What Do You Count as Your PB?

[Josh Smith]

Many years ago and many miles south I caught a largish 9lb, 13oz largemouth.

There is probably no way I'd ever beat that in Northern Indiana, so I count the largest I've caught here from public waters.

Do you do anything similar?

Josh

[IndianaFinesse]

Since Indiana's fishing is so poor, I keep track of my pb in indiana, my pb for each lake I fish regularly, and of course my over all pb.  It makes it more fun when I have a half dozen different personal bests to break.?

[HookdUP]

When people say pb I separate them from state to state and then live bait to lure 

my pb for va is 7+ (6th sense 75x flat) 

 

but it my pb for Florida is 9+ but with live bait .

 

 

[senile1]

For me personal best is just that, no matter where it occurs.  I do have an idea of the largest fish that I have caught at different bodies of water as I use that, and the general numbers of big fish at those lakes, to determine where I want to fish.  

[tander]

Doesn't matter where you caught it or what you caught it on, the biggest you ever caught is your PB.

[the reel ess]

I count a bass that I caught in my buddy's pond as my PB. We weighed it on the lame-o black, unscientific spring scale. It said 6.5 lbs. Could have been 6 or 7. I have caught maybe 6 or 7 fish very near that mark, but none above it. I would trade all those for one 10 lb. bass.

But I caught a 10 lb catfish that I guess would be my PB fish. I really don't like catfish so it was just a bigger nothing on the end of my line.

[J Francho]

I only count the fish from my home state.  I have a couple 8+ pounders from Florida, VA, and SC, but 7-2 is my PB LMB from NY waters. 5-12 is my PB SMB from NY waters.

[HookdUP]

I'm from Florida and live in va lol ... So I kinda feel like I have certain advantages. 

[Fish the Mitt]

My personal best is equivalent to my biggest catch overall!

I couldn't imagine breaking it down by water, states, lures, etc.. I'd need an Excel Spreadsheet! 

[00 mod]

Full Definition of best

1. superlative of good

1. 1 :  excelling all others <the best student>

2. 2 :  most productive of good :  offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction <what is the best thing to do>

3. 3 :  most, largest <it rained for the best part of their vacation>

 

There is only 1 best! 

Jeff

[wnspain]

1 hour ago, tander said:

Doesn't matter where you caught it or what you caught it on, the biggest you ever caught is your PB.

Well, one may have to modify that statement bit. In Alaska, went out on a halibut charter (Ninilchek, AK) and reeled in a 317 lb. barndoor.  My best LMB though remains at just under 6 lbs.

[ww2farmer]

48 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I only count the fish from my home state.  I have a couple 8+ pounders from Florida, VA, and SC, but 7-2 is my PB LMB from NY waters. 5-12 is my PB SMB from NY waters.

I so the same thing and I break it down lake to lake as well.........

LMB:

Silver: 6-12.........twice

Conesus: 7-1

Florida: 8-3

SMB:

Silver: 6-0

Conesus: 4-13

Erie: 5-9

 I don't think as highly of the 5-9 smallie from Erie, or the 8-3 LMB from Lake Toho in Fla. as I do the biggest fish I have caught in my home waters........maybe because they are nothing more than "nice fish" on those bodies of water.

I am awful proud of one of my 6-12 fish from Silver, it was caught during a tournament, took lunker for the night, and helped WNYbassman and I to win. Plus............I have fished and ran a lot of tournaments on that lake the last 10 years or so, and no one before or since has brought one to the scales that big........I'll cry the day it eventually happens.........unless it's me. LOL

 

[Scarborough817]

i've never fished out of ontario so it's basically the biggest which was above 6 

[Bankbeater]

I break it down by species.  A bass is not a catfish.

[J Francho]

28 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

I don't think as highly of the 5-9 smallie from Erie, or the 8-3 LMB from Lake Toho in Fla. as I do the biggest fish I have caught in my home waters........maybe because they are nothing more than "nice fish" on those bodies of water.

This point is huge.  My 7-2 came from "The City Dump," lol.  My 5-12 smallie came about 30 seconds before one of Noel's average sixers.

[Raul]

The biggest I´ve caught per species.

LMB = 13.86 lbs

[Brayberry]

8 hours ago, Raul said:

The biggest I´ve caught per species.

LMB = 13.86 lbs

Same here, my PB is from Virginia at 9 lbs even

[Catt]

12 hours ago, senile1 said:

For me personal best is just that, no matter where it occurs.  I do have an idea of the largest fish that I have caught at different bodies of water as I use that, and the general numbers of big fish at those lakes, to determine where I want to fish.  

Yelp!

[Deleted account]

I tell every bass I catch that it's my PB. Wouldn't want to damage their self esteem. I'm thinking of getting participation trophies for them all.

I only keep loose mental tabs on the LMB I catch, so to answer your question, no.

[Ski]

18 hours ago, 00 mod said:

Full Definition of best

1. superlative of good

1. 1 :  excelling all others <the best student>

2. 2 :  most productive of good :  offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction <what is the best thing to do>

3. 3 :  most, largest <it rained for the best part of their vacation>

 

There is only 1 best! 

Jeff

# 1 of 25 years.

 

[BassThumb]

I scaled a 6-12 LMB a few years back, and a few days later caught one that was significantly bigger than it, likely in the 7-and-quarter range. Didn't scale that one because I was fishing within sight of numerous other boaters and some residents who had their eyes glued to me as I dock-fished around their brand new pontoons. I didn't want to make a scene, so I tossed it back knowing it was my new PB.

Those are my two PB LMB, and they were caught on jigs; biggest was 3/8oz, black/blue, pitched to the scour-hole behind a pontoon motor on a lift, and the second biggest was from a 1/2oz football, PB/J/GP, dragged around sunken laydowns. 

I also have 6 or 7 SMB in the 6-lb-plus range from years of wading in the Mississippi River near home in my teens and early-twenties before I bought a boat and primarily switched to hunting LMB. The biggest SMB was scaled at 6-9 and was caught on a 1/8oz buzzbait. 

[Jaderose]

9.3 LMB.  Doesn't matter where I caught it.

[Wbeadlescomb]

7lb largemouth on the river 10+ in a private lake

Pb spot was 6+ never put it on a set of scales. I've caught a bunch of spots in the 5lb range and this one dwarfed them.

 

Only caught a few smallmouth but I caught one that was 4-3 at Pickwick a few years ago

[everythingthatswims]

PB Largemouth 25" ??lbs

 

PB Smallmouth 23" 4.2lbs

[mwh33]

I go by species for my PB. Doesn't matter where or when I catch them.