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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163
Lunker
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OP
Lunker
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163 |
Greetings everyone! Long time, no post... I was going through some old fishing photos today when I came upon this picture of my brother with a huge smallie that he caught while we were fishing on Basswood Lake on the MN-Ontario border in late May of 2004: She was an absolute pig, coming in without much of a fight and just oozing eggs. We took a quick picture and measurements and carefully got her back in the water ASAP -- she swam away after a big splash in my brothers face Looking back at our guide's notes, we had the measurements at 22" long and 17" girth. We called her "The Football" because of her shape and massive girth. I'm telling you, she was incredibly thick! After finding the picture and reliving a great memory, I got to thinking -- how much did that baby weigh? We didn't have a scale and obviously weren't going to risk killing the big beautiful momma just to get an accurate weight on certified scales. I Googled bass weight calculators today and punched in the length and width. A couple of them showed a weight of 8.06 pounds (others were between 7-8 pounds). I then looked up the MN State Record -- 8.00 pounds caught in 1943! I remember at the time that we estimated the weight to be about 8 pounds. But we didn't give it much thought, because the guide and lodge owner mistakenly thought the state record was 9 pounds. Oops. Anyhow, I wanted to share the picture and get everyone's thoughts about the fish's dimensions based on the photo. We wouldn't have any reason to fudge the numbers, but we were pretty excited (freaked out, actually) when we got the fish in the boat, so it's possible our measurements or notes of measurements were off... Let me know what you think. In a sick, older-brother way, I love the idea of my little brother possibly catching a state record fish and receiving no recognition
Carl Spackler: "This place got a pool?" Ty Webb: "Pool and a pond. Pond would be good for you..."
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1 |
Definitely an awesome fish but not totally convinced it would have made 8 lbs but it would be close. I looked up some replica blanks below for some comparison: http://www.mckenziesp.com/Smallmouth-Bass-C118.aspxhttp://www.lakecountryreplicas.com/details.php?id=133
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 01/29/15 10:32 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,740 Likes: 293
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,740 Likes: 293 |
" In a sick, older-brother way, I love the idea of my little brother possibly catching a state record fish and receiving no recognition"
Brutality Rising!!!
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104 |
This one was 22" even almost 19" girth and weighed 8lbs 1 oz. for reference. She was caught in the fall, so no eggs.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163
Lunker
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OP
Lunker
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163 |
Whoa -- that is a beast! Also confirms that my bro's fish was under 8lbs. Where was that beauty caught?
Carl Spackler: "This place got a pool?" Ty Webb: "Pool and a pond. Pond would be good for you..."
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,141 Likes: 488
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,141 Likes: 488 |
You guys give us pondowners here that have smallies in their pond a goal to grow one as big. Bruce Condello can show/tell us how to do it with largemouth. See Jan-Feb 2015 pond boss magazine page9 for an example of one of Bruce's home grown LMB. Maybe we can get Bruce to write an article about his special bass growing technique in PB mag for getting our pond bass to state record sizes. I don't think Bruce has any pictures here on the forum of some of his extra big home grown bass or I would post a link to the pictures. Any help here with this?
FYI the standard weight of a 22" SMB is 6.38lbs (6lb 6oz). If this 6lb6oz female was full of eggs at 25% of her body weight that would make her 7 lbs 15.5oz (127.5oz).
Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/30/15 11:59 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4 |
Too few posts from Bruce these days. Maybe he's just obsessed with those discoid blue carp?
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,795 Likes: 68
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,795 Likes: 68 |
These are both outstanding fish! Fishman, I have fished Crooked Lake in the BWCA in my 20s on 10 day canoe trips. By best fish was 21" spawned out female, estimated around 5#. That's an amazing fish so far North, but your brother's is something special. Not taking anything away from SMB in Southern waters - while their growing seasons are longer and forage probably more varied and abundant, their lifespans are likely much shorter than Northern fish. I'm a sucker for a huge SMB, no matter where it was grown! Thanks for sharing, guys.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104 |
Whoa -- that is a beast! Also confirms that my bro's fish was under 8lbs. Where was that beauty caught? This one came out lake chickamauga in TN about 8 years ago.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,512 Likes: 831
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,512 Likes: 831 |
They don't have to be caught during spawning time to be heavy for lenght. I caught one in Northern Wi the 2nd weekend in September from a public BOW that was 19" long and 19" girth....
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 227
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 227 |
I have nothing to add except my two smallies together didn't even weigh 8lbs...
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,141 Likes: 488
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,141 Likes: 488 |
Even 4 lb smallies are very nice fish - Dandies indeed.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
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