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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | As I was on the road day dreaming last Friday I started thinking about the following scenario, I knew the thread was on the board regarding keeping a record, but I hadn’t read it yet. After reading that thread I became more curious as to what the Muskie Firsters would think about my scenario. So here goes:
Mid summer fishing the Northwest Angle of LOTW, a fisherman ties into a true fish of a lifetime, after a lengthy battle with the fish it is brought into the net. The fish is girthed in the net, in the water, at 32 inches and measured on a bump board at 58 inches. All caught on video tape. A quick crunch of the numbers estimates the weight at 74+/- pounds, taking one inch off the girth still estimate the weight at 69.6 +/- pounds. After much thought with the fish in the net the fisherman says screw it, I put in my time, I release everything, this fish is possibly a world record and for sure a Canadian Record. This would possibly SHUT UP all the controversy over the current World Record. And I want IT, I’m keeping this baby. So in the live well the fish goes with aerator running, just incase a release attempt is made later. Quick stop at the resort to pick up some ice, and the resort owner (if Frank wants to go). Fish is transferred to resort boat, as it has a bigger livewell and handles rough water better, plus angler who caught the fish is shaking like a leaf and shouldn’t drive the boat anymore. Livewell is filled and Ice is placed in the livewell to keep the fish cool. Phone calls are made to try and get Mn DNR and Ontario fisheries personnel to Youngs Bay. Fish is transported to Youngs Bay, once everyone and everything is ready the fish is pulled from the livewell and official weighed and measured on a certified scale in front of witness. Length 58 inches, girth laying on the board, 31.25 inches, weight 68.5 pounds. Fish is DEAD, frozen in a big cooler and shipped in dry ice to Fittante.
Not a World record, but a new Canadian record. So if that story was real how do feel about the way the situation was handled?
Thanks, it’s amazing the things the mind can come up with as we get closer to the Musky season and up coming trips.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Location: Des Moines IA | Can you say BONK!!!! I'd do the exact same thing, for the exact same reason. I'm sick of the Louie Spray BS.I just want to see that chapter of the muskie fishing records closed for good. With that said though, if it weren't for that particular record, I wouldn't ever kill any muskie. |
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Posts: 1438
| Mike-
End result is, angler decided to do what he has the legal right to do. If that decision is what makes him happy and pisses someone else off, too bad. End result is... the choice is his. If I'm reading right, his intention may have been to release the fish in the first place and attempted to take the steps to accomplish that. He didn't actually decide to keep it until it was dead. Call it a victim of circumstance??
Too many times in this day and age, people make their decisions based on what other people think rather than what they think.
Scott |
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Posts: 311
Location: Ontario | I'd feel a lot better if I remenbered to throw in at least a dozen cans along with the ice for the boat ride. |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | You have quite the imagination Mike, lol...
If the whole thing was recorded well on videotape, then I personally would have just released the fish. However if I was fishing in the boat with the angler that *caught* the fish, then I would support whatever they chose to do; release it, or keep it.
While I am an advocate for C&R, I am also an advocate for one's ability to exercise their legal rights. So if the fish was taken legally by my boat partner, and they decided to keep it--so be it.
TB |
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | Well it isn't going to happen...so no big reason to dwell on it...BUT IF it did happen....
I would have let it go. No reason to kill it just to get your name in a book. You have it on film, you have photos.... let her go where she came from. She got that big for a reason. Let her be. |
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| It's their choice...the laws are written the way they are...while i'm 99.9% for release if a guy is within the law, catches a 68 lber and it dies, oh well, it was probalby going to die fairly soon anyway and had plenty of spawning years to pass on it's genes. |
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Posts: 109
| Every Angler is different as we all know. For me personally I would have released it since records are not why I fish. But that being said, I believe anglers have the right to keep a trophy fish if it is of legal length.
