This " discussion " is almost as good and the 'ring fights' that Cecil and I have. I might as well get back in this foray.
'Standard' or average length of a 37 lb northern pike is 52" long.
I think the 17 inch largemouth bass esshup was referring to is the bass in the picture above, which if one does not look closely, the bass length could be seen as 17" long, but is in fact 27 inches long!. Esshup - look again and closely at that ruler marking. I had to darken the photo to get a good view of and verify the 27 inch marking. By the way that is a real big largemouth but more importantly an unbelievably trophy sized bass coming from the great state of Nebraska which is in plant hardiness map or climate zone of 5 and not from a warm long growing season of Florida or southern California. To grow a bass this big in plant hardiness zone 5, one has to be doing many things very well. Condello is not only good at producing great angler fish photos but also growing trophy sized bass.
To see the plant hardiness zone where you live click on the link below. If on the map you click on your state it will give you a detailed map of your state showing low average winter temperatures.
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#The lower your average winter temperatures means that area has a shorter growing season and it is less likely you will be able to grow fish as big as someone else in more southern plant hardiness zones. It makes that 27" bass a truly remarkable fish for Nebraska waters. FYI - the standard weight for a 27" LMB is 11.95 lbs. IMO the Bruce bass is a pound or three larger than 11.95 lbs.
