BigLeslie

Clubbing baby seals - LMAO!

As far as your statment about the share a lunker stuff. Your right they are breeding only big bass to other big bass. But this is taking place in a controled environment not in a lake. Many of these large fish have to have the reproductive material harvested from them and many do not even produce it anymore. Kind of like large mouth menopause I guess.

I personally think that harvesting a few fish regardless of the species is healthy for the population. Besides those green carp (LMB) taste pretty good.

Yeah, I understand that, I was just trying to make the point that not all Big Bass suffer from this "Bass Menopause". Allowed to live, some would certainly still breed, albeit to a lesser extent than in their stud years (and who among us can say different?) maybe they should be working on "Bassagra" over in Athens, then again they probably are!...Hope ya'll get to wet a line this weekend...BL

Stuff it , mount it, take a picture, eat it , do whatever you want with it, you caught it.
I say this as I look at a 17.4 lb striper taken from Texoma mounted on my wall at work.
Wife won't let me hang it at home.....
Whats with all this talk of mounting puny little green mouthed 10 lb carp?

Please!!!!! A skin mount is NOT the way to go. I caught a 5 lb bass when I was 16 and had a guy mount it, mostly for him to practice on. After about 5 or 6 years it looked terrible. I also caught a 13.02 lb in 1996, entered it in the Share-a-Lunker and got my replica, It cleans easily and will last forever. NO Trophy Fish reguardless of type deserves to die and be Stuffed. Do the Fish justice and get a Replica, especially if someone you love catches it. Memories last forever and so should the mount. Let'em go, Let'em grow!


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Do you know CPR ? I do! Catch, Photograph, Release.

[This message has been edited by Bassr1 (edited 07-26-2003).]

WKS,

Not to question the good doctor, but check out page 18 of the current issue of Bassmaster. The 21-11 caught out of Dixon Lake in CA in May is apparently the same fish caught by Mike Long in 2001, when it weighed 20-12. It had grown another inch longer and a pound heavier, and she was on a bed, which seems to debunk his spawning capabilities theory. It now ranks both 4th and 8th on the alltime list.

I would get a fiberglass mount because it is more durable, and a good taxidermist can create a replica that is strikingly accurate. Then, maybe a couple of years down the road, my 12 pounder might show up as a 15 for some other lucky guy (or, preferably, me!).

Harvesting fish is not the evil thing some make it out to be. I just know how hard the really big ones are to come by, because they are so scarce. I have lots of friends who have had fish mounted, and that is their right. It is a personal choice that is best made ahead of time. Z71, carry some towels and foil to wrap the fish in, and I'll carry a camera and a tape measure. I know your fear that your wife or kids will show you up (my wife has an annoying tendency to do this!), and I wish you luck, no matter what.
Good fishing!

Why would you want a stuffed fish mounted on your wall in the first place? HOW TACKY!


JT

Fishbrain- Good point, however remember that Lake Dixon is different. The lake is only 70 acres? and the same giant bass are caught over and over again. The trophy fish are growing at such a fast rate due to the trout population meaning the 20 plus pounder is much younger than the same fish on a "normal" size lake. This lake was probably not taken into consideration by the good doctor.

A 10-lb bass is considered a trophy? Not for me, I'm hoping for a 40lb Carp, a 60lb Buffalo or a 100lb Gar. LOL...

The best mounts I've seen have been replicas. My brother has one (from the Share-A-Lunker program) and it's held up much better than my $300 skin mount over the past sixteen years. He also has a nice photo of the bass, being cradled by him, framed and hung beside his mount. Very impressive.

I don't think having a "real" skin mount is much of a testament to fishing ability. You can find them in garage sales any weekend...my dentist decorated his waiting room with "real" fish mounts and I doubt he knows which end of a rod to grab. If your manhood requires "proof" that you caught a fish, take a picture.

Quote:
(If your manhood requires "proof" that you caught a fish, take a picture. )


I'm ok with a skin or replica. I kinda promised my son (9 year old) and my wife that we would mount one for them if they caught a big one and wanted to have one mounted. It is up to them what they choose. My dad offered the same for me. I never caught the big one but dad left me his. His/our fish is proudly hanging in the house for all to see and I'm very proud to have it.

I take pictures everytime I go fishing but none of this makes me more of a man. I think that I get more joy out of watching my son catch a big one than I could ever have catching it myself. Fishing and catching a trophy fish is not about me or about being a man it's about the family and the joy we share and hopefully pass down to the next generation.




[This message has been edited by Z71 (edited 07-31-2003).]