Matt Fly

Come on Avid, you made me re-read my last post. LOL, I believe its the other Matt. Hookem Matt

Can any of the Cali boys tell me why that fish wasn't weighed on the certified scales. The funny side of this story is, Dixon has certified scales 100yds from dock. These guys are amoung the best in the country for hunting big bass. We've seen these guys landing big fish with video recorders in the boat, and yet they didn't use certified scales that are available. I don't call putting a rope through the mouth as the best handling scenerio considered these guys are "supposedly prepared every trip". After all he had all night to get prepared. I just thought they were the best in the situations.

The prize or nugget that is hidden in this is: Places up North as you compared TX to, Tx puts out as many double digit bass as any where. A person may not hook up with the teens, but does have a better than average chance to catch his pesonal best in Tx waters.

Is this the same lady from Mirmar in the late80/early 90's with the 2.5 pound diving weight, she was credited for the fish minus the diving weight. I don't understand killing a fish to do an autopsy, I can X-ray anything with out killing it and find abnormal weight hidden inside.

Its actually 13+ lbs, and the program doesn't cover the whole year, Oct-apr, and you have to remember that alot of these lakes are forests underwater, so landing big fish isn't as easy as Cali with no underwater obstructions in most So cal waters. This doesn't show the ones that are released and not donated. I know of 3-15 pounders in the last 12 months that aren't noted anywhere other than marinas with pictures. And theres only a few lakes have benefit from milder winters down south Tx, but they suffer from droughts and Mexico sucking water out ot the river that feeds Amistad and Falcon. Thats the only reason TX hasn't eclisped the 20lb mark is we don't have the mild winters enough in N/NE/ East Tx. We don't have the warm climate San Dieog or Fla. has. hookem matt

The fish was caught illegal as per cali Fish and Game Law. The guy was lucky to encounter the fish, unlucky on the hookset. Lucky he didn't get a ticket for not immediately adhereing to the laws which they know very well as they retained the fish in possession for over 15-20 minutes. The fish was not taken in a legal manner thus, no record, and the 25 lber shouldn't recieve any credit. Personal scales are like personal stories, we don't know him or his scales and its not the first time that they have caught fish that didn't get credit for the top 25........... Some might say this is trash talk, but every thing stated is a fact. So if the truth hurts alittle. The first thought in my head when dreaming of a record is knowing that your name will stand for hundreds of years in the top 50 all time largest bass caught on record, the money that might come from it is an after thought. My dream is to catch one first. Then I'll think about the rewards that comes with it.

Rolo, when Fork was built, they cleared most timber from the front of the dam. They constructed tire reefs in those areas. A few well place holes in the tires and they sink fine. They meet all requirements you mentioned. Old tires are easy to come by.

I know this is a minnow compared to the 25 lb 1 oz caught in cali. We are proud to say, this is the 410th donated fish and #19 for the year. Edward Reid of Crosby, Texas landed Budweiser ShareLunker #410 on Wednesday, March 22nd from Lake Conroe. Fishing in 4 to 5 feet of water with a green lizard, Mr. Reid caught the fish of his lifetime, a 14.48 lb. lunker that measured 25.25 long with a 21.75 girth. Reid's fish is the 19th Budweiser ShareLunker of the 2006 Season and the 410th fish entered into the program since it began in 1986. It is the third 14 pounder caught from Lake Conroe this ShareLunker season.

I always tie in a large flake of alfalfa hay into my brush piles. What ever you decide is fine, the key is to hold bait fish and perch, if theres bait to be had, the fish will come on their own. Xmas/Christmas trees are tight and just right for pan fish but don't last as long as your hard timbers, like oak. A mixture of both will do the job.

I was finally able to pull that up. I think you're getting a little technical here Matt. From my understanding these rental boats don't have livewells, which if the fish was placed in one would still be considered retention right? They did the right thing by keeping the fish in the water as much as possible. The way I read it that was the only reason for the stringer. I was asked a simple question as to what retention would be considered as. I answered it. And Yes, the Cali Dept of Fish and Game laws were broken by catching this fish outside the mouth. And retaining said fish. And the hook wasn't close to the mouth as it was the dorsal according to the article of the guy who caught fish. Which I posted the article and picture of scales yesterday.

read the article I posted from lake Dixon. Those guys put her on a stringer, thats retention.

You might get by with a picture, but putting a stringer on the fish shows retention or putting a fish in the livewell would be considered retention. Lake Fork has a slot inplace on the lake, 16-24 inches, if it touches the line at 16", and you keep it, its a fine if caught, if the fish is over the line at 24 inches its okay, touching 24" and not over, not okay.. I have caught fish that went 10 lbs on Fork, but didn't make it over the slot, could I hold this fish and show my buddies at camp, legally no. Or the camera is in the truck, and you go back to get it, retaining that fish is illegal.

The law is broken once you retain the fish.

boat rental guy supposedly witnessed the whole thing at fifty yards.

Does the IGFA say anywhere, "that all state laws must be observed to be credited? Because its against Ca. law to obtain a fish that wasn't caught in the mouth. They should have gotten cited for not releasing the fish immediately.

