Would you reveal untouched honey hole for a state record?

[RyanDR]

I have never really kept a record or paid too much attention to be PB’s before. Just rough lengths on my rod as I put a few thread marker spots so I can quickly measure an estimate of the fish on my rod.

 

Anyway I believe I found a pond that I have a good chance of beating the possibly the yellow perch and a better chance of the sunfish record. Sunfish is 12” and yellow perch is 16.50”. I also have a feeling some huge pickerel in there as well. I caught around a 25” pickerel last year. I’ve caught plenty of sunfish at least over 10” and bigger before. I have caught the sunfish with big bass lures before. 

 

But the problem is this pond is almost completely untouched. Only access is either a .5 mile portage with canoe/kayak or one of the 3 houses that have paths to it. No shore access as it’s too swampy. I have had my best days here, caught 50+ bass in only an hour or two. One of the places were you can throw almost anything and at least catch a few. I only found this place because I found it in an old fishing book. I only fish it a few times as year as its far away. It would be a shame if more people caught on to this place. 

 

Who would reveal your honeyhole for a state record? 

[A-Jay]

Who would reveal your honey hole for a state record? 

Yes ~ Just not accurately.

?

A-Jay

#lakemenderchuckrules

[RyanDR]

12 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Who would reveal your honey hole for a state record? 

Yes ~ Just not accurately.

?

A-Jay

#lakemenderchuckrules

I wonder how much they question and look into where you caught the fish. 

[A-Jay]

19 minutes ago, RyanDR said:

I wonder how much they question and look into where you caught the fish. 

You submit a form.

Then you need to supply a blood & stool sample as well take several polygraphs. 

(kidding) 

Just the form, some pictures and the fish usually needs to be Identified by a state biologist - at least here in MI that's the deal. 

If the fish is a 'weight' record it must be weighed on a certified scale and witnessed.

A-Jay

 

[Bluebasser86]

Sure! I've got this awesome pond, loaded with big ones, but there's a fence you have to climb over. Water kind of smells bad too. They also post these signs to try to keep you out but this is how you know the big ones live there!

[N Florida Mike]

If I had to reveal the location to get a state record I would. I noticed that some bass state records were caught in “ private ponds “ that don’t reveal the exact location.

I have actually caught a state record sized golden shiner in my home lake when I was 15, and didn’t certify it. Not that it would have  attracted a big crowd if it would have gone public  , lol. 

[Bluebasser86]

18 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

If I had to reveal the location to get a state record I would. I noticed that some bass state records were caught in “ private ponds “ that don’t reveal the exact location.

I have actually caught a state record sized golden shiner in my home lake when I was 15, and didn’t certify it. Not that it would have  attracted a big crowd if it would have gone public  , lol. 

I caught a world record brown bullhead when I was a teenager but just thought it was a funny shaped flathead and turned it loose. It was an ounce shy of 8 pounds, didn't even take a picture of it because that's a baby for a flathead. Wouldn't have been that big of deal since it was just a bullhead but it still would have been kind of cool. 

[N Florida Mike]

@Bluebasser86 I think a world record brown bullhead would actually be pretty cool. How did you realize it was a bullhead not a flathead? Did you ever go back there and fish for it again ?

[Scott F]

A few years ago, a gentleman caught a smallmouth that would have been the Wisconsin state record. He took it to the DNR to have it verified with the intention of releasing back into the lake where it was caught The bass did not survive. He absolutely did not want his name, when he caught it, or where he caught it, to be made public, so the current record still stands. He had zero interest in being listed as a record holder. He has a pattern where he catches a lot of big smallmouth that come out of Lake Michigan and wanted to keep it to himself. A friend of mine, who is in the freshwater hall of fame, chased down the story, the fisherman, and the DNR office where the fish was taken. He got the story on the condition that the details of the 10lb fish would not be released. This sounds like some sort of urban legend. If it wasn’t for me knowing the man who chased down the story, I probably wouldn’t believe it myself. 

[gim]

Minnesota has recently added a catch n release category for some of our larger fish like lake sturgeon, muskie, flathead catfish, and northern pike. Traditionally, you would have to kill the fish to receive consideration for a state record because as A Jay indicated, requiring a certified weight with multiple witnesses is mandatory. Eventually there could be a catch n release category for every fish here.

[Bankbeater]

I would say no due to the fishing pressure around here.  By the end of the fishing season that honey hole would be a mud hole.

[SeaCrow]

On 7/18/2019 at 7:43 PM, A-Jay said:

Who would reveal your honey hole for a state record? 

Yes ~ Just not accurately.

