His name and his accomplishment appear on page 254 in the all-tackle section of the 2007 IGFA World Record Game Fishes book. And over 75 years that simple one line entry has grown to become the Holy Grail for bass fishermen.

It rained during ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of George W. Perry's catch of the 22-pound, 4-ounce, world record largemouth bass in Georgia's Montgomery Lake.

Because it rained on June 2, 1932, it was too wet for the 20-year-old Perry to plow a field on his Telfair County farm near Helena, so he went fishing.

According to Bill Baab, the fishing editor of The Augusta Chronicle it was sort of appropriate that the nearly three dozen people who turned out on June 2, 2007 to witness the unveiling of a historical marker commemorating the catch were drenched by remnants of Barry, the season's first tropical storm spawned in the Gulf of Mexico earlier in the week.

Baab said none of the attendees seemed to mind weather history repeating itself with the rainfall that had been so desperately needed in the drought-plagued Southeast.

The crowd included George L. (Dazy) Perry of Hiawassee, Ga., a retired Delta Airlines pilot and son of the deceased world recordholder, and a daughter, Barbara Perry Williams of Port Wentworth, Ga. Another daughter, Celina P. Brown of Brunswick, Ga., was unable to attend.

Cost of the marker was borne by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Division director Dan Forster and fisheries management chief Chuck Coomer headed the program on the banks of the lake, an oxbow off the Ocmulgee River.

"Had the weather been fair on that June day 75 years ago, George W. Perry probably wouldn't have gone fishing and those of us here wouldn't be standing in the rain," said Baab, an acknowledged authority on the man and his??world record catch. Look for Baab's feature in an upcoming issue of Georgia Sportsman magazine