Sorry if you took my suggestions personal, but just two points and I will keep quiet:
1.) My comments were not just an opinion but based on personal observation of trophy fish that I've mounted for other anglers going on 29 years now. I've also been growing out trophy bass, bluegill, yellow perch, and brook and brown trout since 1994 in ponds and can see them close up and personal. My main method of harvest is hook and line before they are sold and shipped whole frozen as far away as Hawaii.
2.). These celebrity anglers typically fish large bodies of water and probably will never catch the same fish again to know what effects they had on the fish they release.
Next time you fish a body of water that gets a lot of catch and release bass take a close look at the maxillary bone on each side of the mouth. You'll start noticing one side will be malformed. That 's most likely from a treble hook. And check the lower lip. You may find the two bones that come together in the center of the lip are seperated.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 01/06/13 09:33 AM.
