How does getting a "record fish" work?

Josh

Josh

Dead in the water
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To be very clear, I don't actually care about this for myself. The chance of me catching a record anything is only slightly better than me winning a powerball jackpot.

But I was listening to a bass fishing podcast and that got me thinking about fish size records. How do those work? Do you have to kill any fish that you want to be considered for an official record? Or can they do it with photographs? Do you have to have someone there as a witness?
 
I only know about the catch and kill process.

I caught a SMB that I thought broke the WA state record, so I called the WDFW and asked what to do...they sent me to a postal scale and we weighed the fish and got a government certified weight and yes it would be the record...then they asked me a bunch of questions I did not want to answer...like where, with what and dates times. At first I thought were making sure it was legally caught and then I realized there would be a press release with all of the details...finally I decided not to send in the info and I taxidermied the fish myself. BTW I'm not the only person to do this.

For a few years we fished an area where a group of us routinely caught walleye that weighed 6lbs over the state record at that time. We all decided that there was no value in submitting the record and never did.

Now today with the internet maybe we could have become influencers and made a fortune!

The catch and release process is different, length, girth and a hand held scale picture helps but it does not carry the same value as a dead fish!
 
longputt said:
At first I thought were making sure it was legally caught and then I realized there would be a press release with all of the details...f
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Oh interesting!

That's an aspect I hadn't even thought of. How specific do they want to know?
 
Long_Rod_Silvers said:
Paging @Bruce Baker
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Yes. If you are asking about the state of Washington, a fish submitted for a state record must be killed. Here are the instructions:

Only fish that can be legally fished for (hook-and-line or spearfishing) and legally harvested in Washington waters may be entered.

To be considered for a state record certificate, a sport fish must be weighed on a scale certified for commercial use. These may be found at local grocery, hardware, post office or feed supply stores (see Part B). The fish should be weighed as soon as possible after capture to minimize weight loss from dehydration.

After official weighing, it is the responsibility of the angler to contact a WDFW Area or District Fish Biologist for positive identification and inspection of the fish within 7 days of capture. The actual fish must be submitted for the approval process. Wrap the fish loosely in moist paper towels and keep cool if you cannot submit the fish for verification the same day as capture. The verification inspection may require extensive evaluation, including measurements, scale samples and weight verification (Part C).

The angler must submit the Record Sport Fish application with Sections A and B completed to a WDFW Area or District Fish Biologist at the time of inspection. (see internet link to state map with names, addresses and phone numbers of biologists)

To be considered for a state record certificate, the application must be accompanied by a clear, untouched original color photograph of the fish and angler who caught it, and a second photo of a side view with the fish lying beside a yardstick or tape measure. The photographs will be part of the application and will not be returned. Digital photographs will be accepted in original file format on a computer compact disc (CD). Altered photographs will cause rejection of the application.

Upon complete review of the application, the applicable Regional Fish Program Manager will submit the application, with a recommendation for final processing, to the State Record Sport Fish Program Coordinator in Olympia. If approved, a certificate signed by the Fish Program Assistant Director will be issued to the record-catching angler by the program coordinator. At that time, the program coordinator will update the record sport fish official list on the WDFW web site.

To be considered for a state record certificate, a fish cannot have been frozen prior to or at the time of weight certification or when verified by WDFW personnel. Evidence of freezing will result in immediate rejection of the application.

 
I will add that there does have to be a witness in addition to the scale operator when the fish gets weighed.
 
I caught a 12lb milkfish on 8lb tippet on a 5 wt and submitted it to IGFA. Had to kill the fish get it weighed on a certified scale and send in the fly and a section of tippet. Oh and pay $60 to join IGFA. They kicked it back to me and said milkfish are all tackle and I didn’t break the existing weight record. Don’t think I will be submitting any more records.
 
Josh said:
Oh interesting!

That's an aspect I hadn't even thought of. How specific do they want to know?
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When I was asked to take someone to the spot for photographs I decided enough was enough. The irony is where that fish was caught completely silted in and now has cottonwood trees growing right where it was caught.

The walleye spot was eventually discovered and now there are no fish...but we had fun for several years.

This was 30 years ago...it looks like the process has become more formalized.
 
Bruce Baker said:
Yes. If you are asking about the state of Washington, a fish submitted for a state record must be killed.
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For me personally, I don't think I could kill a fish I wasn't already going to harvest just for a record.

But I'm also not the kind of guy who cares about records. And I also admit that I don't know any other way to verify fish size if you are going to have records.

So who knows.
 
Be great to see a catch and release record book take shape. Video evidence of length & girth. For me that's a better record than weight, hell a musky could have several pounds of food in its gut when it hits the scale. But that wouldnt change its length and minimally the girth.

In this day of conservation, declining fisheries and damn near everybody having a video camera on hand there should be a better way to still get authenticated records.

Theres probably an app that could be developed to gauge a fishes size from taking a photo.

Ok heres the idea, it came eventually. Design an app to gauge fish size. Buying the app gets you access to verified 1" printable stickers. Catch the fish, put the sticker on it, snap some pics and your phone tells you if you got a record. Boom. Gimme my millions mark cuban.
 
Pink Nighty said:
Be great to see a catch and release record book take shape. Video evidence of length & girth. For me that's a better record than weight, hell a musky could have several pounds of food in its gut when it hits the scale. But that wouldnt change its length and minimally the girth.

In this day of conservation, declining fisheries and damn near everybody having a video camera on hand there should be a better way to still get authenticated records.

Theres probably an app that could be developed to gauge a fishes size from taking a photo.

Ok heres the idea, it came eventually. Design an app to gauge fish size. Buying the app gets you access to verified 1" printable stickers. Catch the fish, put the sticker on it, snap some pics and your phone tells you if you got a record. Boom. Gimme my millions mark cuban.
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After taxidermying my SMB I'd swore I'd never do another fish...I've done some birds...no more fish! It was very difficult. I was going to have it taxidermied but I couldn't afford it. Pictures for me from now on!

There are people who will build custom forms and then paint from your dimensions and photographs. Companies like this: https://www.mckenziesp.com/Arp-3-D-System-Reproductions-C115.aspx sell a lot of reproductions in various sizes and then you can hire a custom painter or paint it yourself.

Our family caught the same LMB a few years in a row and it had a unique scar. I've thought about buying a reproduction and modifying the gill plate for the scar. It's a cool story of the effectiveness of catch and release.
 
IGFA now lets you tape and then release fish for release records. If you get a 10lb bone they will put you on a list, and you don't have to kill the fish.
 
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