Recently two big fish controversies have occured. The first was the 18 (or 16) pound largemouth caught down in one of the San Diego lakes, that will lakely take over the lead in the Big Bass Record Club contest.
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/recreation/fish00112cci.shtml

The second was the (now withdrawn) potential state record rainbow trout taken at SARL.
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/recreation/fish00112cci.shtml

These two controversies made me think about an important question. What SHOULD you do when you catch a trophy fish?

I have a little experience in this regard with my 15-12 largemouth out of San Pablo this year. There definitely is a LOT of excitement about catching a big fish, not only you being excited, but the people around you being excited. This can cause things to get a little bit stupid which opens the door to controversy, name calling, etc.
So here are some outlines that I think will help you out if you do hook a true lunker.

#1 - Before you even leave for the water, make sure you have your CAMERA and your digital SCALE. Why are you after trophy fish if you don't have a camera and a good reliable, accurate scale?

#2 - Right after you land the fish you are going to be really pumped. The first thing you need to do is to decide if you are going to keep the fish or release it.

A - If you are going to keep the fish, put it on a stringer and get it to the nearest marina AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. That doesn't mean hanging around to see if you might catch more, that means packing up and booking.

B - If you are going to release the fish you have two options. Weigh and photograph it yourself, or keep it alive and bring it to the nearest marina. If you are going to weigh and photograph it yourself, and release it where you caught it, get down to business and start photographing and weighing. If it's really a trohpy, using up the entire camera in a few minutes ain't a bad idea. Take pictures that give a point of reference so that people will believe you when they see the pictures. That doesn't mean holding in front of your 4 year old kid to make it look monstrous. Get a good reliable weight. That means holding the scale until it doesn't flicker. Do this all quickly and make sure that you are not killing the fish in the process!!
If you are going to take the fish to a marina to get it weighed, fill your livewell and get the fish in there as fast as you can. When you get to the marina, let them know that you have a big fish and you want to weigh it. Do your best to weigh it somewhere on solid ground (ie not the dock, the boat, etc). At San Pablo they had a real digital scale to set the fish on. I left the fish in the livewell, ran up there and they gave me a big tray to lay the fish in while I ran it up and back. There was no question about the weight of the fish. It was on solid ground on a flat table on a scale that had already been zero'd out to the weight of the tray. After the weighing and the pictures, either get the fish back in the livewell to take it back to where you caught it, or release it right there in the marina. At San Pablo I let the fish go in the marina. She was so fat that she didn't fit too well in my livewell, and I would much rater have released the fish healthy in the marina, than further traumatized back at her hole.

#4 - Above all, make up your mind early what you are going to do with the fish. I have heard several stories now, where the angler first decided to keep the fish but later hoped to release it, only to have it die or be totally wrecked. The excitement of a big fish will make you want to keep it, but if you can decide before you head out to the lake what you are going to do in the event that you catch a giant, everything will go much smoother.

-Rob

Thanks Rob. I've got one more suggestion, look into the BENEFITS and -drawbacks- of releasing trophy bass. In the end, it all comes down to the angler's own personal choice, but I strongly encourage 'yall to take some pictures and let that big un spawn again.
-Brian

Pictures last forever--why do you need to keep a trophy fish to mount it? There are so many molds around, they can match its size. photos will give them the details they need to finish the mount, i.e. scars, unusual marks... To keep a fish just to show it off is such a waste. Nobody in their right mind would think of eating something that big and old--yuck.

Here here,
sorry for not reiterating that point more in the post. Let those bass go and they will get even bigger! I for one, can't wait to go back to San Pablo next year. I know she's in there and in a year maybe she'll have added the pound and a half to become the lake record :-)

Rob, you are the man !!! Absolutely release the fish. This is the only way a big fish can get huge !
And about your 15-12, I have personelly discussed this catch with several prominant fisheries exsperts, all of who agree that this fish was probably exceptionally young, and has tons of potential to get much larger ! You may have caught the future world record bass ! And what's cooler yet, is that because of your forsight, you may just catch that world record yourself !
I know many people think that this is a huge longshot, but I have personely caught and re-caught my biggest bass (a 12-11) and my good fishing buddy caught and released her too (but when he caught her, she went 13-2, that dog ....chuckles)! All over a period of 11 months !
And yes Rob, about a camera and a good digital scale.........I carry 3 cameras and 2 scales ! Never can be too careful.

Catch and Release a Trophy Bass !
Fish Chris