What to do if you think you have a record fish

[peter]

From KY Fish & Wildlife

The waters of Cave Run Lake surrendered another state record muskellunge when Sarah Terry caught a 47-pounder Nov. 2.

See photos of record Muskie

Terry, a 14-year old freshman at Montgomery County High School, and her stepfather, Scott Salchli, went through the proper steps to make sure her catch was certified as the official state record. If you catch what you think is a potential state record fish, you must follow the correct instructions to insure your fish makes the official state record fish list. This list is on page 33 and 34 of the 2008 Kentucky Fishing and Boating Guide.
First, you must catch the fish by pole and line. Fish taken by commercial gear, trotlines, gigging, snagging, limb lines, hand grabbing or bow fishing are not eligible for state records.
Secondly, a fisheries biologist must verify the catch. “We have a fisheries biologist verify the fish to make sure it is identified correctly,” said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We have 14 fishery biologists and several research biologists.”
The phone numbers for the fisheries biologists are listed on page 33 of the current fishing guide.
Next, you must have the fish weighed on scales certified for trade by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and witnessed by three other people. The three witnesses must sign the application for a Kentucky State Record Fish. Official applications should be supplied by the fishery biologist or you may print an application from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s web page at fw.ky.gov.
Anglers who catch a state record often want to release the catch. It is not necessary to kill the fish, but can be difficult to follow all of the steps to certification and keep the fish alive.
“If they can keep it alive while taking photos, having a biologist identify it and weighed on certified scales, then more power to them,” Buynak explained. “It is not a short process. The chances of the fish dying are pretty good.”
Salchli knows how tough it can be. “It was a three-hour ordeal,” he said. They took the record muskellunge to a grocery store, but the scales weren’t big enough for such weight. “Then, someone contacted Southern States and the manager drove from the other side of Flemingsburg to Morehead on a Sunday evening,” he said.
It is possible, although difficult, to keep your record alive. Bruce Midkiff released his 104-pound Kentucky state record blue catfish after he caught it in 1999.
So, if you catch a potential state record, follow these steps and bask in the glow of catching a rare state record fish.

[thebassman30]

Great post Peter!

Feel free to bask in my glow....lol....I love it!

[ON3 3Y3D WILLI3]

If you have a record fish that you want recognized as such, you would contact the International Game Fish Association (I.G.F.A.) and follow their rules and regulations for record certification.

All regulations for line class, tippet, hooks, tagging, catch and release, scale certification, etc. can be found on their website. www.igfa.org They have all-tackle records down to state tippet-class records and most anything in between. The regulations are stringent and would likely surpass any State Record Requirements and Regulations making your catch that more noteworthy. If the IGFA accepts your catch your state would be kind of stupid not to also (think "Record Fishery" marketing scheme.) As an example, if they would have weighed that musky using a scale certified by the IGFA (not waited for a KDFWR scale), documented the catching, weighing, and/or releasing (if applicable) with video or photos, filled out the application, and sent it in, that fish would have been released in 3 minutes flat and if the app was in order, recognized as a record. The IGFA does not have a line-class for Musky in our state, but certification by that organization as a record catch based on your line-class alone should justify any State backing a record catch. California wants more than anything for one of those Bass Hunters to legally pull that 25lb+ LMB out of one of those reservoirs (again, think "World Record Fishery" marketing plan.) But if the IGFA says, sorry, that fish wasn't caught by following the rules, it could be 30 lbs and it just isn't going to be recognized. Mac Weakly pulled the 25lber out of Dixon a while back and thought for sure he had his 1 Million Dollar Fish. I don' think he even submitted it to the IGFA because he knew he had foul hooked it and they wouldn't accept it. And if they didn't accept it and the State didn't accept it, there's no Million, and there's no record. In those rarer cases it's the State waiting for the verdict of the IGFA before making the catch an official record.

Anyhow, point is, rather than fiddling with the KDFWR and trying to find out where one of those officers are while your freaking out because the worlds largest smallmouth is bendning your net to the breaking point, follow the IGFA guidelines and if you do happen to have that world record fish in your net you're a lot more likely to have it made official and you may be able to release your awesome catch.

[riverrat12]

On a side note most all reputable veterinaries have certified scales capable of weighing really big fish...Mine does...Chuck