Nice catch!!!
 

Congrats to them on those cows,
and it's their right to do what they want with them !!!

HMMMM
 

thats a very good question dave..........i'll look into that....

2x 60lb breeders = x amount eggs per year or not? :think:

.........................that dude must have a larger freezer.....:rolleyes:
.................................................. ........to hold 70lbs of filet's

The meat will go in the dumpster and the fish will be made into a skin mount.. thats my guess.

Remember folks, bass were almost fished to extinction in the 80's and most everyone was fishing within the legal limits..

Nice catch :kewl:

Fishaholic,
Generally speaking...BIG bass do still spawn, but just every 4-5 years. So a fish that big has to be over 20 years old and it's spawning days are few and far between. Big bass can lay upto 5,000,000 eggs per spawn. Smaller bass between 10-20 pounds, generally speaking will spawn every year laying approximately 850.000 -1.2 million a year, untill they become bigger, when they will begin spawning every other year or every 4-5 years as cow's. Fish in the 30 pound class probably produce the most on a regular basis.

Big fish after big battles will sometimes croak, but if you go in the water and take time with them, they usually do survive. Some people think that the fish is dead or dying, but it is really just tired. It would be like you wrestling for ten minutes. If I just wrestle someone for ten minutes, I'd just lay there too and beg you to kill me. Being patient with a big fish will pay a nice dividen. That being seeing a big cow disappear in the the night water.

In terms of what to do??? You caught it, it is your choice. You have earned the right to decide. No answer is wrong.

We dont seem to demand that people drive 50 mph when the law says its a 65 mph zone. If theres an issue with the current regulation than the regulation should be argued but criticizing someone for complying with that regulation doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

I really don`t know what I would do... Biggest I`ve ever caught was mid thirties....all from shore.

I would be wildly stoked and probably keep them just to show them.... not that that is a good reason.

If the eggs have a better biological breeding capacity from huge females than that is another factor that would cause me regret later on.

Be nice if you could confirm the weights with photos and still release them but that is an extremely unlikely scenario if not impossible.


Must have been something :bl: Nice catching :claps:

Two sixties in a day is a feat, course, you all know my feelings on live bait and from a boat to boot. The hard part was getting the bait.

George, some people have a dire need for noteriety, thus hanging meat on a hook outside a tackle shop. It verifies for them a need to be seen and noticed, chest thumping so to say. Incessant picture taking of every bass is, well...... "Hey look at me". I know, I went through that stage, it will pass. It brings more grief than anything else. Really good fishermen keep their mouths shut and ears open and no one really knows what they are catching, where and when and how. They know and they don't talk.

You and I know what we have been doing and I know that like me, you wear a smile when you go into a shop and someone asks you how you have been doing and you say, "alright" and end it there.

Now all these big bass on a plug would be a real angling feat.

And lastly those guys wouldn't really understand what it is to release 3 50's in a night, not yet at least. I lost count of all the fish I could have registered for the Cup, you know you were with me and that's all the statisfaction I need.

Moon was pretty coming up from the east over my left shoulder last night all orange with the wind on my right cheek and the added the sound of a screaming drag and it was near perfect.

Flap, you are so full of it I think you need higher boots.....Maybe you should take more pics....you may be more credible with the proof...:kewl: unnecessary personal attack - edited by JR .........Its easy to take a digital camara to the beach and snap a shot of all these so called cows....

60s go in the cooler...

I'm not questioning his right to keep 2 fish.

I don't tell anyone what to do about anything anymore, I've lived long enough to know it doesn't work and I'm often wrong.

How many fish someone has caught in the past is not "news" I care about.

If he has "nothing to prove", then why show them off at a tackle store?

For selfish reasons ONLY, I wish those two massive bass each had large families, instead of the fisherman.

Situations where big bass set up on bunker and get slaughtered by experienced fisherman have happened in the past and most involved seem to feel both fortunate and regretful in retrospect.

Until I see convincing evidence to the contrary, I see the slot limits and a 1 fish "trophy exemption" as the best way to manage a SPORT fishery.

I hope you get your #60. I hope even more you find what you are fishing for.

Good Luck.

Eben:

I agree 100%. People forget that. It's not an unlimited resource. Yup, it's "legal" to keep those fish but is it responsible??


Well, whatever everyone's opinion is with regard to keeping or releasing 2 fish like that (especially the 2nd fish after one is already in the cooler), DJ Muller you sound like an ignorant idiot saying that noone who has caught a 60LB fish like those has the right to give an opinion.

Why did he, 59.3 and 59.8, have to be fishing in the same tournies as me this weekend ( a purely rhetorical question? I know we are all fish junkies ) Evidently 53.8# doesn't go as far as it used to. Sidenote, a 50# fish or larger will not go back in the water when it hits my deck. I eat, sleep, breathe fish and work way too hard, plus I'm vain, to let it go.

