IGFA Rejects World Record Bass claim

[Tony Payne]

<b>IGFA REJECTS RECORD LARGEMOUTH </b>



The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has been the keeper of records for the world
http://www.igfa.org/about/news-display.cfm?newsid=3781

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Can't say as I didn't know this was gonna happen, as a matter of fact, I think I predicted it (along with a bunch of others). I don't disagree with the decision. If you want to take a 71 year old record, you better have your ducks in a row. Kinda like boxing, ya gotta BEAT the defending champion, not just fight better.



TOXIC

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Knew it all along...If it were...you'd heard about it before recently.

IGFA is making it harder for people to "lie" about their catches. Too many of the old records are in dispute(smallmouth&walleye) and they don't know how to fix them or take some of the records back. I think the IGFA doesn't recognize the current World Record Smallmouth anymore...someone claimed the affidavit that was signed was doctored? 50 years later...go figure.

If you want an IGFA record..you better weigh it, photograph it and high eye witnesses and have it weighed on certified scales ONLY!

TEE

BTW Simmy...maybe you could be my witness when I blow that record outta' the water? LOL

 

[Mark Gross]

If it wasn't for the IGFA we would all be trying to beat the world record largemouth bass at 97.486 lbs. ! LOL

Go see "BIG FISH" playing at a theatre near you.hahaha





EXCUSE ME BUT ; if I ever catch a would class bass it is not going back into the water !!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

You'd kill a world record just for the satisfaction of havin' it hangin' on your wall?..come on Gross.

TEE

 

[Brian Bell2]

Gross. I aggree.. I am all for catch and release. Two times in the past several years folks have released what was claimed as the new world record Largemouth. Are they nuts....

If I caught what I realy thought was the new record, NO WAY would that fish be going back into the water..I would do my best to keep it alive, CPR, mouth to mouth, whatever it takes. That fish is gonna change someone's life, big time.

Fame, Fortune... prob. the most prized IGFA Record...

 

[Michael Snow]

I'm luckier than you guys... I'd have it weighed, certified, weighed, certified, have more pictures of it than I do of my daughter and call the Freshwater Fishery in Athens, run by Texas Parks and Wildlife. I'd ask them to tag the fish and use it for breeding (the do that for any over 13 pounds that you "donate" during non-summer months). When she died, the biologists could have her for their tests. I'd have a fiberglass replica (part of the ShareLunker program), a lifetime Texas fishing license (for biggest fish donated that year), the pending world record (pending until the fish died - fine with me), and some GREAT brood stock for Texas lakes.

 

[Mark Gross]

TEE....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...YEA!!



It would be hard to dispute if you were holding it in your hand.

Mike Snow 's idea sounds like the winner all the way around.



I would try to keep it alive in my livewell as long as possible till I was sure it was in the bag!! pun intended. But what happens if I release it and the next day somebody else catches it ? A bonifide record largemouth could be worth a million bucks in indorsements alone. So I'm a capitolist pirate, I can live with that, Keeping one fish after catching and releasing thousands . LOL

 

[Mark Gross]

Maybe I'll just eat it!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Oooooohhhh that hurt..SOMEONE CALL PETA! LOL I've just become a HUGE fan of CPR over the years...guess that's one of the reasons I don't deer hunt much anymore..just can't bring myself back to reasoning on killin' something that is so pretty. Kinda' like smallies....Once you have the "love" for em'...ya' just can't kill em'...just me I guess.

TEE

Sure do like deer jerky and fried fish though

 

[Texas Transplant]

As Ray Scott has said, 'If I catch a 22lb+ Largemouth, he is never going to see the lake again'.



If I was back in God's country, I do the same as the Snowman stated. Turn her over to the folks in Athens (TX).



Tex

 

[David Hunt]

TEE,



Is CPR Catch Pet & Release?

 

[gone bye bye]

The monetary rewards for an air-tight all tackle world record would be HUGE! I would keep the fish, have it sacrificed in the name of "Mini needs da money!" and then cart it around to all the interviews and seminars I could schedule.....



IF you do happen to catch it, make sure you copywrite any and all pictures of the fish. That way whenever thay are published you get paid.....I would certainly hire a lawyer and/or publicist to aid in amassing the small fortune.



BTW She did get the line class record didnt she?



Mini

 

[Staci Matheis]

I'm telling you.....

That picture was a fake.



Now, regarding catch and release..... Some of you are familiar with my favorite trout stream - the upper-most stretches of the Current River in central Missouri..... A few years ago, I battled a brown trout we estimated to be 30" long for 45 minutes before my line finally snapped while I tried to get him into a little trout net..... I told the story to a Conservation agent afterward and mentioned how I could never have kept such a beautiful creature. He told me, if I ever got a fish near that size again, NOT to release it..... He explained that a small stream like the upper Current River could only support a limited number of pounds of predator fish. That one large fish, if harvested, would have been replaced by many smaller trout..... Angling would actually be improved!



Now, I realize that there is a world of difference between a small stream and a large lake..... But I just thought I'd relate that story.....



I'd still have a difficult time keeping anything.....

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Likewise too many slot fish ruin the predator/pray ratio and the majority of the predator fish will be stunted in size and those that do get larger become "big heads", at least that is what we call them, big huge heads and thin long bodys. I will pull a limit of slot fish on some lakes and some I wont. Lake Anna has no overpopulation problem due to the fishing pressure so when you put the normal mortality rate (from catching/handling/releasing) together with the "meat" fishermen, I don't see the need. Some of the smaller lakes that I fish that don't get any pressure, I will fill the well with both bass and bream/crappie/panfish. Ask ANY marine biologist strict catch and release will eventually harm a healthy body of water.



TOXIC

 

[TOMMY RICH]

There's a LOT of variables that depends on too Tox. Everybody felt that way about Dale Hollow years ago too but, the proof is in the pudding.

You just have to know when to change those slots..timing is critical. That's why the TVA monitors everything and they are doing so well...sure if you always use catch & release..it can be harmful But, proper implementation of slots can do wonders..I'm witness to it.

TEE

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I agree TEE, you have to monitor each years spawn and track those fish to breeding age etc., but you have also got to know whent to "put" and when to "take". Like I said, Anna has a slot and I don't take anything from that lake except Crappie because I am out there a lot and I know it is not overpopulated. Most lakes have slots just to protect the prime age spawners.



TOXIC

 

[TOMMY RICH]

TVA does track em'...talked to one of the guys setting out spawning benches at the Holler and said the smally population was well balanced and thriving. Also found out where a lot of the benches are when the water was down in the fall...hopefully I can use that info to my benefit this spring.

FISH ON!

GET THE NET!