New Missouri State Record Largemouth!

[Mitch f]

Opposed to simply turning the handle on a reel???

Gotta call you on this one Cheif. You're grasping a little. I've run trot lines and limb lines too. Imparting action on a crankbait requires an order of magnitude more finesse than running a trot line.

[Addicted to Creeks]

Really cool that it was caught so close to me and amazing the he released it. The story improved my day immensly

[oneshot]

Ok I caught this Bass on Dough Bait fishing for Carp,did I do a better Job than either using Gold Fish on Trotline or Pulling a Lure through the water?

oneshot

[LarrySTL]

I'm glad he released it. I am at least that glad that it was not the overall MO bass record.

[Stoneroller]

LOVE IT, ONESHOT!!

[Chief Grey Bear]

Gotta call you on this one Cheif. You're grasping a little. I've run trot lines and limb lines too. Imparting action on a crankbait requires an order of magnitude more finesse than running a trot line.

Ehhh, not really. The crank does the work by way of the lip and its variations as well as the shape of the crank. As we both know there are poorly designed cranks out there that also preform poorly no matter what you do with the rod tip.

At any rate, my point is each method has their own set of skills and I wouldn't put one above the other. I don't think he is any less of a fisherman or record holder because it was on a trotline. And no hard feelings to eric either.

[eric1978]

Ehhh, not really. The crank does the work by way of the lip and its variations as well as the shape of the crank. As we both know there are poorly designed cranks out there that also preform poorly no matter what you do with the rod tip.

At any rate, my point is each method has their own set of skills and I wouldn't put one above the other. I don't think he is any less of a fisherman or record holder because it was on a trotline. And no hard feelings to eric either.

None taken. I just personally see a big difference in taking a fish on rod and reel and artificials, and taking a fish on live bait left somewhere overnight. But that's me. Some people don't have such a discriminating fishlosophy.

[Al Agnew]

The thing is, they probably weren't targeting bass, and probably never expected to catch a bass on the trotline, let alone a record bass. So in that case I'd call it pure luck. However, I believe that when you really get down to it, a fairly large percentage of state record fish were caught by people who never expected to catch even a big fish, let alone a record. Record trout have been caught on pink marshmallows and Velveeta cheese. State record bass have been caught on minnows by guys and gals fishing for crappie. A state record fish is by definition almost a one of a kind fish. The chances of catching one are extremely slim, so slim that even if you were targeting bass and fishing in excellent big bass water, catching a record would be almost entirely luck. The only times that it wouldn't be almost pure luck is if you were going out specifically to fish for a state record, or if you actually saw a state record fish and sight fished for it or fished repeatedly where you had seen it. In other words, you knew it was there and fished until you caught it.

The main ways, in my opinion, that more skill is required in catching a hook and line record would be in getting it to take an artificial lure, and then in being able to handle your equipment well enough to hook it and to land it once you hook it. While it takes skill and knowledge to properly set trotlines, once the trotline is set, the angler's "skill" is mainly finished. The fish takes the bait without any further manipulation from the angler, the fish hooks itself, and once it's hooked, the angler hauls it in by main strength, the line overpowering the fish (unless, of course, it's a really huge catfish).

[WakenLake]

Here we are out here searching for a lunker and he catches one while he's was at home chilling.

[Flyflinger]

Wow...I never knew the record was only 8-9lbs....that seems small to me. I used to catch 9-10lbs when I was a kid at one local farm pond. I called it the "hog hole"...not kidding every bass that i caught was over 6lbs....I would weigh them with those little spring loaded scales you get from Walmart....so not that accurate I admit.

The "hog hole" water would turn black in the summer from the amount of tadpoles in the water...it was the craziest thing. The fish would literally just have to breath in and they would have themselves a mouthful of baby frogs. Which might account for why they got so big.

I would blast top water lures during the summer months, and catch 8-9lbs bass by the dozen, I really had no idea how good I had it...I thought all bass where supposed to be that big. It wasn't until the pond was sold and I wasn't allowed to fish there anymore that i started to realize that it was a pretty special place.

I miss the "hog hole."