47 replies to this topic

[ClackerBuzz]

if he had knowledge or hopes of breaking any records then he should have known the rules. if he didn't have the expectations and just had a $1M slip thru his fingers then I'd like to be the first guy to buy him a beer...or 10. and he should DEFINITELY get the Mustad $100K.

[yoyoman]

sounds liked he got ripped off to me. it read to me that he was just any everyday angler who signed up for a contest and not a professional angler. worst part he took it twice, state record and world. i can assume that this man felt he was following all the correct game laws. now if there is more to the article i can not see i would change my opinion. is this contest like cabellas 1 million dollar fish?

[Lund Explorer]

While I'm sure most of feel sorry that the guy lost his chance at a payday, you only need to read the story to see that he made quite a few mistakes along the way. From the original article:

"Ply caught the striped bass on Feb. 18 and submitted his catch to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; the state record is 64 pounds, 8 ounces. But in May, the commission disallowed the catch as a state record because an Arkansas wildlife official did not witness the weighing and the scale was not certified."

So besides the fact that IGFA doesn't recognize the Alabama Rig, the State (and most likely IGFA) doesn't recognize any weight using cousin MaryLou's baby scales, and actually requires an official witness. I could give Bubba here the benefit of the doubt with regards to the lure of choice, but if he's going to take the time to sign up with Mustad, maybe he should've taken the extra time to learn a little bit about what it takes to establish a record.

Somethings you just can't cure.

[yoyoman]

will lund thanks for the article. that cleared everthing up. in the process of looking for a certified scale the fish spit up resulting in a lower weight. tough luck. and yes if he entered a contest he should of read the rules on how he wa allowed to fish for it. d**n thalk about a bad day.

[bassmaster3541]

While I'm sure most of feel sorry that the guy lost his chance at a payday, you only need to read the story to see that he made quite a few mistakes along the way. From the original article:

"Ply caught the striped bass on Feb. 18 and submitted his catch to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; the state record is 64 pounds, 8 ounces. But in May, the commission disallowed the catch as a state record because an Arkansas wildlife official did not witness the weighing and the scale was not certified."

So besides the fact that IGFA doesn't recognize the Alabama Rig, the State (and most likely IGFA) doesn't recognize any weight using cousin MaryLou's baby scales, and actually requires an official witness. I could give Bubba here the benefit of the doubt with regards to the lure of choice, but if he's going to take the time to sign up with Mustad, maybe he should've taken the extra time to learn a little bit about what it takes to establish a record.

Somethings you just can't cure.

So if your were fishing a megabass jerkbait or the larger style of lucky craft sammy's which have 3 seperate and you hooked a world record you would just toss it back in the water?

And if you read just about any story on record's being broken it takes fish and game officials hours (if at all) to actually come to certify the weights

[Lund Explorer]

So if your were fishing a megabass jerkbait or the larger style of lucky craft sammy's which have 3 seperate and you hooked a world record you would just toss it back in the water?

And if you read just about any story on record's being broken it takes fish and game officials hours (if at all) to actually come to certify the weights

Heck no, I'd give it to a bucket fisherman to take home to eat!

Now seriously, I guess I'd feel a little stupid/unlucky/whatever for not knowing the rules. After about ten seconds, I would simply accept the fact that rules are rules.

And I have not only read stories about record setting catches, but knew what needed to be done to establish a claim for a state record catch. In the 1960's this state added a whole bunch of new salmon species swimming in our Great Lakes. A lot of people dreamed of catching a state record King, Coho, or Atlantic Salmon. A#1 on that list was a certified scale had to be used, which with a little thought should be easy to find if you have ever visited a meat market as their scales MUST be certified by the State Dept of Agriculture. As far as a witness from the state, there's a conservation officer in every county, many of whom would gladly come to help out.

The Bottom Line - The things this fisherman did wrong far outweighed (no pun intended) an IGFA rule that was in effect long before he ever hit the water that day. If he or anyone else wants to take it personally, then I can't cure that either.

[bassmaster3541]

Heck no, I'd give it to a bucket fisherman to take home to eat!

Now seriously, I guess I'd feel a little stupid/unlucky/whatever for not knowing the rules. After about ten seconds, I would simply accept the fact that rules are rules.

And I have not only read stories about record setting catches, but knew what needed to be done to establish a claim for a state record catch. In the 1960's this state added a whole bunch of new salmon species swimming in our Great Lakes. A lot of people dreamed of catching a state record King, Coho, or Atlantic Salmon. A#1 on that list was a certified scale had to be used, which with a little thought should be easy to find if you have ever visited a meat market as their scales MUST be certified by the State Dept of Agriculture. As far as a witness from the state, there's a conservation officer in every county, many of whom would gladly come to help out.

The Bottom Line - The things this fisherman did wrong far outweighed (no pun intended) an IGFA rule that was in effect long before he ever hit the water that day. If he or anyone else wants to take it personally, then I can't cure that either.

What meat market are you going to where they 1) are going to let you weigh a nearly 70lb (possibly alive) striper on their scale in the middle of business hours and 2) if they even will let you, have a big enough scale to weigh a nearly 70 lb striper.

And as far as taking it personal you seem to be the one with an exagerated problem with it, He caught a fish on a rig that is legal in his state, and weighed it and submitted it, he didn't do anything illegal or in any form cheating. Since when is it a crime to submit something and have it turned down? He did nothing wrong, the only person he hurt was himself

[NoBassPro]

What meat market are you going to where they 1) are going to let you weigh a nearly 70lb (possibly alive) striper on their scale in the middle of business hours and 2) if they even will let you, have a big enough scale to weigh a nearly 70 lb striper.

