27 inch BASS on Float and Fly

[JimDicken]

That is why the formula's normally give a RANGE to weight.
All the formula's I have seen for a 27 inch fish put it in EXCESS of 8 pounds.
That said.. YES you are right.. but we are having a discussion of a particular fish here.. and hopefully later today we will have a picture of it.
Jim Dicken

[JimDicken]

Picture is up. It is a scanned image so I could not reduce it any more than I have and have it look decent.
BUT I am guessing a 500 pixel width picture is OK with you guys.
Jim

[SpotBoy]

The fish is a beauty, but looking at the belly and the size of it compared to the gentlemens hand 7 lbs is probably close. I have seen 8 lb bass weighed in at bfl events and the average man could get BOTH fist into their mouths. Just look at the gentlemens hand and then the fishes mouth ...... NO WAY is that fish 9,10 or even close to 12lbs.One thing you have to remember about formulas is just how accurately do "we" measure a fish.

[dcbasser]

I thought the same thing when looking at the picture. Beautiful fish but seems a little on the poor side. 7 To 8 lbs at the most. But I wouldn't complain if I had caught it. Good Job to whoever caught it especially on the F-N-F. Had to be one heck of a fight.

[R19]

It is hard to judge the size of truely big fish and be within 1/2 pound buy a picture. They are alot of variables that can make a fish appear bigger or smaller than what it actually is. He has the fish held out from his body which helps it look bigger but the angle of the fish plus it being tilted back will take away from the overall apperance of the size. Is it a 7 or 10 pounder? It is a BIG fish. My guess would be 7 3/4. And yes I would be very proud to catch that fish and if I did not have accurate scales I would swear it was more like 9 because I am a fisherman :-)

[jcb]

Quote 1:

>AND someone looking at picture and saying how much a fish weighs is >hilarious !!!

Quote 2, from the same person:
>The fish is a beauty, but looking at the belly and the size
>of it compared to the gentlemens hand 7 lbs is probably close.

Things that make you go hmmmmm....

[redneckshadrap]

:)

[SpotBoy]

>Quote 1:
>
>>AND someone looking at picture and saying how much a fish
>weighs is >hilarious !!!
>
>Quote 2, from the same person:
>>The fish is a beauty, but looking at the belly and the
>size
>>of it compared to the gentlemens hand 7 lbs is probably
>close.
>
>Things that make you go hmmmmm....
>
>
Well I guess I should have said I think the scales must be pretty close since it was reported that the fish weighed CLOSE to 7 lbs. THAT IS WHERE MY 7 LB figure came from ... Not just pulled out of the air by LOOKING AT A PICTURE.. I wasn't guessing the weight of the fish just stating that I don't think that fish LOOKED like a 9 - 12 lb fish.My original reply was just pointing out that "formulas" are not even close to actual weights because of too many variables.

[JimDicken]

No offense to the angler but that is one of the worst angled fishing pics I have ever put up. The Backward angle takes the mouth out and makes the girth look smaller. Holding it out just exacerbates those issues. I BELIEVE, ( but we will never know for sure) that any fish that is 27 inches and healthy looking as that one is, WILL weigh in at around 8 pounds and more likely more.
The scale was reportedly an old spring scale 15 years old.. so it was most likely rusted making the weight of the fish higher since rust retards the spring.
I realize ALL of this is academic.
The lesson here is this.. When taking a picture of a BIG FISH holding it out is NOT better.. better to have the person close to have some kind of perspective.. Another factor is the size of the person holding the fish. I have a picture of a pike I caught being held by my guide Vince who is all of 4' 9" tall 160 pounds and it looks HUGE... I am holding the same fish and it looks SMALL... I am 6'1" tall and weigh 250.
IN THE END.. a 27 inch largemouth ON a Float and Fly is a Terrific aCCOMPLISHMENT and we can not take that away from the angler. MORE IMPORTANT than all of this is that he RETURNED a trophy of a lifetime for any angler back into the lake to be caught again.
Jim Dicken

[JimDicken]

Could that be a spotted bass? The mouth looks to not go past the eye>

[biggw]

Don,t know Jim ---There is alot what ifs and how comes about that picture ---Still a nice fish if it come on a fly --and not a shiner------o well im gone fishing :)

[mhall]

>Could that be a spotted bass? The mouth looks to not go past
>the eye>

That's a largejaw, I'd bet the bank on it. Spots at Cumberland and Dale are very destinctive looking in my humble opinion. :P Make no mistake that's a gooden in anybody's book, especially on light tackle. Great job on the release, and Jim you are right they couldn't have taken a worse picture. Should have had Billy with them, now he can take some good pics.