?

A-Jay

#lakemenderchuckrules

Exactly...

[Bdnoble84]

Depends on the body of water. My home stream absolutely not. The bigger river i fish, most definitely. Realistically, the small river dumps into the bigger river down stream so If it comes out of the smaller stream ill just say it was produced in the bigger river and then wisper watershed ??

[Further North]

Not a chance.

 

I've never been,  and never will be, a trophy chaser, and the last thing I want is the attention that'd come with a record.

 

Odds are excellent that no one but me, and whoever I was fishing with, would even know about such a fish.

 

...and hotspotting the water I caught it in?  No way, no exceptions. 

[Southernbasser]

Heck no! I’d rather fish a honey hole alone, than have the recognition of the owning the state record. 

[KSanford33]

I'll be contrarian here. Absolutely. There's so many fisheries around here that to give up one in order to hold the record -however brief- would be worth it. 

 

For those of you who have more experience in this than I do, so all of you, what sort of negative attention comes from catching a record? The NY record smallmouth came out of Cayuga Lake this year, where I fished my first kayak tournament.

[Jar11591]

There is a 0% chance I would ever do that. What good does my name in a record book gain me, besides a honey hole that will now be inundated to the point of being unfishable? I would gladly show off a record catch to y’all here on BassResource without naming the water, but I struggle to see what positivity would come from me giving up my record producing honey hole. 

[DitchPanda]

No chance in hell. There is not an abundance of good water around me so the only people that would know about a record fish I caught is my closest fishing buddies. And the picture would come with a simple tagline: keep your yap shut or no more tips and reports. One thing we do have around here is an abundance of spot leeches...guys that will find your spot and suck it dry after you figure out the area and presentation. Guys that don't know the saying you can't catch another mans fish.

[CM-fisher]

1 hour ago, Southernbasser said:

Heck no! I’d rather fish a honey hole alone, than have the recognition of the owning the state record. 

^^^

 

A state record just wouldn't mean that much to me

[Further North]

1 hour ago, KSanford33 said:

For those of you who have more experience in this than I do, so all of you, what sort of negative attention comes from catching a record?

For you, or for the water?

 

For the water: Overfishing,  overuse.

 

For you: Attention,  people bugging you, reduced privacy...

36 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

No chance in hell. There is not an abundance of good water around me so the only people that would know about a record fish I caught is my closest fishing buddies. And the picture would come with a simple tagline: keep your yap shut or no more tips and reports. One thing we do have around here is an abundance of spot leeches...guys that will find your spot and suck it dry after you figure out the area and presentation. Guys that don't know the saying you can't catch another mans fish.

We have an insane amount of water around here, and I still wouldn't do it.

 

I can't think of single reason why I'd want to...

[Dwight Hottle]

I would not have a problem revealing I caught a state record out of Lake Erie. 

[Tennessee Boy]

I don’t think you will become an international celebrity by catching the state length record yellow perch.  I think it would be cool to hold a record and I don’t fish any secret holes.  I’ve caught several lake record yellow bass because no one has claimed the record.  ? I will claim it if I ever catch one that’s not laughably small.   

[AlabamaSpothunter]

In Alabama the next state record LGM will come from a managed private lake.    While my home private lake has a rich history of 10lb+ fish, I doubt the SR is swimming in it.   However, if I did catch it, I'd be okay with revealing the story as long as the fish lived.    The only reason I'm okay is because again it's a private, actively managed lake that couldn't be pressured like a public one.    

 

The CA lakes are a lesson we should all learn from, WRB and a few others made it quite clear that the WR bounty along with a few other factors were why the WR is likely not swimming in those lakes anymore.  

[KSanford33]

1 hour ago, Further North said:

For you, or for the water?

 

For the water: Overfishing,  overuse.

 

For you: Attention,  people bugging you, reduced privacy...

We have an insane amount of water around here, and I still wouldn't do it.

 

I can't think of single reason why I'd want to...

I could definitely see the issue with additional pressure on a body of water, so that I understand. 
 

But I’m as incognito as they come, so I can’t imagine privacy becoming an issue. I just don’t think there would be an easy way to contact me. 

[Woody B]

I think it would be cool to catch a state record.   I'm not doing anything to pursue it beyond normal fishing but I'd like to catch a new NC state record spotted bass.  I caught one last December that was 4 pounds 4 ounces.  I didn't think anything about it....or even think it was big.  I thought spots were smallmouth sized.  (I suppose they are in some areas)  the NC state record is ~6 1/2 pounds.   I don't think any fame or money would come from a state record spot but it would be cool.