I've been on a big time fishing kick lately and just have been doing a little thinking. Has anybody on here realistically thought they had a chance at catching a state record fish? From a quick glance it seems some of the Ohio state records really are not that far from being pretty reachable. Please chime in.
Yes. I pretty regularly fish the lake that produced the former world record and current North American record pike. My main partner and the one that taught me to pike fish caught one that was 1.5" shorter than the current record several years back and he also has a bunch over 45". Had my partners fish been prespawn, it may have been pretty close in weight. It's only a matter of time until we have a year where colder than normal weather will produce water temps that will allow us to legally fish for them prespawn and it could seriously happen at that point. We got three last weekend between 42-44", it would take a prespawn fish in the 51-53" range to do it. I know three people personally that have pulled 50"+ fish out if there including my partner.
That's pretty awesome man! To know that your in an area and lake that consistently produces near record quality fish. That would bring on such a rush everytime fishing it just because of the increased odds factor. That's definitely cool.
I have caught several Spotted Bass approaching the Alabama State Record mark... none that I have thought were over it though. I catch some really large bass fishing with live shad for Blue-cats. Of course I catch some really large cats fishing for Bass with Little Georges and Jigging Spoons in the summer months. I caught a Largemouth in a farm pond in South Carolina that was the same length as the State Record 26 1/4." I did not weigh the fish; I just measured its length and released it.
The Indiana record for a bluegill is three pounds, four ounces. I think there is something close to that swimming in my grandma's pond. The smallest bluegill I catch there are eight to nine inches, but most of them go ten inches or more.
I caught a 18" brown bullhead that weighed over 3 lbs once, i think the state record is right around 4... Sunfish would be the easiest to break, pumpinkseed's and longear's are less then a pound each.
Caught a state record walleye when I was like 8. Think it held for like 2 years. I'll have to try and find the newspaper clippings tonight and post a pic. I fish some waters that certainly have the potential to hold record class fish. I have one private watershed I fish that I have no doubt could hold a record largmouth. Its just full of slobs.
My parents live about 1 mile away from a small lake that produced the #2 largemouth in LA. The lake is rarely fished by anyone other than bream bank fisherman as you cannot access with motorized boat. I've caught several nice bass out of my kayak in the lake. It was stocked with Florida strain bass and is very deep in the middle.
One of my good friends caught the OK state record largemouth last spring in a lake close to our house. Almost a year to date later another guy same lake broke his record. Pretty crazy.
I don't know that I think I have a chance at any state record fish, but I don't live too far from the Mississippi River, and I'm sure that's bound to have some giants in it. Also, I fish the Wisconsin River a lot, and that seems to have a good showing on the state record books on the DNR website. The problem is, I don't get out to fish as much as I should, or would like, so I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
With a very high number of fisherman and lakes in MN the state records are generally pretty impressive numbers...making it extremely unlikely for an average fisherman like myself to ever approach them The Walleye in my Avatar is the biggest of my life and it wouldn't even weigh HALF as much as the state record
I've never realistically thought I'd have a chance at a state record fish. If I were to try and target one It would be the carp. We've got some hogs. State record carp here Is 55.5 pounds. I'd try and do It with a bow. The biggest I've shot Is 36lbs. Shot a quite of few of them. I've seen carp that I know went 40 to 45 pounds when looking for sunfish and crappie spawning beds.
I've come close to the state record in MA a few times with northern pike and lm bass, all ice fishing. had a Northern pike on who I couldn't get his nose through the 10" dia hole cauyse he was hooked in the rear of the mouth....I really still have dreams about that one, broke a 40lb steel leeder!!!
I used to be a much bigger fisherman than hunter up until I was about 23-24. I don't think I was ever around any state record type fish although I've caught citation largemouths (4-5), smallmouth, chain pickerel, bluegill, and gar. My dad blew it on one fish. He caught a massive chain pickerel about 15 years ago. He took a picture of it next to a tape measure on the bottom of the canoe and then threw it back. He went back and looked at the Virginia state record chain pickerel and felt sick. He took the picture and sent it in to the VA game and inland fisheries and a guy there analyzed the photo and gave him a conservative estimate of the fishes weight....the fish would have beaten the state record by an easy 1 pound. Ughhhh.
Two of the reservoirs I fish have state record potential for smallmouth. The one in particular holds the State record for smallmouth already, but it was set in 76 or something crazy like that the trick is finding those big girls I've been within a pound. Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
