State Record Bass

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Daniel Bavery on January 29, 2009 at 4:10pm

Pic of scale and fish, let it go, cry myself to sleep.....

Permalink Reply by T Dot on January 29, 2009 at 4:56pm

Daniel Bavery said:

Pic of scale and fish, let it go, cry myself to sleep.....

dont worry budd-EH, you always have my shoulder to cry on

i would thank all my sponsors, just the way ronald martin would have done. SONNNNN!!!

Permalink Reply by S Hwang on January 29, 2009 at 5:04pm

State record AFAIK is 11lb 9 oz.

I think I'd have to beat that by a pretty fair amount before I would even consider killing the big girl for my place in the books.

If it was just really close(even if it was over) I would probably release but take about a hundred pics for a good fiber replica at a future time.

Permalink Reply by Nick Berto on January 29, 2009 at 5:04pm

I dont know what I would do... Take a pic and hopefully get it on a scale without killing it.

Ask Tag what he would do (: or what he did...

Permalink Reply by Chris Howell on January 29, 2009 at 5:22pm

That's the sad thing about this state...you have to kill the fish to prove it's a record. What sense does that make?

I would think I would take measurements, lots of photo's, release the carp...I mean bass, and then get a replica done. If I could track down a certified scale without harming the fish that would be even better.

I'm also interested in hearing what Tag has to say about this. After all, he's the only one I know of that has actually held a state record in his hands.

Permalink Reply by T Dot on January 29, 2009 at 5:28pm

crumb said:

That's the sad thing about this state...you have to kill the fish to prove it's a record. What sense does that make?

I would think I would take measurements, lots of photo's, release the carp...I mean bass, and then get a replica done. If I could track down a certified scale without harming the fish that would be even better.

I'm also interested in hearing what Tag has to say about this. After all, he's the only one I know of that has actually held a state record in his hands.

on a serious note, one would hope it was documented in some way shape or form.

i would hope they keep it on lock down, and just let the rumors fly for a couple years. after the storm calms down, realease maybe 1 - 2 pictures to verify such a feat.

only real friends show know of the exact whereaboots.

it would be a sight to see the same angler or friend top the other.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on January 29, 2009 at 7:52pm

Good topic, Dave.

When I caught the big bass in September, 2006, I weighed her initially on the Berkley digital scale which I had in my boat and the scale read 11.5 lbs. (11 and 5 tenths pounds). Knowing that digital scales have a tendency to weigh light in the upper weight ranges, I realized I had a largemouth in the livewell that had a legitimate shot at being a State record fish.

At this point, I began making countless phone calls in an attempt to get someone from the WDFW to come down to the lake. Since it was a Saturday, all I could do was leave messages everywhere I called. I also thought about trying to get a certified scale down to the lake. However, I learned that once a certified scale is transported from the location in which it was certified (ie. post office, grocery store, etc.) it is no longer a "certified scale". My only other option to get a certified weight would be to harvest the fish, which I was not going to do. Unfortunately, it is against the law to transport a live game fish in the State of Washington. And once you break a law of any kind, the potential record becomes null and void. This exact scenario happened to an angler in Arizona who would have shattered the State record, but got his record stripped because he transported the bass to and from the grocery store alive. Punished for C&R, nice.....

Without any other options that I could think of, I had my wife bring my digital camera and my friend's X-Tools scale down to the lake. I weighed the bass on the X-Tools scale and it read 11 lbs. 8 oz.

Since both scales read the fish at exactly 11-1/2 pounds, I figured that the weight might actually be accurate and the fish was just shy of the current State record of 11 lbs. 9 oz. I took several pictures, took measurements, had witnesses and released the fish.

That week I sent both scales into the IGFA for testing. The results of the tests performed by the IGFA confirmed that both digital scales were weighing light in that weight range. The Berkley digital was weighing three-tenths of pound light and the X-Tools scale was weighing 5 ounces light. Based on those tests, the actual weight of the fish was 11 lbs. 13 oz., a quarter pound heavier than the current State record.

According to the IGFA, this is typical of almost all digital scales. They have a tendency to weigh accurate and even slightly heavy in the lower weight ranges and then weigh progressively light as the weight increases.

Hindsight is 20/20 but I still would have released the fish so Seung could have a chance to catch it on a Huddleston......

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on January 29, 2009 at 7:57pm

That is a good question. I first would weigh it on my scale which I believe is very accurate. Matt Herrera's LM went 11.2 on mine, and when I left the house that night it read 10.0 with two 5 lb weights on it. Second, I would take a ton of pictures. Third, if I was in the bassboat, I would transport the fish to the nearest store and weigh that baby on a meat scale, or some sort to get it dead on. Then back to the lake for the release. On second thought, I might have a trail of people following me back to the lake. :( Back to square one I guess.

Permalink Reply by Brian Walters on January 29, 2009 at 8:44pm

I would just eat it. LOL just kidding guys. I would weigh it and risk the livewell transport to a cert scale. Lots of pics and measurments.

Permalink Reply by Chris Howell on January 29, 2009 at 8:47pm

Tag, that is an incredible story, one that I can only imagine. I have a hard time trying to put myself in your shoes...at least for that one moment when you put that fish on the scale and realized it was a contender. What a rush that would have been.

Your story raises a lot of good points that I had not thought of. One of which is the certified scale. I was unaware that the scale was null and void if moved after certification. The other is the trouble you had trying to get a hold of the WDFW. I can only imagine your frustration. Did anyone ever contact you?

Great story and thanks for sharing it...again, I'm sure. But just so you know, I know who now holds the state record.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on January 29, 2009 at 9:05pm

Thank you for the kind words, Crumb. Much appreciated, my man.

I am in agreement with Brian. If I am ever fortunate enough to catch another fish that size or bigger, I will risk the live transport to the scale for a certified weight. I will still release the fish alive.

Permalink Reply by NickBarrFishing.com on January 29, 2009 at 10:19pm

Keep it in the well with a good seasoning of Bass Weed. Then I would take pictures/weigh, call a biologist to come and verify. I don't think there would be too much fame and money...haha, but it would be cool to be in the record books.

Any small pond in WA could probably give up the new state record. So I would not be really worried about it. Though I do have to say Tag has the upper hand at getting that state record fish!!!! Again!!

I really hope you catch that fish Tag, you totally deserve, though you never know, maybe one of the Lacey Lakes might kick out an 11 pounder. Ward Lake here I come!!!!!!!!!

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