OK, I have counted to ten. . .

[Olebiker]

. . . and I'm still mad as all git out. Check out this guy: http://www.aroundthetournamenttrail.com/14pounderlaketalquin.html

He caught a 14+ pound bass, full of roe, and killed it. Grrr! I know he had the legal right to do it, but I sure have no respect for anyone who would do something like that. He could have brought it in to Ingrams, had it weighed and photographed and released it to spawn.

[bilgerat]

I'm with ya. Between guys like that and what seems to a trend of people keeping every single fish they catch (food?) our sport is getting killed.

Do the words "replica mount" mean anything?

[Olebiker]

What's even worse is that this guy is a guide!

[tallydude]

Oh my gosh, Dick. I can't believe a guide would harvest a fish like that! Guess I won't be using his services!

[JShrock07]

I support catch and release as most everyone on here does. But when push comes to shove a lot of us would say we would throw a fish like that back but in all reality most of us would keep it. I would have kept it just for the simple fact that I don't have enough money for a replica mount. I have not kept a fish but I always said that if I caught a fish over 13lbs that I would keep it to mount it.

Just my 2 cents.

[tallydude]

Under no circumstances would I harvest that fish or any others over 10 pounds. Actually, I haven't harvested a bass in 10+ years.

Why you would want to affect the future of the bass populations like that, I have no idea. Take a picture, get your measurements, and get that fish back in the water. If you want to get a replica made, that's just fine. They look better and last longer.

The fish looks a lot better being released than it ever would on my wall.

[The Next KVD]

For me a photo is all the trophy I need to show off the MONSTER fish I have caught over the years.  They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, but with a monster fish its more like 10 million!!!  Sure I have two mounts but they were when I was 7 and 10 years old when I caught them and I didn't know any better.  But if you know better than you shouldn't do it.

[SenkoShawn]

ya that screwed my day up...

[Certified Public Angler]

I support catch and release as most everyone on here does. But when push comes to shove a lot of us would say we would throw a fish like that back but in all reality most of us would keep it. I would have kept it just for the simple fact that I don't have enough money for a replica mount. I have not kept a fish but I always said that if I caught a fish over 13lbs that I would keep it to mount it.

Just my 2 cents.

I would have to disagree, the only fish I would keep (and still attempt to keep alive) is a record breaking fish bc i don't want some joker cathcing it later with a couple more ounces in its stomach.  Never really wanted a mount, but maybe that will change if I ever catch something big enough XD.  Snapping some good pictures would make a more fashionable wall decoration.

[Mattlures]

earlier this year I caught 2 fish bigger then that on the same day. I released them both. nothing can compare to the feeling of watching them swim off back where they came. I got weights and pics and thats all I need. I can always do replicas later if I choose. Now I know where 2 monsters live. They are still there and the bigger one was a young fish. I hope to catch them both again and I will release them again only this time they might  be pushing 18-19lbs. a year or 2 after that and I might not release them. As long as either one is over 22.4 if I get one that weighs 22.3 its going back and I wont even need to think about it. Whats there to think about? If its not "the fish" then I am going to give it a chance to be "the fish"

[fishizzle]

9, 10 , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.....its not working..........SNAP!!

[LooksLikeSinbad]

...the bigger one was a young fish

Matt, how could you tell? I'm just curious.

And for the record: Catch it, Photograph it, weight it, let it go. It's not that complicated!

[Mattlures]

it was clean with perfect fins and bright markings. the eyes were only a little bugged out. I am sure it was 10 years old or so but it still has some years left. most big fish out here look OLD. Ratty fins, scars, huge bugged out eyes, almost no body markings just black. Not all but most. It just looked young to me,  Without a scale sample I am realy just geussing  

[fishfordollars]

I must be missing something. Nowhere did I see any mention that the fish was killed. You can see the lake behind him in the picture. Do any of you locals have information that it was killed?

[mattm]

I think Matt said it best in his first post.  

One question though.  How do you know he killed it?  I missed that part.

[cart7t]

Talquin has bass up to 14lbs! Outstanding. I've heard that Deer Pointe in Panama City has some big uns close to that size. Nice to see what you've got to shoot for down there. BTW, I also don't see where the fish was killed.

[Olebiker]

I must be missing something. Nowhere did I see any mention that the fish was killed. You can see the lake behind him in the picture. Do any of you locals have information that it was killed?

One of my friends was putting his boat in when this guy came out of the marina with a box full of dead bass, including this one.

[Catt]

The fish does not look dead to me  

[bedman]

I don't fully understand all the circumstances concerning this situation, but I would like to relay some information I learned earlier this year at a bass club meeting.

We had a very reputable fisheries biologist speak and he went into detail about delayed mortality.  If you catch a fish 5 lbs. and larger, it is best to immediately release it.  If you keep the fish in the livewell all day and take it to a weigh-in, you might as well keep it.  The research and statistics indicate that while the fish may swim away, it will most likely die in the next day or two.  I think we all forget about delayed mortality while handling big bass.

[BARON49_Northern NY]

Someone mentioned they would keep a fish that size as they could not afford a replica mount.  I was under the impresssion replica mounts were less expensive?

[Btech]

Wouldn't a wall mount be a better trophy ! I can understand keeping a few fish (Average size) but not a lunker like this ....

He just wanted to make sure no one else gets credit!

[jig]

I cant see getting upset about someone keeping a fish of a lifetime.Personally I wouldnt do it {and ive caught my share}but Im not going to tell someone else that they cant.Its all in an individuals beliefs on this matter,as long as they are not doing it all the time.

[VekolBass]

Olebiker mentioned that the guy had a box of dead bass--so this is obviously a practice of this individual, not a rare occasion of catching the bass of a lifetime for a mount. I disagree with catch and grease fishing for bass, and never keep any bass that I catch.

However, if I caught a double digit bass I would seriously consider keeping it for a mount. Such a fish has aready passed on her genetics over a number of spawn cycles, and probably doesn't have long to live anyhow. Bedman's post is another consideration--although if you immediately release the fish after a quick scale session and a photo the chances of post release mortality are probably greatly reduced.

[tallydude]

I was at Sportman's Warehouse today in Tally and the guy had put the picture on the bragging board in front of the store along with some business cards. I wanted to take a business card, or take the picture and his cards down, or write "dead fish" beside the pic, but sanity finally came over me. I'm not gonna mess with the guy's income. But I'm not gonna recommend him either.

[Mattlures]

Bedman you biologist is wrong! he was most likely trying to pusuade guys from keeping fish in thier wells for a long time. How do I know he is wrong? Well many years ago I used to get paid to stock and manage private ponds. I would catch fish from local lakes and have them in my well sometimes all day. Then I would bring them home and keep them in a kiddy pool with aireator. When I would collect enough fish(sometimes a couple weeks) I would put them in coolers and drive them to the the ponds to stock. None of them died. many of these fish were caught durring hot summer months to. Now I wouldnt do this now as it is illegal to transport live fish, but I learned a ton about pond management and bassbehavior. This was about 15 years ago.

ONE HUGE POINT about C&R out here in CA the biggest reason we have huge fish is they are released to get bigger. That is one major reason you dont see many high teen fish in TX. they keep them all for the SAL.

FL is/was soo bad about keeping big bass that they basicaly ruined their chances for WR bass. Huge bass cant get huge when they are kept at 14lbs. who knows that fish might have made it to 20.

Replicas are superior in every possible way. keep the 2lbers let the big ones go!!!