Story I came across:

On February 21, Ron Casner of Apache Junction, AZ, caught a bass larger than the current state record, but Arizona Fish and Game officials have disqualified the catch.

Casner was fishing Canyon Lake with an 11-inch Uncle Josh worm rigged Texas-style on a 4/0 X-Point hook when he boated a 17.46-pound largemouth.

In order to weigh the fish on a certified scale without killing it, he put it in his livewell and drove to a supermarket nine miles away before returning to the lake to release the fish.

The Arizona Department of Fish and Game denied Casner the record because he violated a state law prohibiting the transport of live fish. In the process, Casner lost the opportunity to make a $50,000 bonus offered by X-Point hooks, given for a state record fish caught on their hooks.

To start a discussion on this topic...

Let's say this happened to you. What should this guy have done or who should he have contacted to make this an official state record?

Vince
vince@theblankslate.com

That pretty much sux but it happens to often. When are people going to relize that if you are close to a record fish as soon as you pull out of the water, call,call,call everyone. DFG, Media your sponsors, local tackle shops...everyone. 50K would have just been the beginning had he done it right and presented it right.

Man, our DFG and the AZ angency sucks . The whole concept of them verifying that indeed the fish really weighed that much and the fact that you would have to wait for some state employee to show up at the lake - ya right. It is really sad that bass fisherman in general promote catch & release and the state promotes catch & kill in order to verify weight and ect. Look at what Crupi had done to him with his 22.01 ? lb fish - denied state record. I would have done the same thing as either of these guys - live with myself and let the fish go and let the state pull their head out of their _ _ _ . The state expects someone to wait for a DFG employee to show up, meanwhile your stressed out fish is in your livewell, - anyways. Don't get me wrong, with the livewells today, and the additives and all, fish will stay alive alot longer - but still - waiting for some person who works for an understaffed angecy to show up ? And some of those lakes out in Arizona, dude it would take forever; could you imagine if you were at Apache ?

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.

Swimbait, what is this Big Bass record club that you speek of? What is the fee, rules etc. Thanks

Here is a link to there site that will answer all your questions


www.recordbass.com