I'm going to add my thoughts to some of your questions, Rod..
First, the question of "Is there something special about most existing state record/world record fish"
Blunt answer: Yes, or they wouldn't stand for 10-15-20-50-100 years.
Small pond management creates the best conditions for sampling, fishing and growing bigger fish because you have a limited area of management, more easily influenced by a managers input.
I'm sure most pond owners that learn proper management that grows above average fish have had several encounters with fish above existing record statis. In my situation, as I said above, I will never put my name on a record from my pond.
In my case I believe I have superior genetics which is one part of the puzzle, management is key, but understanding what you change or don't change in management is not learned overnight and it most cases you can't apply what you don't know without making mistakes to understand it was the wrong move. I don't care how much one researches "Pond topics and growing fish" each pond will be different in how the ecosystem reacts to changes. There are basic principles we can apply but there is no absolute rule to this because there are way too many variables that we may never understand. All we can do is somewhat control what we do understand-in reality, that is all we can apply as managers.
No, I still don't feel guilty allowing my wife to put her name on the new state record YP. Yes, there are some in there bigger than what she caught. When you spend nearly every spare moment you have with fisheries and other related items for 35+ years instead of doing all the things my wife has wished I would have done around the house, I think she more than deserved this honor. I'm not going to feel guilty about it.
My point is this could happen in any pond with the right conditions but we may only have some understanding of half of those variables, so yes, luck, genetics, management we understand and an individual fish having something special is absolutely necessary for these freaks to occur.
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