George,
It's a mistake I hope to never, ever repeat! I've regretted the mistake over and over since Saturday evening. It literally haunts me.
I completely forgot about the cork grip thing and should have used that or anything else, e.g. a stick or weed or whatever, to get the length. I guess my brain froze. All I could think about was whether or not to kill the fish by taking it back to the house or release it.
It was the weight of this fish that was so special. Incredible size. No pictures, no proof, however. Just another fish story.
I always go to this pond on the small tractor and carry a bucket, tape measure, scales, and usually the digital camera. This one time, I just grabbed the fly rod, tied on a Charlie, and walked out to the pond to quickly sample the CNBG. I knew it was full moon time and I expected them to be in shallows for spawning. Never expected to see the fish of a lifetime.
Sunil, I hope you are right...and will not stop thinking of this fish until another one hopefully comes along sometime.