I would rather see 1 fish kept out of 10,000 as long as the other 9999 are handled properly. What I have often seen in videos from Youtube and on other forums and also Photographs is that many Muskie are mis-treated and do not survive. That to me is a shame. A good release is what should be preached more then 1 guy keeping a possible LEGAL record fish. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I would let the fish go as it wouild be illegal for me to keep it. I only have an Ontario conservation license which doesn't allow any muskies of any size to be kept. Most muskie fishermen get the conservation license. Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 8837
| If it was me in that situation, I'd want to know if it was a record. Not that a record fish means a whole lot in the grand scheme of life, but my curiousity would get the best of me. I'd want it weighed. Then I'd let it go, because I'd feel guilty killing it intentionally. If it were someone else? Well, I'd prefer people released big fish. But the laws aren't written based on "I'd prefer", they're written (hopefully) on sound biological scientific research, by people who know a whole lot more than I do, and if they say its ok to harvest that fish, who am I to tell anyone otherwise?
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Location: Green Bay, WI | MoMuskieguy - 4/29/2008 12:34 PM
snip...
I would rather see 1 fish kept out of 10,000 as long as the other 9999 are handled properly. What I have often seen in videos from Youtube and on other forums and also Photographs is that many Muskie are mis-treated and do not survive. That to me is a shame. A good release is what should be preached more then 1 guy keeping a possible LEGAL record fish.
This is an outstanding comment!
The number of muskies harvested is really only the tip of the iceberg--but the part we *don't* see is the total impact that poor handling has on the fishery.
If we really want to protect the musky fisheries on this Continent, let's attack the real issue. Certainly, higher size limits and total C&R fisheries are tools that can be employed to help preserve a fishery. But the real unknown factor is how well we as anglers can spread the word about improved fish handling techniques. I am convinced that this, as much as anything else, will be the most important factor in our sport over the next 5 years.
TB |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | I bought a hanging scale just in case.
Here is a link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Hanging-Fishing-Scale-Luggage-Scales-11...
I like the scale, it is a little small, but well built. It has a metal case. I am waiting to get my calibration weights back from NIST calibration to check the accuracy, but I don't expect any problems. (I am in charge of calibration at work)
I plan on modifying the handle to a long bar for 2 hands. I intend to weigh the fish in the net and subtract the net weight. If this doesn't work very well I might get a cradle just for weighing. I know any measurement with this scale won't hold up as a record, but if I would ever get lucky enough to catch one close, I would know the weight right away. It will help to properly size a fish for a replica too. There is a better chance that I might be able to use it on a friends fish, it might even save a fishes life someday. |
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Posts: 2068
| ...Good thing I read ALL the posts I started to type what DJ said
Edited by IAJustin 4/29/2008 12:50 PM
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| Have a scale with you when fishing trophy water, weigh the fish, and keep the fish in the water. Get plenty of pictures and video, then let her go unless she is truly 70 pounds. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | MikeHulbert - 4/29/2008 12:07 PM
Well it isn't going to happen...so no big reason to dwell on it...BUT IF it did happen....
I would have let it go. No reason to kill it just to get your name in a book. You have it on film, you have photos.... let her go where she came from. She got that big for a reason. Let her be.
Bingo. |
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Posts: 134
Location: (South of the 218) | She's out there - what YOU choose to do with her when she commits is entirely up to you.
I thought everybody bought the Conservation License nowadays in Ontario. I know I do. - So, that choice would have already been made by ME earlier. I wouldn't have an option on keeping it. Now if I was in good ole' USA and had the opportunity for harvest, then I'd make that choice then.
Oddly enough, I had the "monster Muskie" dream again last night. Honest... I even hit up some of the weight calculators this morning on the web - just in case it was a premonition for '08.
Out
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | What Doug said!
Now if if it were on Pelican......? |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | It will happen on Green Bay in the next 10 years.
That is if VHS or something else doesn't mess it up.
Edited by Jomusky 4/29/2008 1:59 PM
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | THANKS A LOT DougJ!!!!! Shatter my dreams, by reminding me that I also, always, buy a conservation license when I fish Canada. By the way how brilliant is that concept.
