Close but no cigar! The 49...
 

Has anyone here landed a 49 lb bass before landing their first 50+?

Has anyone here landed a 49 lb bass and not landed a 50 yet?

Boat fish don't count.... and 49 is the number.

If yes, how did it make you feel?....... and please shoot me a PM.

If no, how do you think you would feel? Mixed feelings? Disappointed at all? Would it even cross your mind that your eel was (perhaps unfortunately) "the appetizer and not dessert" ;) ?

Really think about this. Where would your mind go? ...even if just for a second.

GG

If someone is disappointed by catching a 49 lb fish, they should seriously consider why they are fishing.
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I've got a friend who has caught at least 6 49's over the years and no 50's.....he's never complained about it. me on the other hand many 39's on plugs (caught 50's on bait back in the day) and no 40's. although I caught one next to larry on the big river that had to go 40 and I didn't have my boga with me. now I don't care as long as I can fish and have a good time.

I'd wish I'd been using a plug instead of an eel.

love it

Good one George.
Once got a 48 and next nite upper 50 but that was 20 years ago. Been very close in boat at least 10 times over the years. I have never been disappointed with anything over 30. For me it is all about the hit. Landing it is cool too but not as exciting as the take IMO. P.
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Don,

Let's chat. PM??

GG

That fish was 40+ pounds all day long Don! You were holding it up and it was still 1/3 in the water!!!!:uhuh:

PS-I have the pic somewhere?

I've never caught anything close to that big, so that would bumm me out in the least.

The question is did you let it go????
Not trying to be funny but you will reach a time when you watch it swim away.
We will know by the smile on your face.

3 49s in the surf. One in 77 on the Back. One in 84 or 5 at The Charlestown Breachway in back where the campers park and one in 92 at Deep Hole.

Oh, and I still have never caught a 50

Charlie Cinto always jokes that he has never caught a "60"! LOL!!:rotf2:

49 pounds 11 oz....never a 50. Never disappointed though.

been chasing a 50 since I started fishing! anyone who says there not disappointed with a 49... I thinks is being politically correct.. I wasn't disappointed in the catch any fish over 50 Inches is a Fantastic thing . the disappointment is the that magic or Holy grail number of 50Lb bass.. When I get one it will be on my wall. not unlike the deer hunters a 8 point buck is nice but a 12 point is once in a life time for some

Keep in mind the more familiar you are with a fish the worse most mounts look.

Yeah a big shiny plastic bass pinned on your wall will impress the inexperienced, but it will also probably pollute and kill your memory of the fish's magnificence........a sad thing to pay a lot of money for. Even a good mount (and your odds of getting that are smaller than getting the fish itself) looks diminished suspended on a wall since we are used to seeing these fish from above rather than below. Basically the fish's azzhole is more prominent than its girth and back.

I've not caught a #50, but I've released enough in the mid-high 40's to know that the visual and tactile memory of those big girls sliding out of my hands and back into the night far outweighs any gain killing one so I can pay someone a $1000 bucks to turn it into the fish equivalent of a painted whore. To each their own, but something to think about before you get one.

A painted whore!! :rotfl:
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Guys...shoot me a PM!

GG

Ok... I'll be the one who says it...

Would I be disappointed to catch a 49? I'd be thrilled to catch a big
fish, but to come that close to 50 without hitting it would make it bittersweet.

I would prefer to catch a 47 than a 49.

a 49lb. fish is like hitting 5 out of 6 numbers on the lottery...
youre thrilled you won ten grand, but you cant get the taste
of the 80 million out of your mouth!

Yeah a big shiny plastic bass pinned on your wall will impress the inexperienced and the experienced thats the Idea . and with today's technology a few pic's and measurements bam a fiberglass copy of the original for around 500 bucks ..

Having a fish mounted today doesn't all ways translate into a dead fish .
But any 50 caught by the comm guys is a sure thing (payday) To each their own

My dad caught several 49's.....never broke the 50 barrier.

