There was an article in this month's Bassmaster about this fish. The guy really did get stuck in a tough situation from the sound of it. I think John has some good advice on this. I have considered what I would do say if I was at San Pablo and caught a fish over 20lbs.

First question: Is the marina scale certified? And has it been certified recently?

If it's not or there is no certified scale around, what do you do??

Like John said, call call call. I'd call DFG at the Caltip number on the back of your license. Ask to talk with the local warden and see if they would be willing to come out to transport the fish to somewhere it could be weighed and then brought back and released. If they can't come, at least ask for permission. I figure that's the best you can do. If they can't come or won't allow the transport of the fish, I would recommend keeping the fish alive either in a large container of some sort or on a stringer through the lower lip. Then try to get the scale to you. Mike Long did this with his 20-12 at Dixon if I recall correctly, they brought a certified scale from a neighboring lake.

Most important of all, stay calm, use your head, and PLAN AHEAD what you are going to do if you do catch the big one. The world record could be an 8 million dollar pay day if you're in the Big Bass Record club, and the biggest verified/certified fish of the year is good for $25,000 if you're in the club and can beat Mike Long. I cringe just thinking about the drama rama circus show that will ensuue if someone who is unprepared hooks up with the world record and releases the fish without the proper weighing, witnesses, etc. We already saw it once with Paul Duclos' fish. Hopefully bass fisherman learned some lessons from that deal.

With good prior planning you should be able to get the fish fully certified and still release her. I just hope when the world record slides into someone's net, they have their head screwed on straight.