Pamela Bowser Hand-Feeds Trained Lunker Largemouths

Three years ago Pamela Bowser of Carlisle, Indiana, started feeding nightcrawlers by hand to two largemouth bass in her backyard pond. Now Peaches, 5 ½ pounds, and Thump, 6 ½ pounds, are full-fledged pets that come to Bowser every evening when she calls them—by name—for dinner. "They love me—I get right in the water with them," says Bowser, who's expanded the menu to include hot dogs, which she dangles above the water from her teeth. Lately, friends have been stopping by to watch Peaches and Thump beg for their dinner, and more bass are starting to show up for meals. Since Bowser literally has them eating out of her hands, she's already thinking about the next trick: "I'm trying to teach them to jump through a hoop." —KIMBERLY HISS