Does this make sense?

[zacksdad]

I live in Rhode Island,where our state record largemouth is 10.6 pounds. If someone here catches a 5 or 6 pounder is that the equivilent of catching a 10 or 11 pounder in Florida, Texas or California?I say it is , what are your thoughts?

[mlpauley]

i say no and its sense not sence

[zacksdad]

Thanks for the spell check. I caught it after I posted.

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

Zack, this is a great question. During Road Trip I had the opportunity to talk to Bob Lusk, an incredible biologist who specializes in helping people raise trophy bass. He explained to me northern bass as yours and mine take much longer to get 5+ lbs than our southern states, and a fish to be 6-7lbs up here would be equivelant to a 10+ lber.

No matter what, a 5-6lber anywhere is a good fish and it should be soaked in whenever you get the chance.

[mlpauley]

haha i wasnt tryin to be mean or anything. But i think a bass is a bass and it doesnt matter where you catch it. But thats just me.

[DINK WHISPERER]

It matters because not every state grows them as big or plentiful as others. Also, they are a lot more difficult to catch in certain areas meaning you have to work harder at it!

[MaineBassMan]

It makes sense to me. A 5 pounder is nice anywhere you go but up here a 5 pounder is going to be older than a 5 pounder down there. I catch a lot of 3 pound bass each season, but I only catch about a dozen or so 4 pound bass and only 3-6 5 pound bass. I think I would have a heart attack if I ever caught a 10 pounder, do we have them? yes but a whole lots less of them compared to the southern or western states. The biggest bass I've seen caught was my Dad's 6lbs 10 oz largemouth. When a bass can grow just about if not all year long you are going to have a better chance of catching that huge hog, versus fishing where they only get to grow part of the year and pretty much go dormant throughout the winter only feeding when something comes near them.

[Scorcher214]

i would say so, we northern guys don't see those 10lbers as much so where 10-11lb is our state record, a 5lb is a great catch.

[5bass]

I would say yes for the same reasons that the others have stated already. However, as you know, a 6 pounder does not weigh 10 pounds and most bass fisherman dream of a double digit bass. So you'll probably get mixed answers on this one.

[Hammer 4]

I'd say if your cacthin 5-6 lb'rs..be happy, I know I would.  If the state record is 10 lbs. I think your doin good with the weight you posted regardless if you want to treat them as 10 lb'rs or not..

[Big Mike in Fl]

I'm not sure if this is a yes, or a no, but... I think there is a misconception about bass fishing atleast in fl., I can't speak for cali, but I know here, even catching a 10lb is a huge deal, some people fish here all of their lives and don't get one, my main fishing pal has been bass fishing longer than I've been alive (25 years) but he's never landed a DD, don't get me wrong, he's one heck of a fisherman, he taught me basically everything I know, and he's caught lots of nice fish, but he's never pushed that 10+ button. basically,it isn't like all of us land atleast one a season, its still the catch of a lifetime for many of us. and a five lb fish looks real good, no matter what state, at the weigh in.

[aarogb]

    Yes it makes perfect sense.  For some reason northern bass take so long to grow it is crazy, I am glad I live in North Carolina!!!!!!!!!!!  I would still take a 5 pounder no matter if it is in Maine or Florida.

[Catt]

It would only make sense to me if you raised it to the 7 to 8 pound range

[Sam]

Not really, but I can understand your logic.

The bass do not grow as large as we move north so a 5 or 6 pound bass in New England can be equal to a 10 pound bass in Florida, Texas or California.

Nice try, but a 6 pound bass is a 6 pound bass, no matter where you are.

You can take pride that you caught one of the big ones in your geographical area, but it is not the same as hooking into a southern lunker.  

Another parallel is eating corn beef hash in Vermont and thinking it is equal to North Carolina bar-b-q or a Texas steak or a Florida redfish.

You may think it is the same, but it is a world apart.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

7-8 lbs or so is equivalent.

You fishing the hatchery down in Richmond? lol

Sam, I don't think he is speaking about the fight, it's more about,..."Did this fish have to survive as many hardships , as much as a 10 lbr in Texas would have"

A bass has X amount of "growing" days in it's life cycle. In the south, the food is more abundant during those growing days, plain and simple.

So a 7-8 lb bass in NE can easily be the same age, having had to conquer as many seasons worth of life as a 10 in Tx.

a 5 or 6,no,not yet,... a 7-8 yes

(to "age" a Bass, pull a scale from as close to the lateral line as possible. With an eyedropper, hit it with 1 drop of the solution that comes in a ******. Put that on a slide and examine under a microscope, count the rings, and thats the age)

[roadwarrior]

A pound is a unit of weight.

7 lbs in Texas, Kalifornia and Florida weighs about the same as it does in Rhode Island.

 

[senile1]

I'm not sure if this is a yes, or a no, but... I think there is a misconception about bass fishing atleast in fl., I can't speak for cali, but I know here, even catching a 10lb is a huge deal, some people fish here all of their lives and don't get one, my main fishing pal has been bass fishing longer than I've been alive (25 years) but he's never landed a DD, don't get me wrong, he's one heck of a fisherman, he taught me basically everything I know, and he's caught lots of nice fish, but he's never pushed that 10+ button. basically,it isn't like all of us land atleast one a season, its still the catch of a lifetime for many of us. and a five lb fish looks real good, no matter what state, at the weigh in.

I don't think the northern guys have a misconception. I would guess that the southern guys who have never caught a DD are proportionately equal to the northern guys who've never caught a 6 - 7 lb'er.

I think LBH hit the nail on the head. Of course, if you northern anglers want a real DD based on poundage you have very little choice but to go further south, or go to California.

[Paul Roberts]

It's comparable. IF's Master Angler recognizes regional differences where, oddly, BassMaster's Lunker Club doesn't (DD or nuttin'); simply excludes much of the bassin' world.

What's not comparable is the difference in dealing with a 6lb bass and a 12lb bass -that's a potentially very diff thing tackle-wise.

[Tucson]

A 5-6 pound bass is equivalent to a 5-6 pound bass.  

At least until we have a federal program to "level the playing field" with respect to fish.  Then we can "norm" everyone's catch to some standard weight to assure equality.

[zaraspook_dylan2]

I think its a great question and it does make sense. The bass up in the northern states and southern Canada don't get anywhere as big as the southern bass. In quantity or quality. A 5-6 pound bass is great anywhere you go, but really, any bass you catch is great, right?

[zaraspook_dylan2]

A pound is a unit of weight.

7 lbs in Texas, Kalifornia and Florida weighs about the same as it does in Rhode Island.

 

Thats not what he is saying. Hes comparing a great fish in the north to a great fish in the south. Like a 5 pound bass in the northern states or Canada, is an average fish in the south. A 10 pound fish in the south is a great fish. Do you know what I mean?