Another Big TN Smallmouth 8 Pound 10 ounce Beast caught 3-9-09

[rickyterry]

This one came from the same lake as the other one that I posted a couple of weeks back.

[KevO]

WOW thats a big brown fish.  What lake did it come from?  I hope he threw it back.  Some guy at Dale Hollow caught a 9# smallie and ate it.  What a waste.

[rickyterry]

It came from South Holston Lake. I got the pic from easttennesseefisherman.com along with the other pic I posted. He kept it and is going to have it mounted.

[Grey Wolf]

It came from South Holston Lake. I got the pic from easttennesseefisherman.com along with the other pic I posted. He kept it and is going to have it mounted.

What a shame to destroy something that big and beautiful.

[Tuckman]

It came from South Holston Lake. I got the pic from easttennesseefisherman.com along with the other pic I posted. He kept it and is going to have it mounted.

Sorry, but thats just a d*mn shame...One smallie like that swimming around in a lake is worth 50 of them on the wall. With the quality and accuracy of fish replicas out there these days there is no reason to ever, ever, kill a trophy of that caliber.

JMO

[rickyterry]

Here is another pic. Yeah that fish could have made some more big smallmouth.

[bigmountaineer]

Wow first of all a beautiful fish, second what a dang on waste. You can get one replicated for less, and it will last a life time, but seriously a d**n picture will last forever as well.

What a waste.

Nice fish.

[justfishin]

Man, what a great fish. Nice pics. Thanks

[SkeeterZX225]

That fish has already passed on its "Big Fish" genes for quite a few spawns. IMO its completely up to the angler if he/she wants to keep a fish to have it mounted. Taking one large fish out of that 9k acre lake isn't going to hurt anything.

[bassmaster3000]

That is a state record here, belive it or not! State record here is 8 pound 6 ounces...   ;D

[pitchinallday]

Yeah that is a big lake. No harm done. Also a big smallmouth replica mounts cost quite a bit!

Amazing fish!

[Fish Chris]

That is one awesome Smallie ! In fact, he beat me by two ounces darnit ! :-) It's cool, I'm the least competitive guy you will ever meet anyway.

I'd only be bummed if he caught / killed that fish from "my trophy Smallie lake". But if he wants to kill fish like that from "his own trophy Smallie lake" who am I to say anything ? Hey, if a guy wants to punch himself in the nose, he can just be my guest.... But wait, let me grab my camera, that will be a hit on Youtube !  :-)

Anyway, I say this all the time, but the whole thing about "a fish being past its spawning prime.... and passing on its genes... making more giant fish... yada, yada.....

None of this has anywhere near the importance of > that one trophy fish which has already beat incredible odds to get as big as it has <

And BTW, just looking at the prime condition of that fish, if ever their was a Smallie capable of breaking the all tackle world record, it would be that one..... or one just like it.

That guy only hurt "his own" (and his peeps) chances of catching a World record Smallie in the future. Not mine. In fact, he might have made it just a tiny bit easier for me :-) Thanks dude !

Peace,

Fish

[Paul Roberts]

Huskybass has a gorgeous replica mount.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1235930514/all

If they can be done that well, there are no "good" excuses anymore.

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

That is one awesome Smallie ! In fact, he beat me by two ounces darnit ! :-) It's cool, I'm the least competitive guy you will ever meet anyway.

I'd only be bummed if he caught / killed that fish from "my trophy Smallie lake". But if he wants to kill fish like that from "his own trophy Smallie lake" who am I to say anything ? Hey, if a guy wants to punch himself in the nose, he can just be my guest.... But wait, let me grab my camera, that will be a hit on Youtube ! :-)

Anyway, I say this all the time, but the whole thing about "a fish being past its spawning prime.... and passing on its genes... making more giant fish... yada, yada.....

None of this has anywhere near the importance of > that one trophy fish which has already beat incredible odds to get as big as it has <

And BTW, just looking at the prime condition of that fish, if ever their was a Smallie capable of breaking the all tackle world record, it would be that one..... or one just like it.

That guy only hurt "his own" (and his peeps) chances of catching a World record Smallie in the future. Not mine. In fact, he might have made it just a tiny bit easier for me :-) Thanks dude !

Peace,

Fish

I agree with everything. He only kicked himself in the nuts. It really dissapoints me hearing about big fish like this being kept when a replica could be done. He lost his chances on  a real record and the enjoyment of possibly catching it again or someone else.

Bummer

[rickyterry]

Just incase anybody was wondering, it was caught on the FNF. From what I heard, when TWRA does there shocking study, it's nothing for them to bring up 8 pound smallmouth. The lake it was caught out of is ranked #2 in the state. The next world record smallmouth is coming from tennessee. It would be very hard to put a fish like that back in the water.

[Crestliner2008]

Totally awesome smallmouth!  

[Guest Grandfather]

Huskybass has a gorgeous replica mount.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1235930514/all

If they can be done that well, there are no "good" excuses anymore.

  I was with Mike when he caught that fish and it great to be there to see him release it. There is NO excuse to keep a fish with the mounts that can now be done. The kid is young and just not thinking of his or anyone elses future. That's sad, real sad.......Tom

[roadwarrior]

Beautiful fish...Too bad he kept her.