Even if foul hooked? http://www.escondido.org/glance/lakes/dixon/index.html Scroll down till you hit world record bass and see the inside article posted by the lake itself. Or click the other one for the story. http://www.escondido.org/glance/lakes/dixon/record-bass.pdf

My initial findings came from a web site in Cali, The URL was edited as you can see after 3pm to another article that I hadn't seen. These are inital reports from that site. Can't copy and paste the person(s) Here are the facts of what is currently known according to Lake Dixon staffer Tony Smock The fish weighed was cuaght by the duo of Mac Wheatley and Jed Dickerson - familiar names at this lake - and went over 24 pounds. Based upon the markings, the fish was the same one caught a few years back by both Long and Dickerson. THat's the good news. The downside here is that the fish went for a swimbait, pulled up short, and ended up getting snagged when the hook was set. As such, I don't think it will officially count. According to SMock, the fish was weighed, photographed, and videotaped. Look for more news and clearer facts to follow in the coming days. Congrats guys - I'm just sorry she did'nt eat the swimbait. Next one-------------------------------------------------- That won't keep it from being an official record. You cannot INTENTIONALLY foul hook a fish. But just as with tournament rules, foul hooking a fish due to the fish's bad aim is perfectly fine. The issue if its a swimbait will be the hook system hes using...theres a fine line between a legal and illegal swimbait and as I understand it, most swimbaits with stinger hooks are illegal. Next one------------------------------------------------------------------ ...I would have to agree with Hutch on this one. While foul hooking a fish would not render it an illegal catch, snagging it certainly would - accidental or otherwise. I am sure that we will hear A LOT more about this incredible catch, but based on the extremely brief details provided by Hutch, it sounds to me as though this big fish was a bedding fish and that it charged the bait, but did not eat it entirely and got snagged in the process. (How many times has that happened to all of us?). This is entirely speculation on my part, mind you. I am just glad that it was these gentlemen that were involved in the catch. Their personal integrity and credibility would keep them from any funny business. And, as Hutch pointed out, these guys know the ropes and most certainly would have followed the numbers, had it been a clean catch. Photographing and releasing it before it could be examined by DFG officials clearly tells me that they knew that it could not and would not be certified as a legal catch or a new world record. There is no doubt in my mind that they released the fish right away in an attempt to keep it alive, so that it can be legally caught again, thus setting a new world record. My hat is off to these guys. I respectfully beg to differ with you regarding the use of a stinger (or trap) hook on a swimbait making it an illegal bait. Is this really any different than adding a trailer hook to a spinnerbait or a buzz bait, or adding a Front Runner to a topwater bait? Trap hooks have been around for decades, especially in saltwater. I believe that you will be hard pressed to find a regulation anywhere that prohibits the use of stinger or trap hooks on swimbaits. If using them is illegal, I am as guilty as hell. _________________ Good Fishing! Ron C Nexr one------------------------------------------------- Don't quote me on this but I think it has to do with the size of the treble hook. The rule is there to prevent snagging fish, but some of our swimbait treble hooks may fall into these larger hooks. Maybe Mike Giusti can further elaborate on the stinger hooks issue? BTW snagged or not, I still want to see the pictures of this toad. next one------------------------------- its 100 percent true, my source was steve and dan barnett, who WERE THERE WHEN THE FISH WAS CAUGHT. they even got to touch the fish. the weighing of the fish flashed between 24 pounds and something ounces and 25 pounds. this is a 100% true story EXCEPT, this fish was NOT caught on a swimbait. still waiting on the news report when it comes. Next one-------------------------------------- its defently a world record fish but i dont think it will stand. story says it was caught on a white jig and foul hooked outside the mouth so i dont think it will fly. just my opinion if i spotted that fish on a bed i would defentily call someone and have them video tape me catching it so their would be no doubts we are talking about a million dollar fish here and i defentily would of found someway to keep that fish alive till dfg could arrive just my thoughts..... All of these comments were made on the morning of the 20th till around 11am their time which would be around 1pm Tx time. Some of those guys claimed to be witnesses. That is why I find it skeptical, swimbait reported by 2 witnesses and the boat rental guy was 50 yards away when caught also.l

Only 25 % of hooked swimbait fish are landed. Do I need to elaborate on why I wouldn't chase a world record bass with a swim bait on the nest. Thats me, not Mike of Jed, but the fact is swimbaits are easily thrown, thus the horsing method to land them.

The reality of bass living 25 years is not accurate according to biologists, I went back and read numerous articles from noted biologists, area does make a difference to as how long they survive. Bass, on average are reported to live 13-15 years depending on the region. We all know of a few people who live to the century mark, but its not the norm, and a few bass may have lived to 25 years, and its not the norm as per the biologists either. If they did live that long, or a vast majority, the WR would have fallen long ago in my opinion.

You're right, they don't actively stock bass but those Florida strain bass didn't walk there. No, they were stocked at one time, but the fact remains, they don't actively stock bass. Ca has relied on the old fashioned method, its natural reproduction from the fish already stocked.

Nope, they don't actively stock bass. Trout is the money fish in that state, and the trout aren't for bass, its for all the trout fishermen and kids. Lots of trout fishermen in the state.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$lots of money generated from trout fishermen.

Flechero, I'll be a hypocrit when its a record, I do practice catch and release on all bass so far. If its a state record or WR or sharelunker, and none of the above means I'm killing the bass, the first place I want a fish like that is the hatchery so the biologists can study the DNA for future lunkers. They did what I hope I would do if I possessed an illegal fish, but sooner. As per the Cali fish and Game, it is illegal to catch a fish outside the mouth. (any season, whether in sight or not, its illegal to posses). Having this fish in their possesion could net them a ticket as witnessed from others who saw the foul hooked fish, supposedly with the with Jig, that had a stinger attached, a treble added to a jig.

Where did he get his info from on how long bass survive. I haven't heard other biologists that confirm 25 years. 13-15 yrs was average. Now Cuba on the other hand, supposedly have bass that out live our strains found in the US.

Dixon has certified scales at the consession stand, which is on the lake also.

Dixon has certified scales at the lake, the consession stand, no excuses.