chelboed Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Been waiting 25 years for this. 8lbs weighed at Forty Woods bait shop... 3 Quote
Super User Darren. Posted July 12, 2015 Super User Posted July 12, 2015 Wow, that's a hoss! Congratulations! Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 12, 2015 Super User Posted July 12, 2015 Congradulations ~ PB's are always a Blast ~ especially when you put that kind of time in. Nice Job A-Jay Quote
Smokinal Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Congrats! But no story? C'mon, we wanna hear about it! Quote
OperationEagle Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Wow...she's a beauty. Nice and fat! What did she measure in terms of length? Quote
jgordon Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 So where did you pull this majestic beast from hmmm???? hahah give up the honey hole Quote
chelboed Posted July 12, 2015 Author Posted July 12, 2015 Well, I hate to go into too much detail for fear of being labeled an over-exaggerating fraud...(that never happens on the interwebz, ) To start with...it's a short fish. I when I pulled it out of the water, I was kinda surprised at how heavy it was. It's between 22-23", but its belly girth was 15.25" and the head circumference was 15.25". It had a really big fresh meal in it's belly too...that's why it was bulging out so much. (I wonder what was in there) Had I caught it an hour sooner, it may have only weighed 7.5lbs, hehe. Anyway...I was looking at length/weight charts and get so many varied answers so I took it to Forty Woods bait shop and had them weigh it. It was a little over 8lbs, but I rounded it down to an even 8 because I have such a hard time with a fish this length weighing over that. I had to do some research just to see if that was really plausible, but did find several that were in the 22-23" range that were 8lbs...so I guess it's possible that it's legit. Most of the ones I found looked similar...big bulging bellies, fresh meal. The L/W charts: Wisconsin:8lbs Bassresource: 7.6lbs In-Fisherman:6.65-7.6lbs Pensylvania: 5.9 - 6.8 Virginia: 8lbs Texas: 22 6.40 6.52 6.64 6.77 6.89 7.02 7.15 7.28 23 7.41 7.54 7.68 7.81 7.95 8.09 8.23 8.38 Quote
chelboed Posted July 12, 2015 Author Posted July 12, 2015 So for the actual story... I was at Reed with my Dad off and on all weekend. We did 'alright' the last 2 days, but this morning was slow at the lake we first chose. We had considered going home, but decided to hit up another one. There were 2x guys there already fishing on a peninsula. They were obviously not going anywhere b/c they were fishing one line under a bobber and throwing spinnerbaits with the other. They weren't catching a daggum thing. We start in on the first corner...my Dad throws one way and I throw the other. He immediately lands 2x 14" fish. I work my way toward the two guys fishing...and I'm not getting anything either. Right about the time I get to them...I land 5x right out from underneath them. As I worked past them, they asked me "What magic bait ya using?" I told them "Fairy Dust" and moved on. I pulled in 2x more and tossed them back in. They decided to leave. (probably headed to the bar to contemplate life) I worked my way about half way back over the next hour and a half and totaled 9x fish. 2 would have been keepers. (one 18" or so) I get back to this little cove and a guy with a fly rod jumps in right in front of me and starts going at it with no etiquette whatsoever. I thought about saying something, but kept my mouth shut with God's help. So I said a little prayer b/c time was getting short and I snagged my line. (I thought God was telling me something, hehehe) My line had some abrasion and a kink, so I re-tied a fresh knot and decided I was almost done. My last cast...I thought I had snagged a giant Leatherback sea turtle b/c I wasn't making a dent. I was running 12lbs mono, so I was being extra cautious. All the sudden, line started ripping off my reel like my old '71 Roadrunner doing a burnout. He started going perpendicular to me and jumped. At that moment...I went in to Supraventricular Tachycardia because his gills looked like giant blood-red pirate sails. I was excited and nervous because I knew this was a Missouri trophy and a PB for me, so I backed off the drag a bit to play him gently so I didn't lose him to broken weenie-sized monofilament. I finally got him headed my way and he darted into the weeds right at my feet. I reached in and lipped him...and he clamped down on my hand like a Catfish. I quickly ran 10ft up the bank so he wouldn't flop down into the lake, laid him down on the ground, and just stared at him for a while. His jaws are so big and thick, man I was in awe. I cut the line off my reel about 10" up from the lure to put in a frame with my MDC Angler's Award so I can remember how I re-tied my knot right before the biggest bass of my life to date. Fun times. Quote
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