This is the only fish I would keep for a skin trophy:

😢

[Tuckman]

Just incase anybody was wondering, it was caught on the FNF. From what I heard, when TWRA does there shocking study, it's nothing for them to bring up 8 pound smallmouth. The lake it was caught out of is ranked #2 in the state. The next world record smallmouth is coming from tennessee. It would be very hard to put a fish like that back in the water.

For one the next smallmouth world record is coming from Erie, and I suppose Ill have to be the one to go catch it if no one else steps up to the task!!! ;)

For two, the world record chasers in California seem to have no problem releasing world class green bass. They have even released potential world records for fear of harming the fish.

[Tin]

They release plenty of big smallies as well.... :  (Fish Chris)

[Fish Chris]

Hey Tin, I'm sure they do.... and each one they release "helps" their future chances of landing a world class fish. While each giant they kill "reduces" their chances. The C/R of big fish has always seemed like such an "obvious" thing to me.

Then when I read, or hear somebody say > It would be very hard to put a fish like that back in the water. <

..........I have to think to myself, "Then obviously we are on a very different page". Because personally speaking, it would be VERY hard for me to 'kill' a fish like that. And it's directly because, I want to catch that exact fish again, when it has grown to be even bigger. And if you don't think I will, I'll show you a picture, when I make it happen ;-)

Peace,

Fish

[rickyterry]

Just incase anybody was wondering, it was caught on the FNF. From what I heard, when TWRA does there shocking study, it's nothing for them to bring up 8 pound smallmouth. The lake it was caught out of is ranked #2 in the state. The next world record smallmouth is coming from tennessee. It would be very hard to put a fish like that back in the water.

For one the next smallmouth world record is coming from Erie, and I suppose Ill have to be the one to go catch it if no one else steps up to the task!!! ;)

For two, the world record chasers in California seem to have no problem releasing world class green bass. They have even released potential world records for fear of harming the fish.

Why would you think the next record is coming from Erie?? Look up the 25 biggest smallmouth and TENNESSEE has 14 of them. No they didn't all come from Dale Hollow either, they come from 4 different lakes in TENNESSEE. Oh yeah lake ERIE only had 1 on that list . Thats why they call TENNESSEE the smallmouth state. If I can find the Article, I'll post where they shocked up a 13 pound smallmouth out of Centill Hill lake.

[Paul Roberts]

And it's directly because, I want to catch that exact fish again,

Eventually you become intimate with waters enough that you begin to recognize individual fish. Then you realize that that world is far smaller than you at first might have assumed.

My largest bass was also my friends largest bass -caught a year apart on almost the same lure on the same structure at the same time of year. He thanked me for releasing it the previous year.

I caught a "big one" a few springs ago and a group of kids crowded around to ogle. When they saw me putting her back they said, "You're not gonna keep it?!" I said, "Absolutely not. You know, she's probably as old as you guys are. Fish like this is what makes this pond such a great pond. And you know what? ... She's still in here. I sure hope when you learn how to catch her, you'll do us all a favor and put her back too."

I've actually caught her several times for a couple years -then, I think, she disappeared. I've caught her on a jig, but she had a mean streak for a Mepps #3:

[Tuckman]

Just incase anybody was wondering, it was caught on the FNF. From what I heard, when TWRA does there shocking study, it's nothing for them to bring up 8 pound smallmouth. The lake it was caught out of is ranked #2 in the state. The next world record smallmouth is coming from tennessee. It would be very hard to put a fish like that back in the water.

For one the next smallmouth world record is coming from Erie, and I suppose Ill have to be the one to go catch it if no one else steps up to the task!!! ;)

For two, the world record chasers in California seem to have no problem releasing world class green bass. They have even released potential world records for fear of harming the fish.

Why would you think the next record is coming from Erie??   Look up the 25 biggest smallmouth and TENNESSEE has 14 of them. No they didn't all come from Dale Hollow either, they come from 4 different lakes in TENNESSEE. Oh yeah lake ERIE only had 1 on that list  . Thats why they call TENNESSEE the smallmouth state. If I can find the Article, I'll post where they shocked up a 13 pound smallmouth out of Centill Hill lake.

I completely agree that Tennessee has been at the forefront of the smallie record hunt for the last 50 years, but we are just starting to see the potential of Lake Erie. Less then 20 years ago Erie was so polluted that is was just about considered a lost cause in the sportfishing industry, but due to a tremendous clampdown on environmental regulations and a vast cleanup effort Erie has rebounded into a worldclass fishery.

If you consider the average growth rates of the smallmouth bass, a normal 5lb smallie may be 15 years old. With the help of the fairly recent gobie infestation the smallies in Erie can easily reach 5+lbs in under 10 years....It is Nothing to launch out of Buffalo and catch 50 fish draggin tubes, with 20 of them in the 4-6lb class. We have seen the lunker smallie potential of Tennesee. The next 10 years is when Erie will be defined.

That being said rickyterry, I will gladly trade you a trip to Erie for a trip to Center Hill. Its to cold up here in NY now anyway ;D

This argument definitely deserves its own thread 8-)

[River Rat316]

Wow who ever said that it would be "hard" to release a fish like that lives in a different world than me, I couldn't kill that fish... but thats just me... nice fish anyway