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Update from the ON DNR about the 10lb Erie monster caught a few months back....


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Don't or can't post the video from the father/son's friend, but anyway the fish was killed which we knew by the ON DNR so they could conduct these tests.    

 

It was a female, she was 16 years old, and was without eggs.     

 

I'm still saddened by the fact the fish had to die, and adds more fuel to the FFS/Giant Bass argument, but given she didn't have eggs, and was 16 years old......surely she was at the end of her life anyways.   

 

Imagine how special of a fish, how much it must defy the odds to reach 16 years old, and 10lb+.    I'd say greater than the powerball winner who won 2bil.   

 

The thing I would love to know the most is the growth chart for this fish.   How fast did it reach 10lbs, did it ever get to 11 or 12lbs?    It's very possible this fish was a half to pound heavier at some point in the last few years before the ON DNR killed her. 

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It’s really too bad this fish has to die. That was our best known candidate to break the world record, and like you said it’s possible that the fish was heavier than the world record at some point during its life. But we can only assume it spawned successfully many times and it’s genes are still throughout Erie. And hopefully the biologists got some valuable information on it. 


The smallmouth world record is vulnerable in my opinion, but if people kill any fish that gets close to it, then maybe not. 
 

Thanks for the new info. I’m fascinated by anything to do with that mutant fish. 

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Without this info, the story would have been “she was gonna spread her eggs”

 

good to hear the real truth sometimes, I’ve tried to post on here many times that old grandmas don’t breed year after year but most didn’t believe it. 
 

IMO it’s more important to let the small ones go, they are the future. That’s why they only let you keep bass once they reach a certain size, by that point they have already spawned 

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Not really a sad thing to me at all.  It comes with the price of working with the outdoors to fit human needs.  If you think otherwise then you need to stop fishing plain and simple becasue the impact over all to teh environment from a multitude of angles related to fishing has more of an impact than killing a fish that is obviously not going to spawn anymore and has gone through fish menopause.

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6 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

It’s really too bad this fish has to die. That was our best known candidate to break the world record, and like you said it’s possible that the fish was heavier than the world record at some point during its life. But we can only assume it spawned successfully many times and it’s genes are still throughout Erie. And hopefully the biologists got some valuable information on it. 


The smallmouth world record is vulnerable in my opinion, but if people kill any fish that gets close to it, then maybe not. 
 

Thanks for the new info. I’m fascinated by anything to do with that mutant fish. 

This is where I'm at.   I'm happy to know that she likely spawned a bunch during her lifetime, and she was likely near the end of her life, but on the other hand this story could have ended totally different if she had eggs and was a bit younger.....something ON DNR could not know until they killed her, or at least her age.  

 

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3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

IMO it’s more important to let the small ones go, they are the future.

100% agree. Big fish have reproduced many times by the time they reach trophy size. Their genes are out there in the younger generations. No harm or shame in getting a skin mount done when you get that fish of a lifetime if you want.  That's how I roll, and I'm unapologetic about it. 

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11 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

100% agree. Big fish have reproduced many times by the time they reach trophy size. Their genes are out there in the younger generations. No harm or shame in getting a skin mount done when you get that fish of a lifetime if you want.  That's how I roll, and I'm unapologetic about it. 

 

Yeah, any one fish isn't going to make a difference either way.

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6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Without this info, the story would have been “she was gonna spread her eggs”

 

good to hear the real truth sometimes, I’ve tried to post on here many times that old grandmas don’t breed year after year but most didn’t believe it. 
 

IMO it’s more important to let the small ones go, they are the future. That’s why they only let you keep bass once they reach a certain size, by that point they have already spawned 

 

2 hours ago, T-Billy said:

100% agree. Big fish have reproduced many times by the time they reach trophy size. Their genes are out there in the younger generations. No harm or shame in getting a skin mount done when you get that fish of a lifetime if you want.  That's how I roll, and I'm unapologetic about it. 

 

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

 

Yeah, any one fish isn't going to make a difference either way.

 

According to iOutdoors bass fishing as become so popular that there is an estimated 30 million bass anglers in the United States now.  So what if every one of them keeps a single "trophy" bass?  Would 30 million fish make a difference?

 

This is a serious question on my part don't get ur undies in a bunch.  I don't know much about the ecology of it.  I DO know that, even though I don't crappie fish, there is an epic crappie lake one hour from me and at the rate they pull huge bags out of it day after day nearly all year long there has to be millions and millions of crappie in that one lake. 

 

I admit I get rankled when people tell me they are eating bass or keeping big bass but I don't actually know what effect it has, other than if you keep a 9lb bass from a lake I fish then I can't ever catch that bass.  I would never consider for a second keeping a "lifetime" bass for that very reason.  Or even a 5lber.  I want someone else to have that same chance. But different people have different opinions about how to approach life. 

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22 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

 

 

 

According to iOutdoors bass fishing as become so popular that there is an estimated 30 million bass anglers in the United States now.  So what if every one of them keeps a single "trophy" bass?  Would 30 million fish make a difference?

