off shoot of the other thread....let's here what is a LARGE, BIG or rewarding catch to you....
I'll take 25lb stripers all day and I consider them to be decent and think 30# is a good benchmark to be called a BIG fish...

yeah, 25# would be a good benchmark for a "big fish" but a 20 pounder for me is an exciting catch and is the benchmark for what I consider a "nice fish", a keeper to teen size bass would be called a "good fish" and anything under keeper size is considered a "just a fish, but still fun"

I'd love to hear from some guys who I know land LARGE regularly..
PM,TO, SD, BB, RL, C10, ......

A decent fish is 25-40 and large is 40+ pounds

It's all relative to what you're used to.

To a novice, a 15 pound fish is pretty huge.

If a 25 pound fish is a personal best then that's going to be a large fish.

If you're experienced, target and actually catch 20+ fish then your perception might be different.

-spence

Now for the wild card. While one can no doubt catch large fish from the shore, a boat opens up an entire new realm of accessibility, also changing perception.

what's a "large", "dink", "keeper-size", "good" etc. etc. etc. fish depends on the type of fishing and the expectations of the fisherman and is subjective. there's no right or wrong answer and its silly to even spend time debating IMO.

its way easier to just talk in numbers, anyway. why say "we were into good fish last night" when you can say "we were into mid 20 pound class fish last night" for example.

One mans large is another mans bait.Its all in ones perspective i just like to fish and if i'm lucky it will be large enough for me.:tooth:

Now for the wild card. While one can no doubt catch large fish from the shore, a boat opens up an entire new realm of accessibility, also changing perception.
Yes, the wild card that boat fish don't count.

:)

-spence

I agree...it is what you decide to be large, that is what I said :huh:...so what is it??? :bshake:

At least within the group of guys I fish with, any fish bigger than about 40 inches/20 pounds is a very nice fish we'd be real happy with. Anyone seeing a fish of that size or better would clearly be saying "nice fish", "great catch", etc.

Below that its just keeper or schoolie.

I fish only from shore except for a charter or two here and there, in the boats I'm sure people would be going a notch up from that.

Any day I break 20# is a 'good' day as I had atleast 1 'good' fish.

But there's a world of difference between catching a 38-40" 20# and a 42-43" 28 or 29# fish.

It depends on what you are used to seeing come out of the water. Anything 25+ gets me pretty excited.

44-45" seems to be the mark I'm looking for, that's when they start to look big to me, I think thats usually a low 30# fish.

30 pounds has always been the benchmark.

It depends on the method used. Subtract 10 lbs if you used bait and another 10 if you used a boat and it works out about right.

A 30 pound strip4er is a good fish no matter what method one uses, ie surf, boat, bait, artificial etc..

Hi Bill:rotflmao:

A 30 pound strip4er is a good fish no matter what method one uses, ie surf, boat, bait, artificial etc..

Otherwise, a canal fish has to 30+ lbs to be a good fish. I can catch 20 lb fish in there all day. Boat fishing, IMO, doesn't make it easier to catch big fish, maybe just increases your chances of finding more fish. (ex. blitzes of smaller fish)

I'm always happy just to be fishing. This includes surf, canal, or from my little tin boat. I get especially tickled with any fish over 35 lbs.
Hard to tell if George is serious with a comment like that one, usually he comes across as sensible.

subtract your "Brain" if you dont use what is working . and add 10lbs to the fish of an angler smart enough to realize it:uhuh:

and even a broken clock is right twice a day. So once in awhile a plug will hit a fish on the head I guess in a sea of menhaden

anwser the question please...what's a Large striped bass...:hee: :musc:

I'm always happy just to be fishing. This includes surf, canal, or from my little tin boat. I get especially tickled with any fish over 35 lbs.

thank you SD :wave:

no popcorn needed
good thread!

:lurk:

no popcorn needed matt :hs:

35 lbs and over.

thank you too...:)

Hi Bill:rotflmao:

No its bill's wife really:hf1:

No its bill's wife really:hf1:

ya right....I did a pose for you at the canal :laughs:

i think over 12# is decent, a fish over 20# is a nice fish, over 25# is VERY NICE, and over 30# is large.

it kind of depends on how the fishing is, though. If in a drought then a 20 becomes large.

