Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,107
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,417
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
11 members (Boondoggle, Dylanfrely, Bill Cody, jbird5986, Deancutler, Angler8689, FireIsHot, Treeguy27, FishinRod, esshup, PRCS), 739 guests, and 171 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#399295 01/29/15 10:05 PM
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163
F
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
F
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 mad

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 grin


Carl Spackler: "This place got a pool?"
Ty Webb: "Pool and a pond. Pond would be good for you..."
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
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.aspx

http://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.






Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,689
Likes: 281
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,689
Likes: 281
" 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."

Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
C
Junior Member
Offline
Junior Member
C
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.


Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163
F
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
F
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 163
Whoa -- that is a beast! shocked

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..."
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
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
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358
Likes: 4
Offline
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?

Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,792
Likes: 68
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,792
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

[Linked Image from i1261.photobucket.com]


Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
C
Junior Member
Offline
Junior Member
C
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
Originally Posted By: Fishman Dan
Whoa -- that is a beast! shocked

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.

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,417
Likes: 793
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,417
Likes: 793
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....


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 227
T
Offline
T
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 227
I have nothing to add except my two smallies together didn't even weigh 8lbs...


Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
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

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
pond experience needed
by jbird5986 - 03/28/24 08:10 PM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by Boondoggle - 03/28/24 06:45 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5