Well I can answer part of that question. I do not know if the local meat market has a scale that goes to 70 lbs, but I do know the grocery store closest to me will let anglers weigh fish to be certified there during business hours. I've done it before, its no big deal.

[Loop_Dad]

Well I can answer part of that question. I do not know if the local meat market has a scale that goes to 70 lbs, but I do know the grocery store closest to me will let anglers weigh fish to be certified there during business hours. I've done it before, its no big deal.

Had no idea meat market let anglers weigh the fish. Interesting.

And I feel for the guy. Just a fisherman entered the contest, got the fish but the prize and record slipped away. Nobody to blame, rule is rule, but man I would also buy him a beer.

[Lund Explorer]

Well I can answer part of that question. I do not know if the local meat market has a scale that goes to 70 lbs, but I do know the grocery store closest to me will let anglers weigh fish to be certified there during business hours. I've done it before, its no big deal.

I know of several that have such scales. These aren't the ones sitting on the counter, but they are usually located in the back room and are used to weigh incoming shipments which could be as big as an entire side of beef or a whole dressed pig.

[retiredbosn]

Something else you can do to have easy access to a certified scale have your scale certified. There is a member here FishChris who gets his own hand held digital scaled certified every year, that way he can get the fish's weight on a certified scale the moment he takes it out of the water; now he can't submit weight only verified by himself. Every state is different some states do not require to have the weight observed by a conservation officer, and will allow weight to be certified by the angler and a couple of witnesses and pictures, the key is that the scale must be certified, and the fish must be kept for viewing by officials later. Other states allow you to have the fish weighed, measured and certified by a conservation officer and then you can release the fish. The steps for verification varies by state, if you think you may catch the next record, take the time to know the steps. There is a small public lake in my home state of WV that I feel the next state record will come from, I fished it regularly and I took the time to look up what had to be done to have a fish there certified, it was a pain because the lake is catch and release. Basically what I had to do was if I caught a fish that I thought broke the record was to call dnr, if noone was available I was to take it to the nearest certified scales, have it photographed, witnessed and then release the fish. I was told to keep it in the livewell unless it was being weighed or photographed. The conservation officer told me that I would have to have evidence that the fish was released or be fined. It all seemed a little to surreal for me.

[Loop_Dad]

Something else you can do to have easy access to a certified scale have your scale certified. There is a member here FishChris who gets his own hand held digital scaled certified every year, that way he can get the fish's weight on a certified scale the moment he takes it out of the water; now he can't submit weight only verified by himself. Every state is different some states do not require to have the weight observed by a conservation officer, and will allow weight to be certified by the angler and a couple of witnesses and pictures, the key is that the scale must be certified, and the fish must be kept for viewing by officials later. Other states allow you to have the fish weighed, measured and certified by a conservation officer and then you can release the fish. The steps for verification varies by state, if you think you may catch the next record, take the time to know the steps. There is a small public lake in my home state of WV that I feel the next state record will come from, I fished it regularly and I took the time to look up what had to be done to have a fish there certified, it was a pain because the lake is catch and release. Basically what I had to do was if I caught a fish that I thought broke the record was to call dnr, if noone was available I was to take it to the nearest certified scales, have it photographed, witnessed and then release the fish. I was told to keep it in the livewell unless it was being weighed or photographed. The conservation officer told me that I would have to have evidence that the fish was released or be fined. It all seemed a little to surreal for me.

I am not thinking I could catch the next record, but hey things happens when you are not expecting, right? I got curious as to how to get my fish certified in California. Seaching with "how to get your fish certified in California" got me bunch of hunter certification programs. What term should I look for to find this out?

[Lund Explorer]

I am not thinking I could catch the next record, but hey things happens when you are not expecting, right? I got curious as to how to get my fish certified in California. Seaching with "how to get your fish certified in California" got me bunch of hunter certification programs. What term should I look for to find this out?

http://www.dfg.ca.go...cognition/SIWR/

[senile1]

Wow, what a fish! Objectively, the guy did not follow the rules so he doesn't get the record. I get that, but that doesn't mean I can't empathize with the guy. We all make mistakes and miss things, whether in fishing, or some other area of our lives. It's a shame he missed the record on such a rule but those are the breaks.

Lund Explorer stated:

Somethings you just can't cure.

I assume you are referring to the statement, "You can't cure stupid." That might be a bit harsh, LE. I can say without a doubt that all, including the most intelligent among us, have made a mistake like this at some point in our lives.

[Lund Explorer]

Wow, what a fish! Objectively, the guy did not follow the rules so he doesn't get the record. I get that, but that doesn't mean I can't empathize with the guy. We all make mistakes and miss things, whether in fishing, or some other area of our lives. It's a shame he missed the record on such a rule but those are the breaks.

Lund Explorer stated:


I assume you are referring to the statement, "You can't cure stupid." That might be a bit harsh, LE. I can say without a doubt that all, including the most intelligent among us, have made a mistake like this at some point in our lives.

Yup, I guess that's what I am - Harsh!

I've listened to this same type of thing more times than I care to remember. Not just about fishing, but from all kinds of people who decided to throw their reasoning skills out the window and then complain about the consquences aftwewards. I can't see any reason to try to understand why Mr. Ply chose to do what he did, that was his choice. But I choose to say that it is rather ignorant that when he was faced with a potential record catch, he obviously didn't bother to think about what needed to be done to get credit for it. That is 100% his fault, and no amount of whining by him or others changes that fact.

I can also assure you that my type of harsh would be nothing compared to the what the current record holder would display if he lost the record to someone who decided not to bother with the rules.