Paul Roberts

Yeah, it's fading now. I've seen some white teeth now too. When you see the ice-out teeth -you'll see what I mean. See LoudonFishers photo.

Would you want your name attached? For me, I'd like to think no. Let the fish be the focus. But, if it actually happened (not likely) I wonder what I would do.

DMB, how big was that fish? Was it mounted? That would be an easy one to prove/dis-prove.

That's a pretty tough call. First of all, there's no hard line that distinguishes a lake from a pond. Furthermore, it's not likely that bass know or care whether they're living in a lake or pond. The difference between a 'public water' and 'private water' is essentially a political boundary. The wildness of fish don't necessarily hinge on any political boundary. In some states like Georgia, there are private waters that stock and fertilize the pond or lake on a regular basis. However, unless it's a "pay pond" few pond owner would be motivated to foot the recurrent cost of stock and chemicals (I once owned a small pond). Ironically, there are many public waters that receive excellent stewardship, and many private ponds that are merely neglected mud holes including some pay ponds. Roger Yeah, I would disagree too. To grow such fish requires special circumstances, the least of which is age structure. This is less apt to be seen on hard fished public waters. But the right conditions do come and go in many waters, and those in the know follow this sort of thing. Where I would draw the line (if I had any say) would be intensively managed waters. Not all managed waters by any means, but those in which fish are artificially fed, and where genetic manipulations are involved. The Texas ShareLunker is pressing the envelope in my mind, but still within reasonable limits. I am not concerned about what's "fair". In my mind I care little about records except to know what's ecologically possible, and how that works. I DO want to know the circumstances such fish grew in. Some of the records many anglers would be upset about if they knew the real stories. Such fish are freaks, in many senses of the word. I guess what this begins to touch on is the meaning of "nature", and holy moly that can get people riled. We live in a world where biological manipulations are common and becoming a norm. It's not grandpa's "wild" anymore.

Hey Tuck. Hope you're having a good year. I know you know the myths of NYS, as we all did. In my mind, 7lbs is believable -I once held one. But beyond that through most of the north (but not all -S coastal NE) requires a notary, priest, and rabbi, etc...LOL. There's a new record? Another quarter pound more, eh. Chipping away at what a 24" frame can carry I see. Call me a curmugeon LOL -but a good natured one.

Well...this might turn out to be a Texas-sized lie, right here in Colorado ;D . Then again, it might turn out to be true. Wouldn't that beat all logic.

I like the angle of the camera lens to the fish. Pretty accurate shot -that's tough to do. Drop down a few inches and you could have called that a 7, and got away with it LOL.

Well, I shot off a couple emails. We'll see what comes. I also noticed that there is a C&R tiger musky listed at 58" . That would be a HUGE musky, much less a tiger. Do tiger's (hybrids) get that big?? The weight record was 53 inches and fully 40lbs. That's a huge tiger -and verified. I fish with a young guy occastionally -a good angler. When I first met him he told me he caught a 10lber out of a pond we both fish. I didn't comment. A few years ago, he caught a big one with me and blurted out, "6!!??, 7lbs!!!??". I said, "Let's weigh it." It was 4-1/2lbs. He had a hard time with that. I had to ask, "Should I have not weighed it?" It WAS a big CO bass, but the number just didn't jive with what he'd believed. He now owns a scale and appears happy now with his fish, regardless of the number attached.

Thanks Glenn. I am aware that this is ALL dock talk. I found the topic on another site and in it was the discussion about this bass. It was "supposedly" caught by a Denver Bassmasters member. So, I got in on the conversation since a member with a special interest in large bass was involved. He claims it's BS. So, I dunno. I originally took the source (state records list) as legit, but that's in question now. Guess I should check with the state people and see if it's possibly true -they manage and oversee this particular fishery.

I took to observing the spawn a few years ago, to get a handle on the real influence of the moon phases on spawning. I got to watch and record a lot of behavior. From what I've seen, northern female LMs (here in CO) spend 1 to 3 days at a bed with a male. They do defend somewhat, or at least are aggressive. They are less apt to chase away bluegills than the male, but will eat one if the opportunity presents itself. They are very willing to chase away other females though. Their willingness to feed around a bed (except when in the act of spawning) makes them catchable, and I have done this in past years, with fewer personal issues than disturbing the male. He's got a long and tough job ahead of him.

No worries. You are welcome to share your thoughts. You said it well. I've never heard of females moving in to take over a male's job, although I've read that female florida bass are more apt to be protective of beds than northern bass.

Good post.

