After your PB

[rps]

How do you react when you catch an exceptional fish after an earlier PB?

As a young man, I caught a 9+ largemouth from a pond in Tulsa. Many years later I caught a legit 8 and 1/2  in Tablerock.

In 1973 my wife caught a 4+ spotted bass in Broken Bow Years later I caught an almost 4 spot. Her fish threatened the Oklahoma record. Mine did not.

In 2011, I caught a 13+ walleye in TR and only a few days later caught a 10+.

When you reach a certain point in your life, should you let go of PB's and fish for the moment, or should you push on?

I apologize, but I just watched a River Runs Through It, and I am feeling philosophical.

 

[rps]

 

[ollie]

Fish for the moment, but I feel like you always need to push yourself for the PB. I don't think I have ever reached my PB. Most people have caught bigger fish than me so I am always wanting to catch that bigger one!

[nomolites]

Definitely fish in the moment, although it does not hurt to fish where they live.  The days I never forgot are those that had me setting the rod down and taking a break because I was worn out from the catching.  Best yet is putting a neophyte in that situation.

Mike

[FishnDave]

I would say....Mix it up.  Not every fish needs to be big to be enjoyed.  Look forward to catching a bigger fish once in awhile.  Big fish are often a reward for having fished in the right place correctly in that moment.  

[Flysmallie]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:31 AM, FishnDave said:

Not every fish needs to be big to be enjoyed.

This. I just dropped some cash on a new fly setup for small fish specifically. Lots of little creeks around the area that I have just as much fun on as all the lakes I went chasing double digit bass on. A lot less expensive and stressful too. 

PB doesn't mean anything to me, but I understand the drive. 

[Ryan Miloshewski]

For trout, anything under a certain length I usually just enjoy the fight and release. Don't take a pic unless it's exceptionally pretty. Just unhook, admire, and let go. Doesn't mean I take them for granted, just some of the 20-22" fish (wild to say) are cookie cutters of what I've caught. 

I did something similar on Taneycomo last August. Fishing the evening caught a 24 1/4" brown that was just a stud. Not my PB but one of the biggest I've caught in a while. Took a pic and stopped fishing. First cast the next morning on the fly rod I landed a brown right at 24". Took a pic and measurement and let it go within 30 seconds. Had I not caught the bigger fish (weight, mainly) the night before would have I reacted the same way? I'm not sure. Never been that lucky. We'll see next time, if there is one.

That being said, I think it's a good goal to aim for big (and bigger) fish. Usually they are harder to land, so it's part of the evolution of becoming a better fisherman. 

[Al Agnew]

Really, a personal best is often kind of a fluke event; if it wasn't, it wouldn't be your personal best.  I don't fish to catch personal bests in the first place.  I fish first to get fish to take my fly or lure; that is the first "drug", not "the tug is the drug" for me.  Second, my goal is never to catch a personal best, but to catch fish that are big for the waters I'm fishing.  Last year I caught the biggest smallmouth I've caught in a while, 21.5 inches and fat enough that it was probably over 5 pounds.  Was catching a 20 incher a few days later a let-down?  Nope, because 20 inches is kind of the gold standard in Ozark stream smallmouth, and I was completely happy to catch it.  At the same time, I never take the 12-15 inchers for granted; they are always a nice catch.

By the way, it's been a running joke for a while between me and a couple friends about the terminology of the size fish you catch.  There are "nice'uns", "good'uns", "big'uns", and "holy-crap-look-at-the-size-of-that-fish'uns".  When it comes to stream bass, nice'uns are 12-14 inches, good'uns are 15-17 inches, big'uns are 18-20 inches, and anything over...

[fishinwrench]

Talking green bass here.......I'd rather concentrate on catching five 2-3lbers. than one 10 pounder.  

In the waters I fish, you can effectively pattern bass that are in the 2-3lb. range.   But once they become 4+ they are just bonus freaks.  

[dan hufferd]

I would ask myself to remember the state of mind I was in during all those wonderful catches, I would bet, that you made a good hypothesis about where to fish and how, and then just let the lures fly. Two walleye over 10# in close proximity, and frequency. Very rare, I would bet you tried to reproduce that day to no avail. 

The journey is as fun as the reward, have a fun hobby, how ever you do it.

I have to notice these are all pre live scope catches.