And once again Muskie Firsters are proving, they aren’t as crazy as some topics make us appear.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
Edited by MRoberts 4/29/2008 3:04 PM
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| take some good photos and have a replica made. regardless of the WR or something slightly less, I'd rather be the guy who known for releasing a fish worthy of the record, then the guy who felt the need to kill it for the books.
if it was somebody else, I guess deep down I'd like to see the controversey go away, but if it did, it would not be forever. It would do nothing more then provide a few years of silence before claims of 72#s were the norm. |
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I agree 100% with the sentiment of rather being known for releasing big fish than killing them.
I don't want to mount one, I don't want to hold a record.
The reason there are record class fish is because guys are letting them go.
We all know the MN record fish have been caught. One by a good friend of mine on Vermillion last year.
Just think if all the guys on Mille Lacs and Vermillion that caught potential record fish would have killed them.
Those guys releasing the big girls deserve medals.
JS
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Posts: 639
Location: Hudson, WI | Honestly, Mike, exact scenario I was thinking about last week. Way too much time on my hands until May 24th. Think about it, you would do what you had to do to keep the fish alive and it died. In the end, you end up keeping a true record (although, the big question is what do you do with it? eat it NO...skin mount...replica and throw it in the garbage?). We're talking about a 60 pound plus musky. How many people are really going to hate on you for displacing ol' Louie Spray (who shot the fish in the head with a .22 before he landed it) with a true world record. I'm sorry, but anyone on this site who would have a problem with Mike putting himself in the record books has some issues. I'm sure Mike has never eaten or intentionally killed a fish and neither have I. Every fish goes back forever and when you get THE ONE that everyone has been waiting for, you are a "non-conservationist." It's not about personal glory, it's about setting the true record straight.
By the way, Mike Hulbert, great off-hand tip on Gander Mountain reels with TE handles. Inexpensive way to get a great double 10 reel.
Adam |
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| I agree totally with Tom Betka on this one- "While I am an advocate for C&R, I am also an advocate for one's ability to exercise their legal rights. So if the fish was taken legally by my boat partner, and they decided to keep it--so be it."
I am fully in favor of catch & release, but I also would never fault anyone for keeping legally caught fish. There seems to be a fine line between fishermen who feel the same way, and those who feel every Muskie should be released no matter what the circumstance. Maybe we're making too big a deal out of the whole "record" process and consequently not helping ourselves. I've heard people say they'd "Bonk" what they thought to be the record fish, simply to end the argument once and for all. Maybe they'd feel differently if it wasn't a topic being constantly discussed on message boards and in magazines? Who knows. I do enjoy reading the opinions of others though. Good fishing. |
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| I figure if I catch a world record, With all the promotions and all. "I WON'T HAVE TO WORK ANYMORE, AND I COULD FISH MORE" BONK_BONK_BONK...LOL!!!  |
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Posts: 250
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | i would keep it but then again i am young and naive so what i say really doesnt matter the only persons who's does is your own so listen to your heart.
Yeah i said that and it was really corny but hey that girl from American Idol said to so maybe its actually great advice |
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Posts: 556
| BONK! |
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Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | Good Night Irene! If I was 100% certain it was a World Record she'd be done. |
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Posts: 40
Location: United States | Over the years the size of fish required for me to keep it has steadily increased. I think many people probably have the same experience. With each new personal best comes a new standard and a new decision. Years of experience and increased knowledge of catch and release usually coincides with people waiting for that fish of a lifetime or going with a replica. However, if I TRULY catch that fish of a lifetime - it's coming home.
Edited by AaronSands 4/29/2008 10:37 PM
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| A spin off question to the original here. And I'm not passing judgement. This is simply out of curiousity.
For those of you that would keep the record fish in question AND feel that replicas are better than skin mounts...is there any thing that would make you keep the fish other than "the record"?
Me personally, I wouldn't keep it, personal choice. I don't have the desire to put one on the wall, reproduction or skin mount (although I would definitely go graphite IF I was to keep one) and I have no desire to have any fame when it comes to fishing. I'd much rather fly under the radar going unnoticed.
Aaron |
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Posts: 1296
Location: WI | I have no idea what I'd do. Last year I caught a 50", my personal best and let it go without a photo. Even if I thought that I'd keep it, I probably would let it go. I would definately get a picture and video of it. |
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