I don't trust the measurements of a live struggling cow in a Jon Boat in the dark to be accurate-- just estimates...
Of course always hard to tell fish weight from any pic! -- yet I've won quite a few bets with friends doing just that. Huge Bass here for sure! ... but to my eye lacks the super- full/ grossly- huge belly of the 78 lb. record fish. To me she's exactly how I see Tonys' Bertha or Cintos' fish: approx. 73 lbs.
VERY happy about the release!
But: NEVER handle a Cows' Gill area at all! ... or weigh it suspended by the mouth at all! ... if intending to release it! Loved the Skinner book for the most part... but very surprised he still lip- weighs big Bass he's intending to release afterward? (IS exact weight vs. eye- ball estimate so necessary with released big Bass... esp. to guys who find & land a lot?
)
THAT said: I do agree with Chef & Bart-- even mishandled & abused during release... big Bass are very hardy creatures (& survive release way more than stats. say IMO)! Oxygen depletion/ time out of water before release is the single biggest factor limiting that fishs' survival rate! (you want that picture-- BE PREPARED ALWAYS!... so you can do it in a flash! (not in 5 minutes!
)