03-21-2006, 06:03 PM
It's definately a fact that a world record game fish could potentially be worth millions! So, with that said, it doesn't hurt to do some research in the local area. Get a game plan together just incase you DO land a record fish. Know where your weigh stations are, go ahead and call the IGFA and get some forms together and keep them in your truck. Maybe BFT can organize a way to get those forms to our BFT members with out all the hastle. Ask yourself these questions:
1.What will I do and where will I keep the fish should I catch a record?
2.Do you have storage on your boat capable of transporting a large fish of the species you're targeting??
3.Do you even know the current state and world records?
Something else you may want to consider keeping on you at all times is a high quality digital camera and a soft tape measure. Some fish, like Red Drum, can't be kept over a certain size. Thus, you HAVE TO LET THEM GO, or be able to keep them alive long enough to get them to a scale. So you have to make record of the fish right then and there VIA pictures and on the spot recording. I keep a water-proof pad and pen with me, along with my camera and tape measure.
One of the big reasons I take the prep work so serious is that last year my brother in-law landed a World Record Bowfin in one of my "secret fishing holes" I took him to, and didn't even realize it until a week later. It weighed nearly 30 pound, which would have beaten the Record by a little over 7 pounds. I took a single picture of it, which i'll try to get on a CD so I can post it. I wasn't sure of the current record and figured it was way over that size, I couldn't have been more wrong. Though a bowfin isn't a game fish, and it probably wouldn't have warranted much materialistic value, it's more so the theory behind it all. I let a world record fish go because of my own ignorance. So take it from me, just because you're not fishing a world renowned lake, river, or body of saltwater; doesn't mean there isn't a record fish there. So don't take it for granit. Be prepared. I know for a fact any body of water has the potential to produce record fish, if you treat it that way, you may come out far ahead of the pack.
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1.What will I do and where will I keep the fish should I catch a record?
2.Do you have storage on your boat capable of transporting a large fish of the species you're targeting??
3.Do you even know the current state and world records?
Something else you may want to consider keeping on you at all times is a high quality digital camera and a soft tape measure. Some fish, like Red Drum, can't be kept over a certain size. Thus, you HAVE TO LET THEM GO, or be able to keep them alive long enough to get them to a scale. So you have to make record of the fish right then and there VIA pictures and on the spot recording. I keep a water-proof pad and pen with me, along with my camera and tape measure.
One of the big reasons I take the prep work so serious is that last year my brother in-law landed a World Record Bowfin in one of my "secret fishing holes" I took him to, and didn't even realize it until a week later. It weighed nearly 30 pound, which would have beaten the Record by a little over 7 pounds. I took a single picture of it, which i'll try to get on a CD so I can post it. I wasn't sure of the current record and figured it was way over that size, I couldn't have been more wrong. Though a bowfin isn't a game fish, and it probably wouldn't have warranted much materialistic value, it's more so the theory behind it all. I let a world record fish go because of my own ignorance. So take it from me, just because you're not fishing a world renowned lake, river, or body of saltwater; doesn't mean there isn't a record fish there. So don't take it for granit. Be prepared. I know for a fact any body of water has the potential to produce record fish, if you treat it that way, you may come out far ahead of the pack.
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