The Quittman Special: The Real Story

April 2, 2009 By: Marshall Cutchin

Scott Bowen isn’t actually an investigative reporter for MidCurrent. He’s a writer, editor, and novelist who lives in Bucks County, PA. He is also the author of the short story collection The Midnight Fish.

And while we remain convinced that the right fly will outfish any hardware when it comes to largemouth bass, there is no Quittman Special. At the time this article was written, George Perry’s bass record still stood. Neither the IGFA nor any other person, periodical or organization mentioned in this article was involved in any way with this story.

We made it all up.

Our special thanks go to Dave Sellers, who drew the Quittman Special illustration for this story.

And if you’d like to read more about the George Perry largemouth bass record, we heartily recommend Monte Burke’s Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World-Record Largemouth Bass, a highly entertaining and well-paced tale about “what we humans will do, what we will gain and what we are willing to sacrifice, in attempting to reach a goal.”