No its bill's wife really:hf1:

Really? On vacation this week?

Bill, please don't post under Leslie's account.

I feel 30#s and up as Large, 20-30 decent, but all fish fun :btu:

Really? On vacation this week?

Bill, please don't post under Leslie's account.


Oh man John, relax will ya? it was for a minute? there are more important things in the world. Ok I am out...

I don't care what anyone says if you pull a 20# in off the beach that is a damn good fish. I would give the term "LARGE" to anything over 25#'s

This is all shore though cause boat fish don't count :hidin:

off shoot of the other thread....let's here what is a LARGE, BIG or rewarding catch to you.....


Anything over 30 pounds is a large fish for me,

I am just happy fishing and being on the ocean, catching fish is a plus,

You guys are kidding about boat bass being different than shore caught fish I hope.

You guys are kidding about boat bass being different than shore caught fish I hope.

A fish is a fish is a fish, doesn't mater to me how it's caught

I am just happy fishing and being on the ocean, catching fish is a plus,

so damn true, it's just the icing on the cake!

This thread is funny.A large fish is just that.....It has to be big,fat and long.I guess the bottom line is you can't say you got a large one today without being worried that someone will say it isn't large.It was nice.It was big but...wasn't large.

to me, its about the hit and the fight. I remember how a fish wacked the eel, bunker, plug, etc and how much it fought. Some of my most memorbale fish were ones I did not land or even hook. I've had days where schoolies are knocking plugs out of the water and hitting with reckless abandon, thats more fun to me than a large fish that doesnt even fight. If I had to put a rating out there, I'd agree with Zacs.

My mother in law :hihi:

Nice!!



I'd say over 30lbs form shore is large

.
Hard to tell if George is serious with a comment like that one, usually he comes across as sensible.

Nah, just trolling for ladyfish.

off shoot of the other thread....let's here what is a LARGE, BIG or rewarding catch to you....
I'll take 25lb stripers all day and I consider them to be large and think 25# is a good benchmark to be called a BIG fish...
Large is 35# +++

A large bass from the surf, is anything over 25#'s. IMO. :)

You guys are kidding about boat bass being different than shore caught fish I hope.

Best to check with the OTW folks about this, they make the rules.
Of course, there is that whole "experienced fisherman" handicap factor we choose not to consider. All I know is that 28# fish I caught at age 13 was one helluva lot bigger than the #49's I caught at age 40?

The definition of "A Big Fish" from the BigFish is subjective at best! To a 12 year old a 28 inch fish is HUGE! To someone who lands his share of 20-30 pound fish, a 40 would be his bench mark! It all depends on the person on the butt end of the rod.;) To each his own, boat/surf.....there is no difference!

The definition of "A Big Fish" from the BigFish is subjective at best! To a 12 year old a 28 inch fish is HUGE! To someone who lands his share of 20-30 pound fish, a 40 would be his bench mark! It all depends on the person on the butt end of the rod.;) To each his own, boat/surf.....there is no difference!

read the post....it is simple (in my best Larry voice).."what do YOU consider to be a large fish" :smash:

Alright...large? Ummmmmm..........Anything over 30 pounds! SLOB.....anything over 40 pounds!:)

I'd take #25 all day long and consider it a big fish on plugs. I think that the tackle you use also needs to be considered. I love light tackle. I got a #28 on the fly last year, that was a big fish.

You guys are kidding about boat bass being different than shore caught fish I hope.

I think this really does come down to personal choice and feeling. I consider that I haven't broke the 30# mark even though I caught a 34 lb fish off a charter boat. I just happened to be the guy who picked up the rod and reeled it in. I didn't research the spot and the rod wasn't even mine. To me this isn't all that personally gratifying. I guess if you have your own boat and catch large fish you can feel satisfied about it and more power to you.


