what would you do

[Catt]

Of the double digits I've caught on Toledo Bend not a single one was turned in to the ShareLunker Program or Toledo Bend Lunker Program. Matter of fact I've turned none of the 35 in.

 

Why

 

Almost all were caught in a Jon boat with no livewell.

[gim]

5 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

I’m turning the fat girl loose and immediately having an asthma attack. 

 

[Koz]

I live in Georgia now. I don’t think a have to worry about breaking Perry’s record *
 

* There are a lot of people that don’t believe this record to be true.

[Crow Horse]

Back into the water it goes. I'm fishing for my pleasure and not fame & fortune. As long as I get it on video, I'm happy. I would feel horrible killing such a magnificent specimen just for temporary notoriety.

[OmegaDPW]

19 hours ago, Koz said:

I live in Georgia now. I don’t think a have to worry about breaking Perry’s record *
 

* There are a lot of people that don’t believe this record to be true.

 

 Have you ever been to the spot at Lake Montgomery? I went a couple of years ago. I cast a few times with nothing, but it looks like a great crappie fishing hole. From what I saw, "Lake" is a stretch, but from the bank it was hard to tell. It's also WAY off the main road down dirt roads that probably weren't there in the 30's. I don't doubt it was caught there back then. Probably hard to access and not pressured. Think a farm pond 5 miles in the woods.  

[Bankbeater]

I would take a few dozen pictures of the bass, the scale, the tape measure, and then release the bass back into the water.  If word ever got out that a new state record was caught, the lake and the grounds around it would be destroyed.

About 20 years ago someone caught a 12 lb largemouth at one of the conservation areas I fish.  This is around 1-3/4 pounds from the state record.  The person that caught it had it weighed at a certified scale at the conservation site, and of course they took pics of it. 

They put a pic up at the concession stand and then took the pic down about a week later because of the ruckus it was causing. 

[GreenPig]

I'm in Ga., so if both of my scales read that I've caught a LM that exceeds the State record, the world will hear about it.

[Swamp Girl]

I'd let her go. Fame, shmame. Heck, I've already been put to the test. I think I caught the Maine state record chain pickerel and I released her. She was freaky fat. 

[txchaser]

Texas is really good with the sharelunker program. Assuming it was on public waters I'd call them so they can breed her. We are starting to see daughter and grand-daughter sharelunkers (13+) caught here, so it's legit. 

 

In a state where they'd kill the fish? Pics, measurements, and video of her swimming away. 

[DinkDonkey30]

So unless the rules have changed at least in Indiana and Michigan you can send in records without naming the body of water. It’s also not required to show the fish in person. I submitted a dogfish with pictures on a certified scale and with length measurements being taken.The fish was released back into the water.Unfortunately I was just slightly off the record. Bow fishing is the same, lots of people send in records with video and or pictures. 

[gim]

2 minutes ago, DinkDonkey30 said:

So unless the rules have changed at least in Indiana and Michigan you can send in records without naming the body of water. It’s also not required to show the fish in person.

 

I just looked up the entry form for Michigan and it clearly states a biologist must be present to verify the species.  Who knows how long it would take for a state biologist to physically be present while you try to keep a fish alive. 

 

Also, the entry form states body of water and nearest township.  Leaving it blank disqualifies the catch, and entering something not accurate with a signature on a government form is illegal too.

 

Not sure about Indiana.

[MN Fisher]

I'd probably take a pic for myself then let it go. If I went 'public' with it, there'd be no end of people bugging me with - 'What was the weather like?', 'How deep was it?', 'What lure and presentation did you use?' - everyone trying for as much information as they could get to try and beat it.

 

Na - I'd know I'd caught it and that's good enough for me.

[Dwight Hottle]

A little bit of advice to you that want to potentially register the catch but want to release it alive. 

1. Weigh it on land not on the water.

2. Take numerous pictures/video on the scale showing both the scale readout & the fish hanging from the scale.

3. Measure  both the length to the tail fork & pinched tail & girth with pics or video.

4. The possibility of having your scale certified after the fact can be done by IGFA or state agency. 

5. Take pics/video of the release. 

6. Take a scale sample with pics/video.   

 

[DinkDonkey30]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

I just looked up the entry form for Michigan and it clearly states a biologist must be present to verify the species.  Who knows how long it would take for a state biologist to physically be present while you try to keep a fish alive. 

 

Also, the entry form states body of water and nearest township.  Leaving it blank disqualifies the catch, and entering something not accurate with a signature on a government form is illegal too.

 

Not sure about Indiana.

I called DNR at the time of the catch and got instructions on who to contact. Did what they said and submitted the information. The fish was caught in Cass county MI. The only thing they said was I missed the record by a couple oz. They had no issues with me submitting it via pictures. This was Father’s Day weekend 4 years ago though so like I said it may have changed as well.

[TOXIC]

I don’t need wide spread attention.  I have set some pretty lofty personal goals by species that, if met, would result in a replica on my wall.  
 

