Big Fish

[CrustyMono]

What would you do in a tournament if yo hooked am giant striper, musky, pike, or other fish that you weren't trying to catch? Would you waste five minutes to reel in a new PB, or would you try to break off and keep targeting only bass. Just looking for opinions.

[Catt]

Land it

[primetime]

Land It and hope it is a huge Bass and My eyes were playing tricks on me.

Catching a big fish especially a personal best is awesome no matter when or where you catch it. 

I still get excited after getting frustrated when I hook a ig Bowphin which are considered junk by most people. I don't mind landing them because they fight really good & it is just part of fishing. Pickeral are a different story because they swipe topwater lures which throws you off at times. I just Tighten the drag & horse them in, you know it when you hook one how they fight. Same with other fish,

 

But a Big Striper is a big Bass in my book. Just has stripes on it. I would stay and catch more striped Bass in a tournament assuming other bass are in same area, and if they are over 10lbs, fun is fun, Striped Bass as a PB is an accomplishment you should brag about at the ramp.

[A-Jay]

Land it -  but mostly to get my bait back . . .

A-Jay

[Mike L]

Enjoy the fight, land the fish, take a picture, release quick and carry on. A 5 minute delay to catch a personal best is worth it. 

 

Mike

 

[Logan S]

I usually land the fish to get my bait back...But I will intentionally break off bigger pike every now and then when I hook them on lighter line.  I'd have to retie anyway even if I did land them so as long as it's just a soft plastic and hook/weight/jighead, I'll just let them cut the line.  

Some fish like pike, pickeral, and catfish are not allowed in my boat ...So even if I do 'land' them, they stay in the water.

[Bluebasser86]

This wasn't even close to a PB, although it was a pretty impressive fish on a Ned rig and ML spinning rod. 

 

 

[scaleface]

I've landed a huge drum , flathead  and channel cats in tourneys .

[Team9nine]

I always try and land them, for a variety of reasons. Getting my bait back (A-Jay) is a big one, but our state also issues certificates for large fish caught and released for a variety of species, so I'm always willing to try and land something for a crack at one of those  Then there is just respect for the fish...

-T9

[IndianaFinesse]

2 hours ago, Team9nine said:

I always try and land them, for a variety of reasons. Getting my bait back (A-Jay) is a big one, but our state also issues certificates for large fish caught and released for a variety of species, so I'm always willing to try and land something for a crack at one of those  Then there is just respect for the fish...

-T9

I Have never heard of the certificate awards for big fish, where do you find it and how does it work?  I looked around on the IDNR site and couldn't find it.

Edit: I looked through the 2015 fish of the year awards and saw your name in there, so that must be what you're talking about.  So never mind.

[Choporoz]

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=indiana+fishing+citation+program

I've wondered the same thing, Crusty.  I think it would be less of an issue from a boat, but I fish from a kayak most of the time and have spent 20 minutes fighting flatheads more than once this year.  If in a yak tourny, I'd probably break it off instead of fighting for 10-20 min.

[IndianaFinesse]

12 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=indiana+fishing+citation+program

I knew there was a state record fish and fish of the year programs, but I thought he meant something more along the lines of what Virginia does.  But know I see that must be what he's talking about.  Looks like I should have entered my channel catfish and common carp last year, or had a witness verify the length measurement on a channel I caught this year.