That's Photoshopped!!

[RAMBLER]

There are other ways to "fake" a picture.  I don't care if it's done.  It's pretty obvious to see a fake when the shadow of the fish and the shadow of the person "holding" the fish are in different directions. 

As I said before, I faked a picture of a bluegill (lost the pic in an old puter crash) and my wife.  I hung the fish from a tree limb with about 4lb test mono.  I had my wife stand on a step ladder with a rope in her hand and make believe she was straining to hold the fish.  Backed up, lined things up and snapped the pic.  The bluegill looked to be about 100 lbs.  Thee were people, that don't fish, that believed the pic.

If you don't try to claim some kind of record or prize, what's the harm?

[Mattlures]

Lund ok your a tournament guy. what if you won a tournament and you posted about it. You won with 35lbs. Then somebody comes along and says they fished the same lake as you on the same day and they could have easily wont that tournament with the 40lbs they caught. They post up a pic and their 5 fish are obviously only 25 lbs. I suppose that wouldnt bother you? And you wouldn't say anything? Its not only about trophy sized fish. Many of us have held a fish out to look bigger (I have to) but that's not the same as knowingly claiming a weight that's much bigger then it actually was. This whole subject does not bother me nearly as much as you think it does. I was just trying to shed some light on why some people call others out when they know they are full of it. I also understand Glenn's position of being annoyed when guys call out every little thing without a reason to doubt. That's just as bad.

Rambler I bet that was a cool looking picture.

[*Hootie]

Photoshop costs about $700.

With that kind of cabbage you can buy a St Croix Legend rod and Shimano Core reel.

At least say the photo was 'Gimped' (Gimp is open source).

Neither Photoshop nor Gimp can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Roger

VERY GOOD! Rolo, you're like me, you're old. You're not supposed to know that much about computer technology. I am indeed impressed!

You are correct, Photoshop is very expensive. My wife told me she wanted a copy, while she was staring at my Loomis rods. What could I say.

Hootie

[Lund Explorer]

Lund ok your a tournament guy. what if you won a tournament and you posted about it. You won with 35lbs. Then somebody comes along and says they fished the same lake as you on the same day and they could have easily wont that tournament with the 40lbs they caught. They post up a pic and their 5 fish are obviously only 25 lbs. I suppose that wouldnt bother you? And you wouldn't say anything? Its not only about trophy sized fish. Many of us have held a fish out to look bigger (I have to) but that's not the same as knowingly claiming a weight that's much bigger then it actually was. This whole subject does not bother me nearly as much as you think it does. I was just trying to shed some light on why some people call others out when they know they are full of it. I also understand Glenn's position of being annoyed when guys call out every little thing without a reason to doubt. That's just as bad.

Rambler I bet that was a cool looking picture.

 

Do I still keep the 1st Place Check?  Because in that scenario that is what I was fishing for.

 

If someone came along after the fact making such a claim, I would congratulate him for his feat and suggest that he join up and fish in the next tournament.  If he decided to, then we'd find out who was the big stick the next day.  Until that time, his accomplishment is completely different than mine was.  By the way, my peers know that they don't weigh pictures, and they don't count those who can't pony up the entry fee.

[Zach Dunham]

You guys should check out some real photoshop experts then.

 

 

I think the real problem is others lying about their size catches. Although that's everywhere. It's silly seeing guys post 3lb bass pushed all the way up to a camera and claim it's a 10lb.

 

I just don't know why people let this kind of stuff bother them so much? It doesn't affect me in any way if someone's fish is a pound less than they say. The only weighing I care about is tournaments and that's all on the same scale so it doesn't matter.

[Zach Dunham]

Glen I have to respectfuly disagree with you. Here is why. If you set out to do something difficult and you succeed then you have accomplished something. If it was easy and most everybody could do it then its not really an accomplishment. If what you did can only be done by a small percentage then your most likely proud of that accomplishment. Now lets apply that to bass fishing. Only a small percentage of guys have actually caught a 10+ pound bass. Even fewer with a 12 pounder and there are not many who have ever caught a 15+. The guys that have done these things know they accomplished something when they did it. So when tons of guys post pictures of 6-8pound bass claiming they are 10 pounders its an insult to the guys who have caught legit trophy bass. When guys lie about it, it diminishes the accomplishment. You say its your pet peeve when guys call them out, well its my pet peeve when guys claims a fish is much bigger then it is. Now I agree with you if the picture in question looks close or is reasonable. After all most of us get excited when we catch a good fish and tend to over estimate the weight. But when its obviously exaggerated I think they should get "educated". I think there is a balance. Some should get called out when its obvious, and when its reasonable then let them have their 15 minutes of fame.

 

Your accomplishment should matter to you. Who cares what any one else thinks?

 

And if you really want to get philosophical....what purpose does catching a big bass serve? You aren't feeding your family with that fish (I'm assuming).

[Zach Dunham]

Glen I think its the way we humans are any more. Every thing is fake to them. I don't know how many times I see fake on youtube. Even though its a highlight, or a full video of a real event. Many of the videos I watch. Are of past races. Most of which I was watching live. People are just dumb.