I am quite satisfied with my lowley 53lber thank you....Should a 60 be in the cards ....so be it.

I dont blame him one bit for keeping those fish, a 60 is quite a fish...acually I was wrong, there were two guys on the boat so, each kept his own...that makes one fish for each guy...they each got a 60...congrats! They made one stop, at the tackle store and that was because they new the guys working there and wanted tro show them, neither of these fish is dectined for any tourneys at all...its a personal accomplishment. the other two fish shown above, those are destined for tourneys.

Yes joe, but man.arent we stretching things a bit here?? we are talking about two fish?? not total anhilation?? there are set quotas now etc.... just so that cannot happen again.......the rules are nothing like they once were..



Also those fish once on the boat were just about dead. there could have been no release...

No names mentioned, but the 59+ fish(es) I'm talking about just bumped my fish in the Cape Calssic ( $ 2000 thank you ), the monthly On the Water, and both fish in the Fisherman. If in fact we are not talking the same guy from RI then we can add 2 more large taken yesterday to this thread. I know I'm fishing a lot this week comin'.

Agreed.

I know there are differeing opinions on Frank Daignault however each of us feels about the guy aside...He did say something that I agree with 100% taken from hios forum on another website "Anyone claiming to realease a fish of 50lbs or better has to be looked upon with raised eyebrows" " To be proven and credible it must be weighed in and documented" "or else anyone can say anything"

Another words, if you cant prove it, it never happened...........

So do 50's

Attachment 17126

Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, beats a live bunker for slob sized bass.

Back here in NJ, I took two 50's in 11 months on live bunkers and didn't regret keeping them. It was the payoff for all the money spent, all the days I went to work with no sleep, all the arguments with da'wife, and all the years chasing them. Would I keep another one? Depends on the situation/condition of the fish.

Glad to see you guys finding the bunkers up there, enjoy it while it lasts, and lets hope they stay around a while.

:kewl: :kewl: :claps: :claps: Congrats , you have the right Idea and , Nice fish!!

Having to decide wether to keep two sixties is a nice problem to have.
Congrats.
I hope I have that problem some day.
Like Spence, I'll never make a personel judgement on this. BTW, the small ones do taste better, I wish there was slot for 15" fish. Its perfectly legal. I'm sure he releases his share of fish.
Congrats again.

Congrats to all the fisherman with the Legal 50's & 60's !!!
Great accomplishment on rod n reel.
These are Trophy fish !!! Congrats to all striper fisherman
because our efforts releasing fish etc ... have made it
possible for this to take place.

I think what DJ meant was, until it happpens to you, you cant really say "Yeah I'm gonna release it", ya know, "Walk a mile in my shoes" kinda thing ;). Lemme tell ya, when you have that big slob laying at your feet your heart will be beating a 1000 times a minute. You'll be in a fog and release is not the first picture that comes into your head.


A question for #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&: Are these fish in the bunker schools, or are you getting bunkers and leaving for a different spot? Reason I ask is here in NJ, we fish the bunker schools, get right in em, snag and drop em down and pencil poppers thru the schools will get big hits :). Man, let em be there next weekend :D

Well yeah, but that wasn't the drag, that was my Newell's tired bearings. And to be honest with you, I'd rather have rain, snow, bugs, wind, plauge, and pestilence if it brought a few of those #60's over my way.

#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&, I've seen Flap catch a lot of good fish and he is probably the best plug fisherman I know. He ought'a be, given how long and hard he has been fishing. I don't think, however, that he considers fishing a competitive sport.

Billy-

I agree with you - just 2 fish in this case. And I was going to say alot depends on if the fish were even releasable - so if they were not then there's no question here.

I just get pissed when some guy says I (and others) can't have an opinion on something like that. That tweaked me...

By the way, I just missed those fish at the shop because I was there an hour earlier talking to Steve. I would have loved to have seen them.

I am pictured with my dad on p.2. Let clear up #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&s comments about the catch and method, there was no bunker involved. I have not seen pogie in my neck of the woods for months!

You would lose sleep if ya saw them lol. It's one thing to see a picture, but to see a fish that size in the flesh, and maybe even get to touch it........ well, that would drive ya to drink :err: I gaffed and held a 60# that my buddy Brian took a few years back, it makes my 50's look small :(

Eben:
You are certainly entitled to your opinion but I'd like to refute all of the doom and gloom sayers about ruining the resource because of 2 60# fish killed.
It is a fact that, except in very rare instances, 50 and 60 pound fish don't have viable roe. In fact, I can quote a number of sources who have documented the fact that the roe in older fish is grey, not alive and viable (white or pink) as it is in younger breeding females. It's the same reason that 60 year old female humans don't have many babies. Their eggs are infertile. there's a hell of a lot more damage done to the resource during the commercial season in the states where it's legal. Not that I have a problem with it. Just making a point.
The second point, and of equal importance, is that regardless of whether the fish were surf caught or boat caught, they would have built up huge amounts of lactic acid and would most certianly die if released. These are old fish remember.
The third point and most important is I find it hysterical to read all there guys who claim they would release a 60. BS!!
I've done this for going on 40 years and never caught a 50. I've killed a ton of high 40s though and I'm telling you there isn't a guy on this board that wouldn't keep a 60. If you say you would release it: I DON't BELIEVE YOU!!!

