified Kentucky state record. As for the poachers, he knows of only one who was successful. “I saw him running to his truck by the road, but I didn’t bother firing at him. He only had a 10 or 11-pound fish. We’re taking out some that size now, so I wasn’t worried.”

Jason Covington’s new book, “American BeheMouth,” details the years of research that solves the age-old fisheries question of how to grow fish to these proportions. The formula includes a new fish-to-food ratio as well as the baitfish used and the environmental conditions required. The book tells several other stories along the journey, including a Castaic Lake, California record and state-record Missouri bass.

When asked about his plans for the lake, Covington said, “I originally built it to honor my grandfather, but after it started getting expensive, I was kindof hoping for that million dollars you always hear about for the world-record in order to at least recoup some of my money." No sponsors or endorsements deals have come from the 27-pound bass, which was not submitted to the International Game Fish Association for record certification. Under the circumstances, a record like this would require one huge asterisk, like so many records in baseball, he maintains.

To get the details on the “Lake of Dreams” and the world-record-sized bass, read the book "American BeheMouth," available for sale as an economical EBook on Amazon and in paperback on Amazon's CreateSpace.

EBook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007S1XVE6

Paperback: http://www.createspace.com/3845956

BeheMouth website: http://behemouth.com/

Press and Book Reviewers, please contact the author at jason_cov@msn.com for an interview or review copy.

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Cheaters, Poachers, and Thieves

It’s happening in our economy, banks, government, lakes, and forests. Greedy people are breaking the rules to gain spoils. It’s starting to come out in the news regarding banks and the huge derivative “side bets”, such as the $9B loss by JP Morgan. Inside traders and bankers are manipulating the system so that free market forces no longer dictate market trends. Instead, the market has become more like a casino. This is happening on our lakes and in our forests too; if enforcement is low, and someone thinks they can break the law and get away with it, many are making the choice to break the law.

Poaching is when one deliberately breaks the law or local ordinance to catch fish or shoot game to keep. In some places, laws are carefully enforced and fish and game officers protect our resources. In other places, including local waters and vast wildernesses, it’s impossible to enforce laws. In some cases, like on private lakes run by a homeowner’s association, it is difficult to enforce laws since the homeowner’s association in itself is not an enforcement agency.

Take, for example, my lake in Missouri, Lake Tishomingo, a 200-acre lake with about 250 homes. We put in time and money to grow big bass and to protect the fish by instituting a slot limit. In other words, you have to throw back all the big bass. You can keep some of the smaller fish to wean down the population.

A guy at Lake Tishomingo caught a 9.5 pound bass, probably the biggest bass ever caught out of Lake Tishomingo. He bragged about it and even admitted he kept the fish to taxidermy it. This is against our regulations and bylaws, and we are required to throw back these big bass. In a case like this, the International Game Fish Association would not certify this as a record since specific laws were broken in the catch. He could have still broken the lake record by weighing the fish and taking pictures, followed by a release.

It’s infuriating to see someone gain by breaking the rules. You're happy to see people succeed but not when they break the rules or hurt the resources or industry in the process. It’s even more frustrating when the government or regulating authority does not do anything to stop the law breakers. In the case of the Tishomingo bass, the homeowner’s association does not have any power or care about enforcing fishing regulations. On the other hand, the local Fish and Game does not have any authority on private waters either. I don’t like a system that is rigged. No one does. I want to play by the rules, work hard, and find success. In “American BeheMouth” I talk about these types of ethical issues in fishing, life, and government all in a fishing story.

Austerity measures for a balanced economy

It’s easy to look at the problems in the world and take a bleak perspective. Some look at all the problems and see the end with no way out. Some are even prepping for the end of the world. However, instead of falling into gloom and doom thinking, wouldn’t it be better to work toward making improvements in your life and world toward being more balanced?

You can’t prepare for every doomsday scenario anyway. Look at the film, Melancholia. What would you do in the scenario in which Planet X is going to crash into earth? Probably become unhinged! Don’t become unhinged; focus on what you can change here and now. With the economic problems the world is facing, an economic collapse seems almost certain, but it does not have to be.

American BeheMouth is about one man who becomes obsessed with one idea of raising the world-record bass (bigger and better no matter the cost). It's also about bloated government (see the picture of the fat bigmouth bass). Any time you get too out of balance, you can become unhinged. That’s what’s happening in Greece right now. However, further up north, in Estonia, politicians made spending cuts and got their government back under control with good austerity measures, leading to 7.6% growth last year. They are a model for how we should go as a country and as individuals. 

See an article highlighting the issues: http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2012/06/08/estonia_and_austerity_another_exploding_cigar_for_paul_krugman/page/full/

We have to take personal responsibility for ourselves and in our government. We can’t blame others or expect bigger governments or richer individuals to bail us out.

Preview most of American BeheMouth in Google Play.