A few years later , Friebel ’ s position atop the record book was taken away . In 1926 , George Nicholls of Alabama claimed a 24-pound bass from the Tombigbee River . It won the annual Field & Stream contest and replaced Friebel ’ s catch as the “ world record ” … for a while .
Upon further investigation , though , Nicholls ’ fish was identified as a striped bass , and his claim thrown out as a fraud on multiple levels . But by then , George Perry ’ s 22-4 had stepped between Nicholls and Friebel and quickly put atop the record book . Friebel was out , never to claim world record status again .
what about florida ?
But , Friebel had the Florida record , right ? Well , not exactly .
You see , the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission ( now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ) didn ’ t start keeping official state records until 1976 – 11 years after Fritz ’ s death at age 72 – and the people assembling those first records were not aware of the Friebel bass .
That ’ s right . They didn ’ t know about it . Oops !
Instead , they established a 19- pound largemouth caught by W . A . Witt in 1961 as the state record . Though more than a pound heavier , Fritz ’ s catch was nowhere to be seen .
When the error was finally corrected in 1984 and Friebel was officially declared the state record-holder , the glory was short-lived . By 1986 , the state changed its record-keeping requirements , demanding that someone from FWC personally inspect the fish . Fritz was out … again .
Today , the Florida record largemouth bass is a 17.27-pounder taken in 1986 . The Friebel bass – nearly 3 pounds heavier – is listed as the “ uncertified ” state record .
a final indignity
For many years , a wooden sign commemorating Friebel ’ s catch stood in a city park in San Antonio . Time and weather took their toll until city officials had it taken down . Then , in 2002 , Friebel ’ s family – led by three nephews in Ohio – asked that the sign be replaced . They were even willing to pay for it . The nephews remembered Uncle Fritz for his generosity during the Great Depression . When toys and other amusements were hard to come by , he always brought them fishing and sports equipment .
The family designed the sign and constructed the 50-pound monument out of plastic and other weather-resistant materials . It was built to last . Along with a brief tale of the catch , it includes a carved likeness of an angler holding a yardstick and a giant bass .
The problem is it ’ s not Fritz Friebel . Really .
The family made an error . They found a photo of W . A . Witt holding his 19-pounder and assumed it was Fritz . The mistake went unnoticed .
“ It looks a lot like him ,” one nephew said . But it ’ s not him . Fritz ’ s spotlight had been stolen again .
28 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2023