http://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=17426&mesg_id=17426&page=

http://www.sixoldgeezers.com:5150/discus/messages/140/2047.jpg

doesnt look like it to me. Kellen posted this on sdfish so thats where i got it from :-)

Shane

Yeah. Nice fish, but it ain't 20+.

Yep :-)

Shane

14 with an appetite for softball size rocks. I'm just wondering if it sunk to the bottom when they released it.

I think that the rock is a distinct possibility :-)

Seriously though, photos are so unreliable, that I don't think anybody should even ask "if it looks 22-8, or if it does not".......
We have all seen 12 lb'ers that looked 8 lbs, and 8 lb'ers that looked 12......

But the fact is, this fish was reported to be 29 inches long, and 25 inches in girth. This info, along with this shape, says that beyond any shadow of a doubt, this fish did not weigh an ounce over 19 lbs, but more likely was closer to 18.
This is not just MPO, but rather, it is straight up fish science.

Peace,
Fish

It's definitely a nice fish but if you calculate the weight using the most generally accepted weight formula for bass (bass weight = (length x length x girth) / 1,200) the weight is roughly 17.52 lbs.

If you use the formula for trout/salmon (trout/salmon weight = (length x girth x girth) / 800) then it's a different story. The weight calculates to 22.66 lbs.

My previous PB before this year was 24"long X 24"girth. If I used the trout formula that fish would have weighed in at 17.28 lbs. I don't think so!

Mitch

The formula the IGFA will use is based on their data base containing hundreds if not over a thousand bass submissions they've recognized in the 10 lb Bass Club. The formula is the same except the denominator is 914:

For this spring lake fish:
(LxGxG)/914 = (29x25x25)/914 = 19.83 lbs

By comparison, Mike Long's 20.75 lb Dixon fish:
(27x27x27)/914 = 21.53 lbs

If the length and girth measurements don't add up to the claimed weight, or come at least close, it's a no go. They're off by almost 12%. When you need to beat it by 2 oz, and you're off by possibly 2.67 lbs, they (IGFA) will mull this over for a while, enjoy the publicity and use it to enlist new members (which they need) and kill it.

Interesting. I used those IGFA calcs on two of my fish and one was near dead on and the other was off by a pound. I guess in the end only a certified scale is the most guaranteed way to tell the truth. I think ultimately length is more accurate to correct weight than girth is. I have a friend who stick big pigs all spring and he has an adhesive tape measure on the lip of the boat. Everytime he catches one and it measures 24 inches long, he says it's a ten. I've said he was full of it countless times and weighed the fish and guess what, every time he was right. He said a 22 is almost always an eight. Conversely an 11.2 I caught was 24 inches long while a 26 I caught was 15. I caught a spawned out 23 incher that only weighed 6.7 pounds once. So anything is possible. Again I think the certified scale is the most accurate means of knowing the truth about each fish.

I'll write a caveat to what you posted. An easily readable certified scale. It should be readable in a photograph showing both the scale and the fish. Digital leaves no rounding estimate that you get with a pull scale or dial scale. No one questions a fish on a certified readable digital scale. No one.

BTW I had a 13.8 on a certified digital scale that measured L 26 by G 22.

(26x22x22)/914 = 13.76

Had a 12.0 on a certified digital scale that went L 26 by G 21:

(26x21x21)/914 = 12.54 (I will note that the length was with the mouth open, closed it was 25.5" which gets you 12.3 lbs.

Hey tell your buddy he needs to get a scale because length is no indicator of weight.

Here is a fish that was just a hair over 23" long and weighed 10lbs 4oz

http://www.calfishing.com/images/daily_reports/2_17_03_rob_tape.jpg

Here is a fish that was 25" long that weighed 9lbs 12oz

http://www.calfishing.com/images/daily_reports/7_13_03_rob_9-12_8.jpg

And here is a fish that was 26" long and weighed 14lbs 6oz

http://www.calfishing.com/images/daily_reports/4_09_03_rob_14-6_6.jpg

Without the girth, the length means nothing.

I'm stayin out of this pending world record drama for now though. Let's let IGFA make their ruling and go from there.