World record LMB caught released.

All,

Earlier this week the potential world record bass was caught from my old stomping grounds at lake Dixon in North County San Diego.

The fish was caught bed fishing, and was foul hooked.  It weighed 25# 1oz on a hand held berkely scale.

Due to the foul hooking situation the angler finaly decided not to seek the world record.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20060325-9999-1n25bigbass.html

MolBasser

Hey Mol have you read all the details?  it sure gets interesting.
the good news-- is we still have a chance.

Yeah, the drama is pretty intense.

check out the freshwater board at sdfish.com.......

I am not personally a fan of bed fishing, but hey, it is legal.

I can't believe all the hoo ha, buying off another guy fishing the fish, getting in the lake a bit early, lawyer at the ready....etc.

MolBasser

Molbasser, I thought you were dead. Taking some time off the boards, eh?

I've been researching the catch for an upcoming newspaper story. The thing most writers and commentators have missed, is the guys who caught it HAD to let it go. Foul hooked fish are not fair caught in California - it was technically illegal for them to possess the fish as long as they did. The law says they should have immediately returned it to the water.

Weakley is getting a lot of credit from some writers for not submitting for the record, like it's some special mark of sportsmanship. That's BS. Although right near the top of the IGFA rulebook it states that unintentionally foul-hooking a fish is not cause to invalidate the catch, there is another rule. A catch has to meet local laws and regulations. Since as far as the state is concerned, that bass was not caught, there is no chance the IGFA would have recognized it. "But," you ask, "does it really matter?"

I'm still thinking on that one. Anyone who cares knows Weakley caught the biggest largemouth ever landed on rod and reel. Those who believe the fish was intentionally snagged will continue to think so.

And what of the million plus that would shower down on a new record holder. That's another fish story. According to a PR rep at a huge fishing conglomerate, the potential value of endorsements is likely to be in the tens of thousands. Still good money, but a darn sight less than a cool mil.

Just curious I'm not a big LMBass fisherman but have caught quite a few, I have never foul hooked one. Just wondering have any of you ever foul hooked one?

Was watching ESPN this morning, the anglers have video of the fish being weighed at a dock......it is a freakin monster.


  

  

Interesting point about the legality of a foul hooked fish in California.  Do you have the reg quote.

This changes everything.  It goes from being a "cool gesture" to an obviouse legal manuver.  Now knowing this, I figure the guys lawyer told him to let it go because it was not even a possibility of being legal.  Had there been a possibility, I now think you would have gone for the record.

BTW I have foul hooked plenty of bass in my day on accident.  It is not uncommon.

MolBasser

Was watching ESPN this morning, the anglers have video of the fish being weighed at a dock......it is a freakin monster.


  

  

Yeah, half of "BassCenter" this morning was this fish.

It was a toad.  I don't doubt the weight, or that the guy caught it, but the circumstance is very cloak and dagger.

MolBasser

Just to clarify, foul-hooked FRESHWATER fish are not fair-caught. Most saltwater fish can be retained if snagged. The most notable exception is salmon, but you knew that.

IMO, snagging bed fish is fairly common.

Sure Chris, I'll give you a preview of my article

This is the pertinent section of the freshwater regs. You can bet I made some calls to DFG to clarify its interpretation. Definitively, from a very highly placed source, a freshwater fish must be hooked from the inside of the mouth to be a legal catch.

1.05. Angling.
To take fish by hook and line with the line held
in the hand, or with the line attached to a pole
or rod held in the hand or closely attended in
such manner that the fish voluntarily takes the
bait or lure in its mouth.

We might as well as lay out the rest of the case. Here are the pertinent sections from the IGFA rules:

The following acts will disqualify a catch:
1. Failure to comply with equipment or angling regulations.
(snip)
10. Intentionally foul-hooking a fish.

and the dagger

GENERAL INFORMATION
IGFA maintains world records for both freshwater and saltwater
game fishes in line class, tippet class and all-tackle categories.
In order to qualify for a record, a catch must be a minimum of 1 pound
(.453 kg) in weight, and must exceed the existing record by the required
amount or meet the minimum weight requirements, if any, for vacant
records.

No applications will be accepted for fish caught in hatchery waters
or sanctuaries. The catch must not be at variance with any laws or
regulations governing the species or the waters in which it was caught.

I verified this one too. According to an IGFA authority, if the state doesn't recognize a catch as legal, neither can the IGFA.

If you watched Bass Center you heard the same bottom line at the end of the report. Finally! Writer after writer repeated the farce that Weakley is some kind of hero for releasing the fish. They used all kinds of flawed logic. Here's a taste: because he released it, he didn't break any laws, so it's kosher. No, no, no. I was there on Tuesday but didn't have confirmation until Weds morning, by which time Weakley had announced he'd decided not to submit the catch, so bye-bye breaking story.

If you think there is a lot of controversy with the fish released, just think what would have happened if it had been retained and killed illegally in front of numerous witnesses.

Excellent.

Well now we know why he didn't go for the record.

Given that these guys paid 1000 bucks to get another guy off the fish and have been "world record hunting" for years, we can safely assume that the only reason that they let the fish/record go was because their lawyer told them to, not because it was some kind of moral gesture......

MolBasser

The fish caught and released a few years ago in Spring Lake was bigger. 

The fish caught and released a few years ago in Spring Lake was bigger. 

There has been a couple of claims but they all seem fishy. Would you throw back a fish that could earn you millions of dollars and allow you to do nothing but fish for the rest of your life ?   
http://www.iglou.com/fishincom/articles/possible-record.htm
 http://www.flwoutdoors.com/article.cfm?id=141101

http://www.worldrecordbass.com/

Try this link:

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/duclos.html

If nothing else, the other pictures show you why I'm going to land the jackpot largemouth this year. 

Dustin, I will meet you at Spring Lake any time you want. Close to home and there are some nice size lmbass in there.....
World Record?