JacobK, Great post! Love the details. Puts me in the boat with you, while I sit at my desk. Thank you. There is nothing "measly" about a true 5lb northern bass. Congrats. That's a BIG one. Beautiful fish too. Man, I just ooh and ahh over them. Then I let them go and still oooh and ahh and think, what was that thing?? I used to kill them as if I could hold onto that somehow, but that didn't capture that beauty any better. So... I try to go catch another one and start oohing and ahhing all over again lol. Congrats! That's bass fishing! BTW: I really like that FlattShad (in Holo Green too) -same retrieve has been catching for me too.

I am an angler, hunter, and was for several years a fur trapper. I raise chickens and quail for eggs and meat -so my son will grow up in this wacky world knowing where food comes from. But, I am not destructive. I draw those lines for myself, with the help of good information when I can get it. And I know enough not to impinge my ideas on others, unless I suppose something's detrimental to me and mine -like suggesting others release the big ones. I don't bed fish either. Last one I caught off a bed was a tired male near a parking lot. His mouth was punctured and bruised, and he swam away weakly then just lay on bottom while bluegills picked his bed clean. I saw this same sort of thing with trout and salmon, often involving repeated snagging and releasing -until those fragile salmon just turned belly up and floated away. I call that destructive behavior. I also have a pet peeve around mutilated fish jaws from repeated release in my heavily fished waters. I took to going barbless with treble hooked lures and found no increase in lost fish, and found it SO much easier to unhook them. This fish won't have much of a maw left when that infection is finally quelled. This is not uncommon in some of my waters. It's not OK with me.

By no means am I insinuating that the fish was photo shopped in. I just noticed, on my computer at home, that some of the tail had a totally diff color to it that looks like it was added afterwards. I used to do photo editing for a real estate company so I have my computer settings set so I could catch any mistake I may have missed while editing. When I look at the pic up at work (diff computer) it looks perfectly fine. I apologize if I sounded like I was taking anything away from the fish, because I'm not. Heck it's bigger then any bass I've caught this year. I didn't take it that way at all. I have done a fair amount of image editing too, so it's a minor interest of mine.

I'm not easily fooled. But I got suckered on those. I don't know how the CO records work. But apparently no photo is required (not that that would help), but according to the Bassmasters member, there is no photo of that fish.

It's actually a float tube I strapped to the bow of my Ranger -just so I get the feel of intimacy -without getting wet. ;D It's a float tube rigged to fish:

WTG Todd! (BTW: Re-size your pics. I have a wide screen monitor but still can't see em. Board suggest 500pix wide -I go 550 for hor, and 425 for vert).

OK...I'm a little ticked again. I was going to title this post "BS", but since it's a family friendly site I toned it down. Colorado has in it's C&R record book, a 28" LM from a water that is managed and known to hold some of the largest bass in the state. I also heard it weighed 13lbs. This would stretch what's possible in my neck of the woods. Turns out it's BS. > I talked with a Denver Bassmasters member who said one of the members saw the fish and it was "no more than 22" ". I hate that. Back in my old home state of NY, there is a lake from which came a report that the state shocked LMs of 8 and 10lbs (state record is 11-4). The source was very good. BUT it turns out this source was mistaken. I contacted the fisheries staff there and they checked the records and said the largest bass were 18" to 20", with one 22incher. The Colorado state record, also 11-4, was "only" 22.5" long! An obese trout gorged freak. A 28" frame would expand the possibilities for northern LM tremendously, but it just ain't so. I hate the BS. I guess the real world is just too small for some people's egos.

Congrats! Very nice northern bass. What depth was she at? FYI: The drop in water temp was most likely due to the wind, not the weather trend. Sonar suggestions: Fish ID will not find you fish, esp bass. It's fine for suspended fish, away from cover or bottom. Turn off the Fish ID and spend time looking at bottom changes, and hardness. It's possible to see bass on clean flat bottom, but it gets tougher with rough bottoms or variable depth.

Photo doesn't look retouched to me -looks like the way the camera/software rendered the color. The shadow behind the tail shows it's all there. There's even a drop of water dripping off! That would be some fancy work!

X3. Dead on advice as to why you lost track of them in fall. BTW: That Mepps is a great coolwater bait too, IF you can get it in front of them. Suggestion, since you are serious: Get the book In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies; They have one for Largemouth and Smallmouth. It will introduce you to seasonal patterns, and a whole lot more.

Now that's the way to be welcomed home. Must have felt good, for everyone. Well done.

Thanks SF. I really like the day on the lake type format, with a lot of fishing detail, and then the natural history events that really make a given day. Dwight, I sure hope so. Odd though, I think, that they appear to be so obviously missing. To make for good big bass fishing, I've got to have waters that produce them in reasonable numbers. The needle in a haystack thing is not worth my time, IMO. Thanks, J.

Yes, it was his fish. Papa just got in the way! Sweet picture.