Possible World record largemouth

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Here we go again with this stuff! (I'd use another word but, it would be deleted)......

Just like my buddy, Paul Duclos a few years ago. Nothing against Paul and he's a freind but, IF it was a world record...he wouldn't have released it!:angry:

That's IT! Bottom line and that's all I'm gonna say.....
 
Agree with Tee on this one. :wacko: Glad to see it was released but that kind of money on the line & you keep it at least to weigh on a cert. scale. Don't care who you are easy money is easy money:)
 
Here's the other part that I really have some 'ethical' questions on.



You stock largemouth bass in lakes that for all practical purposes a giant aquarium. Mostly down here, we'd call them big ponds. You then dump literally tons of Rainbow trout in the aquarium so that the LM Bass that live there can gorge themselves. Then they call it the 'greatest LM fishery' in the World. :(



Hogwash. For my perspective, let em' fish a real lake - not an aquarium.



Tex
 
I don't know this guy nor does it matter a whole to me but i do know that there are some of us out there that do not care about money. I've had it and I've been without it and can't say I have been any happier one way or the other. I like having toys and money to play with but if I don't it does not matter as long as I can feed my family and myself. This guy may or may no feel the same way.

I also agree with Tex, let them fish a lake no a stocked and fed hachery to qualify for a record.
 
That's a big fish. I would like to see the video or pictures. I'm not going to take anything away from that catch, but if it was a world record size, the mishook puts an asterisk on the whole deal. I'm sure he doesn't want the world record fish with any doubt in people's minds. He is a good fisherman either way. I applaud his effort. I would kill for a 10# bass, let alone a basketball sized one.
 
I have a picture of Jed Dickerson's fish from 2003 and that fish looks identical. Not just the black dot under the right gill plate but the color pattern, length, girth, etc. The picture could have been taken back in 2003 and they are trying to convince everyone the fish has been caught a third time. Strange things happen out there. Weights in the stomach, frozen fish, stories of catch/photo/release, night fishing which is illegal on Dixon.



The inherent problem with lakes like Dixon is they don
 
I don't know if you guys have read the write up on BassFan.com, but it seems like to me that they realized that it wouldn't be the record because it was foul hooked so they decided to release it without taking all the measaurements so the could try to catch it again. Some believe this is the same fish that Mike Long then Jed Dickerson caught. Now Jed's posse buddy catches it. I think they have a pretty good idea where it lives!



If you've read Sowbelly you'll know that Mac and Mike Winn fish something like 200 days a year ... maybe most or all of that at Lake Dixon. It's a great read!



 
Wow Tex, pretty harsh on california, truth is, there will probably be lots

of 20+ pounders caught out here in the near future, with people throwing

big trout swim baits, the DFG plants trout for people to catch, and the Bass

are the unintended beneficiaries, and as such, the big bass fishermen are

in hog heaven as well. It should be noted, that the BASS 3 day record is

83.5 pounds, byron velvick, on clear lake in calif. (not a planted lake) bass

just get big out here.



:D
 
I thought the three day record was broken on Amistad at a Federation tournament the week before the Elite Series - 85 and some change
 
That amistad weight is probably correct, i think my point is, that the bass just get really big out

here, trout fed or not. also in feb. there was an 18+ caught in the sacto delta. which could

never be called an aquarium, or a pond.
 
"Dickerson explained that it was raining and dark early Monday when the anglers came across the bedding bass in 12 feet of water..."



It's dark by his own words...spotted two on the bed......in 12 feet of water......hooked it in the side......that alone raises questions in my mind, but it's still a heck of a hawg.
 
The Day 3 weight at Amistad was heavier than Velvick's 3 day BASS tournament record. However the Amistad event was a 4 day event, as such Velvick's record stands. It was Rojas' 4 day BASS tournament record of ~108lbs that was in jeopardy at Amistad. Ish came up about 4lbs short.



To put the fishing on Amistad in prospective, Saturday I fished in a BassChamps team tournament on Amistad. We weighed 23+ pounds and finished in 17th Place. It tool ~31 pounds to win in a field of around 200 boats. 40 something teams topped the 20lb mark. Now that is an incredible fishery. Must be the Tilapia TP&W stocks every other year! (They stock them for the Mexican gill netters, the bass are just the
 
i watched some of the espn coverage at amistad, that place is off the hook. looks like those

guys were having a blast. :blink:
 
From the article:



But a tiny unknown, a 70-acre lake off the I-5 Freeway just north of Escondido, has been suddenly hurled from obscurity to the top of the world-record-watch list. How? By kicking out three of the biggest 25 bass ever landed by sport anglers, and all within the last three years.



To me, 70 acres is a big pond.



Tex
 
So I guess Dixon is smaller than I thought. Neither the size of the lake nor the stocking of forage fish do anything in my mind to diminish the quality of fish coming out of these
 
Just had a friend give me a call, he lives near a pond in my neighborhood,

he says 'the trout truck just left the reservois' first plant of the year, and

he will be back every week for the next 4 months!



:rolleyes:
 
CJL, i live in northern cal, and the pond i am refering to is about 600 acres, and puts out toads



 
look in my folder, you can see what i am talking about



:rolleyes:
 
I thought I heard that Texas has the state records broken up between private water and public waters. I also thought that it was because of the private folks trying to grow world record fish. Is the state of California also kinda going out of the way to grow world record fish, sorta, maybe, maybe not? Is it possible that maybe those records should fall under a type of record keeping system like I thought Texas has. I could be wrong about Texas maybe it was a proposed record keeping system. You all in Texas can answer this.
 