My personal opinion is that 20 # bass off the beach is better than catching a 30# bass off some charter boat. I would rather catch a 15 # on my fly rod than a 20 # on my spin. It's all personal feeling

35+ by land and 40+ by sea is large in my book, but it is in the eye of the beholder IMO. I just classify them all as decent.

any fish above the 20lb mark is a large fish for me wether it be canal or surf.

okay I am changing my tune :angel:.... I have got fish to 45lbs and thought this over while reading all your postings...
a 25lb fish is a decent fish....but 30+ is Large....:btu:

it depends on the angler

for #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&, mckennan and captain white.....a 25 lb fish is an average fish, more or less a schoolie...because these people have caught LARGE, which to them would be 40 + lbs

to a person who is fishing for the first year....a 25 lb fish would be a fish of a lifetime

to me.......a 35+ lb fish is large

whether it be surf caught or from the boat

Biggest fish I ever caught was 25lbs on a salt shaker shad. It was and still is huge to me. I quite pleased with anything over 32" inches with my light tackle. I agree with some of the other posts,its subjective. I don't get into really big fish often

Nah, just trolling for ladyfish.

Stick with the tall guy and go trollin' for colon

when i was a kid fishing with my father,on the boat 50lbs was a large fish, now fishing from the beach a 30 lber is a large fish for me.but it is all subjective to what is around.last year on the cape a 25lber from the beach was large

30 pound fish always seem big to me. In the canal , a 30 pounder can give you a good pull if the current is at full tilt.

while i completely respect everyone's opinions

and find these interpretations MOST interesting,

it seems to me that a BENCHMARK, by definition, is
a benchmark that IS NOT subject to change. we use them daily
when we plumb the columns of our structural buildings and if we allowed
for fluctuations from one benchmark to the other, one surveyor/angler to the other,
then ALL the buildings in Boston would resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa :bl: :bl:.................

a STANDARD is a standard for ALL to aspire to;
regardless of whether or not you've ever hit that MARK, and
defined by the same definition that the people for generations
have considered to be LAHHHGE from then to today.

in other words, while it may "feel" subjective until you reach said BM, once you "get there" don't most people aspire for something more and BIGGER??? likewise, by having a uniform weight we can ALL be measured by the same BM and not by what your best friend or yer Momma says to enable your relative mediocrity..................

i don't think that Today's surfcasting legends were sticking
40#'ers out of the womb ~~*though sum have suggested that Mr Nolan was born part Striper, that's how he knows the way they think*~~ so at some point they also had to aspire to the lofty weights, at that particular time of their individual angling developement, of 30#'s and up. for example Newbie, Hungry, Sharpie. the point being, they started somewhere and through due diligence and many moonlit haunts they've angled themsleves into the Striper Coast's Legends that they've become by fishing hard and not settling for 20# to 25# as LAHHHGE. still a dink at that weight, if ya ask me.

AND, just because large and up is a regular weight for them that doesn't change the standard it just means that their levels of expertise have them landing more trophies/monstahs than the rest of us schlubs that don't have the experience and know-how that they do................still the standard remains the same ~~30#'s and up is LAHHHGE, imho.

my own scale goes a li'l sumthin' like this:
0" - 28" ;;;; schoolie
28" - 30#;;; rats to big bass
30# - 40#;; LAHHHHGE
40# - 50#;; SLOB
50# - 60#;; TROPHY
60# - 70#;; COW
70# - 80#;; IGFA World Record
80# - 90#;; MONSTAHH
90# - 100#; FISH OF A LIFETIME

those are the goals for me, so far so good,
and i LOVE the challenge and the mindset that
is required to not settle, and TO go for sum Big Gurls.

5- 10 lbs- "schoolies"

10 - 20 lbs- "school bass"

20 - 30 lbs- "decent fish"

30- 40 lbs- "large"

40-50 lbs- "trophy fish"

50+.. fish of a lifetime.

