Well I'll admit I'm a greedy lowlife fishing for a record bass... haha.

1. Weigh it on your digital scale to verify that it is indeed close to a record (we'll say lake record). Stick it in the livewell as fast as you can and make sure it's ok. If it's not doing too good you might want to take a picture, get a witness and let it go right there, assuming there's another boat nearby to help you out. If it's chillin in the livewell, take it to the marina and weigh it on the certified scale. Take pictures, get witnesses and put it back in the water.

2. Get a cell phone

3. If it's just a lake record I doubt any company will really care. If it's a world record or a state record though, you might be able to get a little attention. I've heard the world record bass could be worth as much as $11 million in sponsorships, rewards, etc. If you caught a bass of over 20lbs you could probably send resumes to quite a few companies and hear back from most of them regarding sponsorship. Especially if you caught the fish on their bait or rod or whatever.

4. see http://www.recordbass.com