In Pa. any records have to come from public, fully accessable water. No pay lakes, no private ponds, no posted stream access .
 
Trust me, the cal DFG is not going out of there way to grow large bass! the intent out here,

is to provide trout fishing for lot's of people. They probably plants 100's of ponds and lakes.

Some of the places they plant are small and shallow, and if you don't trout fish within a couple

of days after the plant, the cormorants eat them ALL! the bass get the leftovers!
 
Ed I know of no such regulation in Texas that records must come from public waters. Each lake in Texas does have its own water body record for each species "native" to the lake. The IGFA is the official keeper of the world records. Here is a link to their rules.
http://www.igfa.org/BookRule2004.pdf
 
I just saw that Bass on a very short segment of ESPN. It showed the fish and two guys and one of the guys pulled out his BocaGrip and weighed it. The camera zoomed in and the weight was jumping around because the fish was moving. but it looked to me to be 24-15.

It was quite a Bass:) They stated it will all be on Bass Center Saturday.



Uncle Billy



I put a picture and link to a good article in another thread.
 
I still don't believe it's a world record! If the guy has any sense whatsoever...he would have weighed it on certified scales.:angry: What? He don't need money?
 
Tee it is my understanding the game laws in California clearly state that any fish foul hooked must be returned to the water. Dave can you confirm this?



If this is true and the fish was foul hooked as the rumor has it then it would not have counted as a record with the IGFA. Nor would it be worth much in endorsements. It just doesn
 
Nice fish, no doubt. He would be fined in PA though. Not allowed to fish beds.



"It is unlawful for an angler to cast repeatedly into a clearly visible bass spawning nest or

redd in an effort to catch or take bass."



Rich D
 
Foul hooked or not...it doesn't make sense and smells fishy!

Even if guys at the dock seen him...they have that good of eyesight that he couldn't deny?
 
The fish had a mark on its side.....pretty evident of a foul hook.



The IGFA rules state no intentionally foul hooked fish. He did NOT foul hook it intentionally. He is submitting it for World Record staus. He might get it too. All they need is the scale used to weigh the fish, a photo and his rod and reel with the line and lure.



Tee if he denied it and one witness says he did, he would be disqualified. He did the right thing. He didnt want to kill the fish and isnt that concerned about the money. (the only foolish thing I think)



Mini
 
Mini I don't think he will get IGFA to accept the fish. While you are correct about the IGFA rule calling for intentionally snagging fishing, California fish and game regulations prohibit the possession of a foul-hooked fish. IGFA does require that any fish they recognize to be caught by legal means.



I too think Weakley did the right thing. Half a dozen guys watched him snag the fish, it had what was described as a significant hook mark in the dorsal fin and Weakley has admitted himself she was foul hooked. I don
 
Reminds of something that happened last year to me, I seen a really nice LM, BIG for NJ on a bed last year during a Tourney, the LM had a Bobber and some line sticking out of it;s mouth, this fish was monster for NJ, in any event without thinking I called out the fish to my boater in the T and dragged a wacky rig senko by it mouth and snagged the LM by the bobber, fish was coming to the boat and my boating partner said" Hey that's legal, that will count in the Tourney", I stopped bringing it in and it eventually shook off, my only regret is not getting the bobber from it's mouth, but I did not want the fish for the Tourney, it didn't seem right. I would have done very well with that fish but just didn't feel it was correct.



CJL
 
I didnt say he would get the World Record, just atht he submitted it. I too think he will not get it based on the fact that the fish was foul hooked.



We have a similar rule here in Michigan. All fish have to be hooked inside the mouth to be legal. That is not only for tournaments on bedding fish, but for all fish.

Mini
 
I personally feel that tournaments should be banned durring spawning time. Just my opinion - leave them alone and let the spawn go on.
 
We only measure the length of the fish and then return ASAP, we do not have weigh in T's during the spawn, the length is converted to weight to determine the heaviest bag.
 
Read Sowbelly. These guys are portrayed as decent guys in the book. Even if they foul hooked the bass, it wasn't a fluke. They pretty much go out on the water as much as they can looking for the big bass. You get a better picture of them by reading the book versus just reading the articles about the catch and there is something in the book related to a controversy between them and Mike Long which makes me understand why they might have decided to outright release it wtihout holding onto it for an official weigh-in but I won't give away the details.



Bill, the Mad Kayaker







 
Saw the film and discussion on the big fish this morning. That is one BIG fish, period. I'd have a hard time arguing that the weight of that fish was anything other than what it showed or was claimed.



As they said, they won't submit it. Regardless, it would stand as a California or World record, since California won't certify the fish since it was foul hooked. That's the only part of the story that I'd question - whether it was intentionally foul hooked, or accidentally fould hooked while on the bed.



Regardless, it's a beautiful fish.



Tex
 
Tex,

From what I have seen and read, my take is that is wasn't an intentional snag. BUT,,, it does seem as they were going to try to pass it off as a legal catch at first. If it wasn't for all the witnesses at the dock,,,we may have had a new official record.



Steve
 

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