 

This is a serious question on my part don't get ur undies in a bunch.  I don't know much about the ecology of it.  I DO know that, even though I don't crappie fish, there is an epic crappie lake one hour from me and at the rate they pull huge bags out of it day after day nearly all year long there has to be millions and millions of crappie in that one lake. 

 

I admit I get rankled when people tell me they are eating bass or keeping big bass but I don't actually know what effect it has, other than if you keep a 9lb bass from a lake I fish then I can't ever catch that bass.  I would never consider for a second keeping a "lifetime" bass for that very reason.  Or even a 5lber.  I want someone else to have that same chance. But different people have different opinions about how to approach life. 

That would have an effect but most people release bass. I imagine they would change the limit if everyone kept them everyday 

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58 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

According to iOutdoors bass fishing as become so popular that there is an estimated 30 million bass anglers in the United States now.  So what if every one of them keeps a single "trophy" bass?  Would 30 million fish make a difference?

This is a serious question on my part don't get ur undies in a bunch. 

 

Not to worry about the tidy whities, I don't take most things seriously, certainly not fishing,..... 

Do I really need to comment on "What if every bass angler catches trophy bass", because I will, but think about it, it makes no sense logically, mathematically, or looking at the PB: on the Avitars... :) 

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1 hour ago, BigAngus752 said:

I admit I get rankled when people tell me they are eating bass or keeping big bass but I don't actually know what effect it has, other than if you keep a 9lb bass from a lake I fish then I can't ever catch that bass.  I would never consider for a second keeping a "lifetime" bass for that very reason.  Or even a 5lber.  I want someone else to have that same chance. But different people have different opinions about how to approach life. 

 

Times have changed and most of us think like you now. 

 

I posted in another thread below this one about my son keeping two big SM to enter into a contest. That was maybe 40 years ago. At the time on the waters I fished most killed a big fish so they could show it off. Early on I began to realize this was not good! 

 

What really opened my eyes and turned me off to tournament fishing was watching guys run a tournament on a lake I fished often. They submitted and weighed in dead fish. Fish I'd never get to catch. Thankfully all that has changed and we are all benefiting and so will our kids and grandkids. 

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3 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

 

 

 

According to iOutdoors bass fishing as become so popular that there is an estimated 30 million bass anglers in the United States now.  So what if every one of them keeps a single "trophy" bass?  Would 30 million fish make a difference?

 

This is a serious question on my part don't get ur undies in a bunch.  I don't know much about the ecology of it.  I DO know that, even though I don't crappie fish, there is an epic crappie lake one hour from me and at the rate they pull huge bags out of it day after day nearly all year long there has to be millions and millions of crappie in that one lake. 

 

I admit I get rankled when people tell me they are eating bass or keeping big bass but I don't actually know what effect it has, other than if you keep a 9lb bass from a lake I fish then I can't ever catch that bass.  I would never consider for a second keeping a "lifetime" bass for that very reason.  Or even a 5lber.  I want someone else to have that same chance. But different people have different opinions about how to approach life. 

Well... I've been at it for 4+ decades now and have ONE trophy bass on the wall, and I'm a better angler than most so...... pretty sure there wouldn't be 30 million big bass harvested over a short period.

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4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That would have an effect but most people release bass. I imagine they would change the limit if everyone kept them everyday 

That makes sense.

3 hours ago, Deleted account said:

 

Not to worry about the tidy whities, I don't take most things seriously, certainly not fishing,..... 

Do I really need to comment on "What if every bass angler catches trophy bass", because I will, but think about it, it makes no sense logically, mathematically, or looking at the PB: on the Avitars... :) 

Of course not, it was for discussion purposes.  However, I know quite a few bass fishermen who keep and eat their bass.  And one angler keeping every legal bass every time they fish will make up for a whole lotta us NOT keeping one.  But my question was not meant to be taken literally.  It was for illustrative purposes to help me understand what kind of regeneration actually occurs. 

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Erie is such a huge system...the Great Lakes are the biggest freshwater system in the world...there will be another. You took a drop out of the pool.

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I think it's better for the DNR to kill her than someone put her in a pond, feed her trout, or whatever then catch her again and claim the world record.   

 

 

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As far as keeping or not keeping fish, all that really matters is that a kept fish is legally harvested according to the fishing regulations for the body of water where it was caught. That’s it.

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1 hour ago, Steveo-1969 said:

As far as keeping or not keeping fish, all that really matters is that a kept fish is legally harvested according to the fishing regulations for the body of water where it was caught. That’s it.

 

X2

I have never willfully killed a smallmouth but I would for a state record. And as someone else has already pointed out menopausal grandmas aren't making babies anymore.  

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1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I have never willfully killed a smallmouth but I would for a state record. 

 Yeah, a State Record here in Tennessee would be VERY special!

 

 

 

                                            Happy Lets Go GIF by Rosanna Pansino

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21 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

 Yeah, a State Record here in Tennessee would be VERY special!

 

 

 

                                            Happy Lets Go GIF by Rosanna Pansino

Yeah especially your state. 

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Regardless, genetics are 1:1 just like a big buck breeding a doe doesnt mean youll get a big buck. Thats why in captivity they control both sides of the genetics and line breed to get what they want. Blind mothers have children who can see. Its all a crapshoot unless controlled.

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