as the tittle states.... would you?

im genuinely curios as to how many people have actually caught a record fish, but decided not to report it to keep "trophy chasers" from blowing up a lake or river and just destroying the fishery.

if its a well known bass lake or river that constantly puts out trophy fish then I get claiming that title, but if you were to catch a state/world record bass at your local lake or spot on the river , would you run the risk of having everyone knowing where you caught that fish and potentially ruining the ods of getting another trophy?

or would you snap a quick photo and release it back into the water to keep the spot going, and in turn, keeping it from becoming over fished by people just wanting a tittle? food for thought i guess.

Edited January 23Jan 23 by MinDoFmejiA
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Too late - it’s blown up! But yeah I probably would not submit it because they kill the fish - I’d try to do as many pics as possible and weigh it somewhere credible with witnesses on video and release it.

I believe this was asked a while ago in regards to a new state record.

I'm not going to be producing anything in the world record bass realm here in MN, so that's not anything I think about.

But a state record is within reach, especially for smallmouth bass. MN also has a C & R length category for state records. I looked at the form needed for submission. It requires a least 1 witness and you have to reveal the county, lake, and nearest city/town in order to be reviewed.

On a big lake, I would probably do it. But on a smaller one, no way. I don't need to show up the next time and see 20 rigs in the lot because they all know there's a living state record there.

Depends...is there money tied to this in some way? Or attention / fame?

Am I getting some financial gain from this...well then yes, I would most certainly claim the state or world record. That would likely come with some level of notoriety, press tour, endorsement, sponsorship, etc,. and I am fine with that. As long as you are paying me for my time.

If there is no money involved, and I would just have my picture plastered all over the internet...nope. Not interested.

No money involved = catch the fish, snap a few pictures, and release back in to the wild, as I thanked her for the dance. And thanked God for the opportunity.

I haven't so far.😉

On an already world famous lake that produces..Okeechobee, Toho, St.Johns River, Everglades etc…Yeah I would

On the smaller out of the way lakes or really anything that holds water down here I would not.

Mike

I know of someone who caught a state record and tried to keep it alive. He even took it to the DNR to get it weighed but he wasn’t able to return it to the water alive. He was adamant about not submitting it for the record because he’d have to tell where he caught it and when. He’d come across a pattern that could reliably produce huge smallmouth that was on a tributary of a Great Lake. The tributary could not have handled much fishing pressure and he knew his spot would be ruined.

I sure would

I would like to believe I would take a good photo for my own records and release it, especially if it was caught on an inland lake and not one of the Great Lakes.

It seems like everytime I go to use my Rapala digital scale, which is like twice a year, the batteries are always dead, the livewell is empty and I hate to have the fish sit in a livewell for over a minute before the water is deep enough to allow them to breathe so I can put fresh batteries in it. So the chances of me even knowing it was a record are slim to none anyway LOL

While I am competitive in regards to my angling endeavors, it's with myself, not a tournament guy, just love to fish and explore new places and I live for solitude in wild places, so the chances of destroying future chances at peace and quiet on already busy fisheries, hope I would keep my head down and just keep on trucking without the ole Bass Fever getting to me...

I have no problem with the man or woman that would do otherwise though, I get it.

No, I don't think so. My local lakes already own the state record smallmouth and muskie.

OP... what's a tittle?

Nope.

I would take a cool picture and let it go.

Put it on my obituary.

Yeap

Nowadays, it's all about finding the next hot place because the current places almost always gets discovered by the masses.

As mentioned above, there was a thread covering this topic not too long ago.

Right off the bat, the chance of this happening for me is mostly like winning the Powerball twice in a row.

#zero

Despite the long shot, a little more than half a decade or so ago, I was pretty serious

about completing the proper steps and documentation to cement my name &

what would have to be a very special fish in the pages of history.

Well, as time has past and my fishing has become even more trophy-hunter focused,

I have completely abandoned that entire deal.

I would still capture video, and weigh the fish on my totally un-offical scale,

get several pictures that are way too close to the camera, and then record the healthy release.

Most all of that would be for me and perhaps a few select bassheads who understand the significance.

But at this point that's probably as far as it would go.

Have to admit that it would be kind of fun to put the fish in the livewell, transport her to a different

but a very well-known/popular location, and shoot some video of it including the release.

And then enjoy the fallout.

Oh, and there would be some fallout.

Good Times

😉

A-Jay

Water around Indy is way too skinny to have a place ruined. I’m in much more desperate need of a good place to fish than I am a state record.

I don't fish anywhere large enough to handle the increase in pressure that would result from publicizing a new state record catch. And I don't really have the means to keep a fish alive long enough to be certified either.

So I think I'd just have a Fish Tale.

II had a pinch of fame, enough to to taste it and to learn it doesn't suit me. I want a quiet life on a quiet pond. I'd never choose to end that.

4 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

No, I don't think so. My local lakes already own the state record smallmouth and muskie.

OP... what's a tittle?

They probably meant title. However a tittle is the dot above a lower case i or j. 🙃

And as to the question. Maybe on a big body of water that puts out records. No on small water.

1 hour ago, Kev-mo said:

a tittle is the dot above a lower case i or j.

"skiing"... there; now we have two tittles.

I'm in Ga., so lake or State. I'm putting her in the books.

I would. Half of the public lakes in Florida are already overfished. Adding one more wouldn’t bother me in the least. A fish that big would have to be at or near the end of its life anyway, but I wouldn’t want to kill it unless necessary.

In Florida , there’s a good chance the fish would be caught in a private or semi private lake though.

My personal opinion is that a state record swims in Kingsley lake Fl. I wouldn’t necessarily say world record there, but it’s possible. 2 fish over 15 pounds were caught there fairly recently.

It’s semi private at this point, and is probably the deepest natural lake in Fl., with depths over 90 feet deep. I believe it’s around 2000 acres also.

But I’m getting off track.

I mostly fish non public waters anymore, and if it was private who would care? Maybe it would increase the fishing from those with access on the lake .. If it’s like most private lakes in Florida only a small % of the owners ever fish at all anyway. On my lake , only a few besides me ever fish. And I probably do 90% of all the fishing on the lake.

Nope.

Shoot video/weigh, back in the water with a thank you.

I don’t think I would, even if I did. The St.John’s River is over 300 miles long. The Ocklawaha, where I do most of my fishing, is 75 miles long. You have above and below the dam, and a Ka-zillion little creeks and channels off it.

So if I did “claim the fame” I don’t think it would matter.

21 hours ago, Peninsular said:

just love to fish and explore new places and I live for solitude in wild places, so the chances of destroying future chances at peace and quiet on already busy fisheries, hope I would keep my head down and just keep on trucking without the ole Bass Fever getting to me...

I have no problem with the man or woman that would do otherwise though, I get it.

X2^

Absolutely I would. If it’s a smallmouth record Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or the St Lawrence River can handle the subsequent fishing pressure. That’s where I fish for them. As for largemouth in the state of Florida I have no concerns. The better lakes are all ready hampered by pressure & the constant spraying of vegetation by the powers that be. Besides the state record is 17+ lbs so that is nose bleed territory for most.