Finally, congrats to Joe!!! Great Job!!!

Yes, the two other fish were caught on pogies!

If I were lucky enough to get two 60s in a day, the second one would probably go back. But that's just me. I can't criticize anyone for keeping two 60s. It's something that doesn't happen every day

As far as no one believing I got two--hogwash. Let's say one guy got both of those 60s and walked into a shop to weigh them. Let's say he released a number of high 40s and 2 50s that day. If he was to mention, "It was a hell of a day--I put back a bunch of high 40s and 2that were over 50", would anyone in the shop doubt his word for a minute? Only the most jaded skeptic would say, "yeah right :rollem: " Because the proof that the guy was into big fish, and had the skill to boat them, is hanging right there on the scale. Why should it be any different if the same guy walked into a shop with one 60 and told the proprietor, "I released another one about the same size"? You know what? It wouldn't be any different. No one would doubt it. Face it, a 60 hanging on a scale gives you instant credibility.

no gloom and doom from me, just pointing out that alot of people kill alot of bass and often forget where the bass were at one point. If i had caught one of those 60's i would have probably killed it, but it would also be one of one or two fish i keep all year.

those who feel entitled to catch and kill as many fish as possible within thier limits (2 fish a day everyday) disturb me and often makes me wonder how much $$ they are getting a pound on the black market. Those who keep more than their legal limits and feel that they are justified 'because everyone else are doing it' are the scum of the earth...

Whether they still breed at that size and are effective at it is a big question mark, but the fact remains, they're more worthwhile in the water than they are on the wall.

.

Could you please support this information with a link. It is the opposite of what I understand to be true.

[QUOTE-piemma]The second point, and of equal importance, is that regardless of whether the fish were surf caught or boat caught, they would have built up huge amounts of lactic acid and would most certianly die if released.
[/QUOTE]

Wrong, for the same reason runners don't die when their muscles are fatigued. It is the rare fish (bass at least) that can't be revived if appropriately handled, though I acknowledge that many fisherman do not do the latter and that undeniably some fish that appear OK on release die later.

That many people need to rationalize killing them indicates that at some level they are uncomfortable doing it (or perhaps they are comfortable doing it but uncomfortable being adversely judged by others for doing so) and are looking for reasons to feel better about it. At the end of the day, at least IMO, all ethical arguments about this become a bunch of intellectual masturbation. My only point is that if you like to keep fish to eat, sell, or mount, then I have no problem with it. If you like to keep fish to for the primary purpose of showing them off, well that's your business as well, but it is hardly something to admire.

WOW! My head is spinning. I just thought I would throw this in. I fish now and in the 80s. In the 80s I know the data information supported the decline of the stripers. However I saw no differance between then and now. I saw "no"decline in stripers where I fish. Nor did the people with knowledge. The only people not getting them back then were, the people who did not know what they were doing. These were the days when fish were categorized in pounds. Today they that think they know what are going on and fight for the rights of the fish categorize in inches! Just fish with in the rules and guide lines and every body will be ok!
Later, L:spin:

I agree with most of what you say eben, and this paticular individule releases most of his fish....however this was a special day and they each kept them.

I however kept the 40lber I got this morning!

I will pull the information together for you and PM you with the sources.
Your last point. I agree with you. If you are not going to eat, sell or mount and only keep it for the glory, then you are a scumbag. I was part of the 70's group that "tonged" the bass nightly. I am not proud of the number of fish we killed but they never went to waste. Yes, there was abuse but it was not illegal, just stupid. I can remember coming back from the Cape following Charlie Murat and having our trucks full of 20s, 30s, 40s. We gave fish to everyone we knew and when that was done my father took what was left and gave it to the Sisters of Mercy at St. Aloicious Orphanage in Greenville RI. We never bragged about what we caught because who would listen? No one cared about 40 pound bass. It was no big deal. I think with the advent of the internet it has become more of the "glory" thing. In the 70s who were you gonna tell. The few other guys that surf fished? They caught them too.

This is AMAZING.........:hs: Every person on this board who posts a fish gets accolades, I post that these guys took two real cows and its turned into a circus....could have left it at "nice fish congrats" instead....oh well forget it...its like banging your head against the wall:hs:

Just goes to show you what JEALOUSY can do!!

im jealous :hee:

Is jealous also, give my left nut for a 60...:btu:

Same here.... I`ve heard the big mommas were excellent breeders?

Where is Baldwin?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Its all your fault Bill :lasso: I think you should release Menhaden as well :o