 

I don't know a single person that has a legit copy of Photoshop. Thanks to torrent sites. It makes it very easy to get Photoshop for free. I have way to many computer nerd friends to know this. There is also a free program out there. I cant recall its name. I will say there is very little difference between that program and Photoshop.

 

 

GIMP is the free photo editor. It is open source. I use it and it is very good (NOT TO EDIT MY FISH, lol).

[Big Fish Rice]

Agreed, but it does happen. It's just floated around a little too often in my opinion. Anyway, back to fishing

[Mainebass1984]

Cheats, liars and fakes.... they all suck. Not exactly quality traits.  It is what is. If its a 5 lb 0 oz bass then that's what it is. If it is a 4 lb 12 oz bass then that is what it is. Why lie about it ? If you see a pic of a photo shopped "10 lber" then go ahead and call them out on it, or don't. It doesn't really matter.. Personally it does bother me to a certain point when some one claims that the fish they caught is much bigger then it actually is. Chances are that they didn't weigh it or measure it so to them that fish is as big as they feel it should be in there mind. I weigh all the big bass I catch and check my scale often. I can read a scale. This past fall I caught a  9 lb 1 oz bass in Maine. I posted the picture online and for the most part people were congratulatory. There were a few though that doubted the size of the fish, even after I posted the video of me weighing it on a scale. Those few select individuals really, really ticked me off. If some one feels they need to lie or exaggerate the size of a fish they caught to make themselves feel good or give the impression that they are a better fisherman then they are, then let them, that is pretty sad.

[Scott F]

By the way, you can get Photoshop Elements, which does everything you need to do to make that 2 pounder look like a 10, for as low as $60 if you get version 11. The new version, 12, is about $100.

The most common use I see for Photoshop on the web is where guys will use it to blur or cover up the location of where they caught their fish.

[*Hootie]

What someone else says their fish weighed. Man,.... I wish that was all I had to worry about. Talk about carefree living.

Hootie

[jhoffman]

I care so much about what fish weigh i dont even own a scale. I have a balance beam for tournament days and thats it. Ive seen big fish hit scales and come up three pounds. Size means nothing.

[everythingthatswims]

One thing I know is that a picture will never do ANY fish justice. To see the fish in person is the only way to really appreciate how big it is. Of course there are ways to hold a fish to make it look better, but pictures simply can't show the size of a fish effectively. A 6'5" guy can make an 8lb fish look like 4lbs, but someone who is 5'4" could make the fish look like it weighs 12lbs. I caught a big amberjack last summer, the fish weighed upwards of 50lbs, I have 2 photos of it, standing the same distance from the camera, one angle makes it look 20lbs or less, but the other angle shows its true size. Cameras are deceptive...

[Glenn]

^^ Nailed it ^^  That's just it, if you weren't there, then you're in no position to know the actual weight and size of the fish.  Even if you think the fish is "obviously" smaller than what is claimed, if you weren't there, you don't know.  So just admire a pic of a great fish and be done with it.

 

Seriously, if you feel your honor, reputation, or "big fish club" is somehow damaged by some other guys' fish, you have bigger issues in your head to deal with.  LOL!

[FD.]

VERY GOOD! Rolo, you're like me, you're old. You're not supposed to know that much about computer technology. I am indeed impressed!

You are correct, Photoshop is very expensive. My wife told me she wanted a copy, while she was staring at my Loomis rods. What could I say.

Hootie

 

 

Roger and Lois are both high tech computer nerds.  Lois is some kind of rocket scientist/ brain surgeon/pioneer of the computer world.  She is obviously much smarter than Roger.  Also better looking.

[SnazzySenko]

Photoshop costs about $700. 

With that kind of cabbage you can buy a St Croix Legend rod and Shimano Core reel.

At least say the photo was 'Gimped' (Gimp is open source).

Neither Photoshop nor Gimp can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

 

Roger

 

It may cost $700 but it's very easy to torrent and install. Not that I've done that before.......

[Mattlures]

Glenn it has nothing to do with my honor, ego, or some big fish club. I had this peeve way before I ever caught a trophy bass. It annoyed me when guys claimed they had caught 10bers when I knew it wasn't true. It was just a lot easier for them to say they did something instead of actually doing it. I have just always thought of catching a big bass as something special. It doesn't have to be 10+ pounds. Size is relative to location. I disagree, there are absolutely some pictures you can tell that the weight is greatly exaggerated without being there. For the record I almost never call people out on this because I give them the benefit of the doubt if the fish looks like it could possibly be the size claimed. A good example of this problem is when somebody catches a legit 10 pounder and post the pictures on a forum. It never fails that there is always at least one comment on how his scale must be off. Or there is no way that fish is only 10 pounds. You know why guys make these comments? Because they have seen so many pictures 6-8pounders that are claimed to be 10 pounders. When they actually see a real 10 pounder they cant believe its only 10.

I guess we just have different opinions on this subject.

[RoLo]

Roger and Lois are both high tech computer nerds.  Lois is some kind of rocket scientist/ brain surgeon/pioneer of the computer world.  She is obviously much smarter than Roger.  Also better looking.