Greg,
I don't believe 50# is a magic number nor the holy grail of why we fish. We make an educated guess as to where we want to present our offerings. It is not like hunting where you can target the trophy from a group, or in our case a school of fish. It has been almost two years since I was fishing an area when a school of large "happened" to appear in that area. When a 49# fish is present, there are going to be fifties in the mix. It is just a different class of fish. A 49 in July is a fifty in September/October. One pound in the summer months is the difference of a recent meal or bowel movement for the fish. Appreciate that you were where a school of large were swimming when you were there fishing. If fifty is the absolute goal, you will feel empty when you reach that goal. Nothing left. Check it off the bucket list and on to the next thing. I wondered if I would have the same drive and enjoyment after my PB. PMd Rockfish to get his counsel on the subject. His advice was to appreciate why I fished, and it would be alright when I got the next microbass on the line.... He was right. Spent the morning yesterday chasing micros around the harbor mouth yesterday..... Besides, I'm way past trying to make a name for myself in anything, nevermind fishing.

Whoops... You can ignore my above posted opinions and related experience. After re-reading your original post, I can see that it won't matter to you, because I fish from a boat as well......


BTW, where do they list the records for "boat fish" division?:smash:

X2
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(Excerpt from The Snowstorm Blitz)
While Zeke was picking up Jack at the ferry, my good friend, Bob
Andrade, hooked up to a nice fish down to my right just before the start of the boulder field. I was 30 feet to his left when I heard him yell for me. I quickly rushed over to him as line peeled off the spool of his Penn 705. I stood by his side and helped coach him through a hookup with the largest bass of his life. Bobby's right leg, which he had appropriately named "thumper," was shaking with anxiety. Bob's fish had taken lots of line and was now well into the boulder field. I followed Bob down the shore as he chased this fish. After 10 minutes I helped him beach a fine bass that ended up pulling the arrow of my hand scale to 49.8 pounds. We tried to coax the extra half-pound out of the scale but it was not to be. Bobby settled for a 49.8. I convinced him to try and revive her for release. Bob agreed and then released the largest striped
bass he had ever caught. Bob still feels great about his decision. I don't believe there was a more grateful caster than Bob Andrade on
Southwest Point that night.

some great discussion here. I would be pretty damn excited to catch a fish that big. Sure, I would be a tiny bit disappointed that it wasn't a 50, but in my mind it would be close enough and I would still consider it a "fish of a lifetime"

X3

I dont have a 50, but i dont feel its my lifetime goal. I fish to catch big fish, and have fun. I'd be thrilled with a 49 just the same as a 39. i just like to stick fish and watch them swim away, and the bigger the better.

I thought 60 was the new 50??? ..... :fishin:

I would be far less disappointed if a striped bass only pulled the needle down to 49 pounds than I would if it stopped at 81 pounds and 14 ounces... :soon:

Yes.... the night before i landed my 61( in 1986) I landed a 49-14... weighed in at surfland the next morning... when I landed it.. my fishing partner wanted me to take it in imediatly( it was still day light)...my comment was..if it's "50" now..it will be 50 in the morning( i was comercially fishing back then and wanted a pay day more than the PRECIEVED glory)) was I dissapointed... a little.. but I knew nothing then compared to what I know now...It took dozens of "40's" to get over the hump....but i never felt cheated...this is my 42nd year fishing striped bass on my own( I'm not even counting my pre teen years with my Dad)... to this day... any fish that pulls drag ( even if I'm fly fishing) raises my heart rate...When I took the 61.. friends and others around the docks said my passion would wane... well it hasn't... I dont sell anymore but still fish 3-4 nights a week... the last time my head hit the pillow before 2 AM was last Friday night... during the week I'm up at six to work a 9 hour day... it's all about the love of fishing... and what i might catch on any given tide.

Putting your rediculous comment about boat fish aside...when a fish gets that big... they are all of the same year class... some have just fed a little better or had a better gene pool... the # 50 isn't as big a deal as being able to consistantly be into fish...of any size... knowing the habits and "how to" of catching striped bass is what makes or breaks a fisherman...I know ( or knew) many fisherman that were a hell of alot better than I am at this game that never even came close..
Congratulations on an exceptional catch...now step away from the computer and go find her over weight sister!

[QUOTE=Rockfish9;1008407]the pillow before 2 AM was last Friday night... during the week I'm up at six to work a 9 hour day... it's all about the love of fishing... and what i might catch on any given tide.

the # 50 isn't as big a deal as being able to consistantly be into fish...of any size... knowing the habits and "how to" of catching striped bass is what makes or breaks a fisherman...

Great post! This is what I tell all my young nephews. It's not who got the biggest fish, it's consistency. To be able to do it day in and day out for 30 or 40 years is what makes a striperman. Just because you got one 30 or a 40 or a 50 doesn't mean squat. Now if you do that every year for 10 years and you do it in the Summer when the water is 70+ then you know your stuff:uhuh:.