Mike Long Scandal America’s Big-Bass Guru Exposed

BY HIS OWN count, Mike Long of San Diego County, Calif., has caught hundreds of bass weighing more than 10 pounds, dozens in the teens, 82 over 15 pounds and one weighing more than 20. That last fish was the famous “Dottie,” which weighed 20 pounds, 12 ounces when Long caught her, earning the 10th spot on Bassmaster Magazine’s list of the all-time heaviest bass ever weighed.

Not only was he a big-bass specialist, but Long was a threat to win any tournament he entered in the San Diego area. In an 8 1/2-year period in the early 2000s, Long won more than 35 tournaments and earned about $150,000.

Bassmaster Magazine editors — including the author — featured him on the cover twice, in 2001 and 2009, as did editors of more than 40 other publications around the world.

We called Long “the