 

There you have it, in a nutshell

[WRB]

This is the 1st thread that I recall that Glenn has participated in, good to see.

Matt hasn't participated in a long time and maybe some others will chime in like Chris who is a expert photographer and trophy bass angler.

Calling anyone out about the weight of a bass they claim is larger is a touchy subject and should be avoided, so I agree unless the claim is about record size bass.

With digital cameras in smart phones taking good photos is easy today, not so easy even 10 years ago. With digital photos making changes to enhance the quality or even alter the photo may not be as difficult today.

[tatertester]

I am following this thread and I gotta say I'm amazed that this subject matter is such a hot topic....Lets face it , in every walk of life, whether at work or play ,polotics or science, people are truthful, people exaggerate, and some people flat out lie.....So you are surprised that SOME have bass that strangely enlarge themself.....I can't help but wonder why anyone would waste so much energy belaboring the accurate weight of anothers bass........I stopped weighing my bass catches so they can be estimated as I see fit. A lot easier that way.I don't post the pics either.

[Fish_Whisperer]

Glen I have to respectfuly disagree with you. Here is why. If you set out to do something difficult and you succeed then you have accomplished something. If it was easy and most everybody could do it then its not really an accomplishment. If what you did can only be done by a small percentage then your most likely proud of that accomplishment. Now lets apply that to bass fishing. Only a small percentage of guys have actually caught a 10+ pound bass. Even fewer with a 12 pounder and there are not many who have ever caught a 15+. The guys that have done these things know they accomplished something when they did it. So when tons of guys post pictures of 6-8pound bass claiming they are 10 pounders its an insult to the guys who have caught legit trophy bass. When guys lie about it, it diminishes the accomplishment. You say its your pet peeve when guys call them out, well its my pet peeve when guys claims a fish is much bigger then it is. Now I agree with you if the picture in question looks close or is reasonable. After all most of us get excited when we catch a good fish and tend to over estimate the weight. But when its obviously exaggerated I think they should get "educated". I think there is a balance. Some should get called out when its obvious, and when its reasonable then let them have their 15 minutes of fame.

 

My thinking is in line with this ^^^.

 

I used to always think my fish were heavier than their actual weight, until I got a nice digital scale.  After using the scale for a while, I was able to get my senses and feel in line with reality.

 

Take yesterday morning for example, caught a nice bass near some guys catfishing.  They were calling 8 and 9 lbs, one said ten. I laughed at the ten. (If anyone knows me or have read my posts, they know I've yet to break double digits, and is my main goal)  I said "This fish might break 5."  I pull my scale out and it weighed 6lb, 3 oz. Made me feel good that even though I was a lb off, at least I wasn't embellishing the weight.  

[Dwight Hottle]

My thinking is in line with this ^^^.

I used to always think my fish were heavier than their actual weight, until I got a nice digital scale. After using the scale for a while, I was able to get my senses and feel in line with reality.

Take yesterday morning for example, caught a nice bass near some guys catfishing. They were calling 8 and 9 lbs, one said ten. I laughed at the ten. (If anyone knows me or have read my posts, they know I've yet to break double digits, and is my main goal) I said "This fish might break 5." I pull my scale out and it weighed 6lb, 3 oz. Made me feel good that even though I was a lb off, at least I wasn't embellishing the weight.

.

Amen . Well said.

[greentrout]

There's nothing wrong with critical thinking. When I see a photo of a LMB in the teens held with only the index finger and

thumb, I have my doubts.

 

For me, I love catching Large Mouth Bass and if it's a pound, I love it. I've had a few much bigger but a picture for others

to see never was my goal to validate my love for the sport.

[shimmy]

This was an interesting read. It seems clear that some take the perspective of "who cares what others do, doesn't effect me" while others including myself honor the weight system and appreciate the accomplishment of a good bass and it's honest depiction. Who is to tell me one way is better than the other??? Congratulations for being at peace for not caring if others lie about their weights and are unaffected by preposterous claims. That is your stance, not right or wrong. Just don't criticize others for enjoying the alternative side of bass fishing where weights do matter, calling out false weights is permitted, and the fun competition of monitoring fish weights and obtaining the rarely attainable giant in that body of water is enjoyed. Both perspectives are fine; i just get slightly annoyed by the potentially high and mighty responses implying that people should not worry about what others purport. That is your opinion, but don't criticize others for not having it, it does not mean you have achieved a level of maturity that other's do not have in fishing. Different things drive people in bass fishing; don't put a superior moral value to your stance.

[Fish_Whisperer]

In my earlier post, I didn't really give my opinion on the question that has been asked in this thread.  Yes, I get annoyed when people claim ridiculous weights on fish.  Do I lose sleep over it? Do I make a huge deal out of it? No.  But if you give me a turd on a plate and say it's prime sirloin, I will call you out on your bullsh*t.  

 

Someones' sig on a message board, might be this one, says 'WHO' Is Right is Not Important.....'WHAT' Is Right is All That Matters.  Spreading falsehood is never right.