Here is my wall 😂🤣

[Bazoo]

I would do my best to keep the fish alive. 

 

Possible I'd best the state record with is 14-9.5  I fish waters much like this, smaller, public, pressured, unsuspecting.

 

In Ky, it must be weighed on a certified scale, and examined by a biologist. I would first stringer the critter, then I would get on the phone to the biologist. If one couldn't be there shortly, which I doubt, the next plan is to use a portable livewell to bring it home and into the 55 gallon water barrel, then put the aerator in there.

 

I don't have a portable livewell, but I'm thinking on making one for the occasion. I'm handy, So I'd have a tote set up in an hour provided a local store had an aerator. Otherwise, I'd remove the one from my boat and make that work.

 

I wouldn't have to but mention it to put the boy to digging worms to feed the critter. He'd be half a pound more by the time the biologist got there probably. I wonder if that would effect the record?

 

Would I kill it if need be, yes, but very reluctantly. I would also consider the body of water... first, I fish mostly public, and nothing that's to myself. If it was Freeman Lake, with the hundreds of people every weekend... no worries. If it was a hard access public lake that sees little pressure, not sure, it'd sure ruin it for me, but probably.

 

Best thing would be putting the pictures up on the latest pic thread though.

[Catt]

On 7/8/2024 at 10:27 PM, txchaser said:

We are starting to see daughter and grand-daughter sharelunkers (13+) caught here, so it's legit. 

 

ShareLunker has recorded 4 generations; daughter. mother, grandmother, & great grandmother.

 

All from the same male!

[Bazoo]

11 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

ShareLunker has recorded 4 generations; daughter. mother, grandmother, & great grandmother.

 

All from the same male!

You ever see the movie mountain men? Pretty soon they’ll be fighting to get in the boat “pick me Catt pick me!”

[Bankc]

I'd turn it in.  Then I'd milk it for every dime I could.  You'd see my ugly face on all of the useless baits in the clearance section of Bass Pro! 

[slonezp]

On 7/3/2024 at 11:44 AM, A-Jay said:

First off, the chances of this happening to me are wicked remote.

Doesn't mean I'm not ready for it or haven't given it a bunch of thought.

Being honest, my thoughts on what I would do have waivered and changed a couple of times

the past few years and there's a couple of reasons for that.

Pre-spawn is a great time for big fish catches for me but local regs demand C & R,

so there's no way I could actually or legally consider 'registering' such a bass

(and it would be a brown bass) with the State of Michigan.

Which I'm fine with.

Late summer is usually my next best chance at plus size fish and that's a whole different ball game.

I can keep such a fish then.

At this point, I feel like hiding in plain site is my best course of action.

So I think I'd just move to a different part of the lake,

take a few killer photos/videos of her,

and then post it up here with the thread title

"Guess the weight".

In the past 8 years I've landed 2 over 7 lbs, the state record is almost 10 lbs.

So like I said above - Remote.

A-Jay

 

Hard to register a fish on a lake that is so secluded, even the DNR can't locate it.

 

The 10 pounders...caught on one of the Great Lakes or inland? Introduce some gobies into Menderchuck and you too could be catching DD brownies.

[slonezp]

As far as "What would I do"

Certify it and have it mounted.  It's a fish. 

Would you play catch and release with a 25yo hottie with loose morals that you met at a bar? A trophy is a trophy.  Mount it. 

[Buzzbaiter]

I will never catch a record of any sort. However, if I did so here in MD, it probably wouldn’t come out of a place people don’t already know of. Liberty Reservoir probably won’t produce a smallmouth close to the beating the record again, so that leaves the Potomac and the Susquehanna. Neither of these are secrets, so I wouldn’t be bothered about attracting a crowd.

 

With regard to killing the fish, I’d try to keep it alive. If someone with the DNR didn’t come down to certify the catch in a timely manner, I’d probably just let her go and keep the pictures and measurements. I wouldn’t judge anyone who decides to kill a record fish, because it’s an understandable impulse. That being said, I wouldn’t kill any of the upland bass that are struggling with hybridization, as I think those fish are more valuable alive than on a wall or in a record book.

 

If I caught a trophy in an area where bass are invasive, I would definitely get a skin mount. 

 

 

15 minutes ago, slonezp said:

As far as "What would I do"

Certify it and have it mounted.  It's a fish. 

Would you play catch and release with a 25yo hottie with loose morals that you met at a bar? A trophy is a trophy.  Mount it. 

Depends how loose the morals are

[slonezp]

2 minutes ago, Buzzbaiter said:

Depends how loose the morals are

So attractiveness doesn't matter?

[Buzzbaiter]

13 minutes ago, slonezp said:

So attractiveness doesn't matter?

Not as much as personality 🙂

 

…and I’m too young to be paying alimony 

[slonezp]

7 minutes ago, Buzzbaiter said:

Not as much as personality 🙂

 

…and I’m too young to be paying alimony 

Enjoy it while you're young. Grandpa bod and balding doesn't fare well with the ladies.