What Species of fish?

a 6 lb. Smallmouth is a slob
a 10 lb. Largemouth is a slob
a 20 lb. Bluefish is a slob
a 40 lb. Striper is a slob
a 100 lb. Tuna is a slob
a 225 lb Anglah is a Slob (at least thats what my wife says) :hihi:

What Species of fish?

a 6 lb. Smallmouth is a slob
a 10 lb. Largemouth is a slob
a 20 lb. Bluefish is a slob
a 40 lb. Striper is a slob
a 100 lb. Tuna is a slob
a 225 lb Anglah is a Slob (at least thats what my wife says) :hihi:
Now answer the %$#@ question.......What's Large??:deadhorse:

For me

Large is 35# +
NiceFish 20-35

"LARGE" ?????? WHO-T-F cares? I mean, I caught a bunch of 20 to 25 pound fish in the last couple weeks (on plugs:kewl:) from shore and my skiff and they all fought great, cartwheeling through the sky and rolling and thrashing just after the hook-up ( my mentor Art Crago said to me once after losing a good fish after a tremendous but brief hook-up on a Danny"You got what you wanted out that fish right? So don't be disapointed" he was right, as usual)

I have caught a lot of "large" fish in my time but the to me the mark of a good fish is not the scale weight but the fight and twenty to 35 pound fish 99% percent of the time will fight the pants off of a 45 pounder.

Thats the large for me, the fight not the fat.

Whether any one else saw it or not..:bl:

IMO fish over 35 lbs start to take a different shape.They gain quite a bit in the girth department.Big shoulders..This run of 35-40 lbers all seem similar..Bullet heads like tuna...
When they get over 4o they seem different.Like from a different strain,Year class...Longer not as girthy..To me it's seems weird.Anyone else notice this..
I would call anything over 35 large..

Now answer the %$#@ question.......What's Large??:deadhorse:


a 4 lb. Smallmouth is large
a 6 lb. Largemouth is large
a 15 lb. Bluefish is large
a 30 lb. Striper is large
a 75 lb. Tuna is large
a 200 lb Anglah is large

Stick with the tall guy and go trollin' for colon

Nah......I never liked fishing in Rhode Island that much.;)

I always liked the adjectives MikeP used to describe bass of different sizes, maybe he will chime in.

Personally I classify bass in pounds not adjectives like large although I feel a fish begins to get decent somewhere around 15 pounds, I set my standards low. It also depends on the gear you are using, if you are using light tackle schoolie gear and you catch a 20 lb bass on 6 lb test, that is pretty good IMO. and if you are using a tuna stick and get a 15 lb bass, it is just small.
I fish for recreation, for fun, I don't commercial fish.

I think Nebe put numbers to my thoughts.

Just give me fish......big, small, dinks, schoolies, cows, slobs, large, fat, skinny, shorts......I will take them all!:eyes:

a 4 lb. Smallmouth is large
a 6 lb. Largemouth is large
a 15 lb. Bluefish is large
a 30 lb. Striper is large
a 75 lb. Tuna is large
a 200 lb Anglah is large

Cool...LOL:humpty::humpty:

Nah......I never liked fishing in Rhode Island that much.;)

What happens in Pasque, stays in Pasque.
It's almost like a vacation in Thailand I'm told.
Good Luck, and wear a raincoat.

For me decent fish is 25-30lb.... large is anything over 30lbs from shore.

There's only two catogories of stripers.....dead on my dinner plate or live to swim another day.

a 4 lb. Smallmouth is large
a 6 lb. Largemouth is large
a 15 lb. Bluefish is large
a 30 lb. Striper is large
a 75 lb. Tuna is large
a 200 lb Anglah is large



Very good list accept the 75lb tuna
The REAL tuna guys call us baby killers catching those!
73 inches is a legal giant, but 400lb plus is considered large !

anything over 30 is "large" to me.

If im fishing in april with a schoolie rod and i get a keeper i think its large. If im trowing eels in the canal large is over 42". I dont weigh anything so pounds dont work for me. If the fish held with its tail touching the ground goes over my hips its a large fish. Im 6'1". If ive fished for a couple days and only managed a dink, a 30" is large. ITs all relative i guess.

Shore 25#

Boat 35#

Pretty much what I've always gone by. It also has a lot to do with what's available at a given time. Nowadays both of these benchmarks get beat pretty regularly by anglers of all skill levels. Take home message is we have a very good fishery right now so enjoy it. You might not encounter great blitzes in your local waters every time out, but we have a big pool of available big fish coastwide.