Sorry for the dumb Subject title.  Lets see Florida and Texas kick out fish like this.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/20060320-1251-bn20bass.html

Thought everyone would like to see 

The reason why it was foul hooked was because it was bedding I guess and went nose down on a jig.  The angler didn't know if she had it or not so he was forced to pull the trigger.  This is the real thing though, witnesses are posting on multiple message boards.  Damn what a huge fish.

Its ok to be jealous, I wish I lived in Cali catching fish like that.  I give the guy some credit for landing it.  God knows I wouldn't even be able to make a cast I'd be shaking so bad 

I agree with you on that Rob. That's not right.

I understand what your saying.  No one of us would pass up the oppurtunity though, in a tourney situation or for a record.  It was either going to be the group of big bass hunters like they were, or some other schmuck.  The record will be broken in the next few years, there's tons of little trout stocked lakes down there.

I think this discussion gets down to the nitty-gritty on why we all like tournament bass fishing...

It's not about hunting and catching big fish, it's about adjusting to the conditions of the day and fooling fish better than everyone else around you! That is not the same as going after a world-record fish.

Chris

There are two different classifications of passes sold that allow access to the Lake on a daily basis.  The 1st is for fishing only and the 2nd is for camping & fishing.  If you possess a camping and fishing pass you are allowed early entry to the park and launch area.  There was no "racing around traffic in the parking lot" in order to cut the line of waiting anglers and circumvent a legal entry into the park.  My source for this information:  San Diego Tribune online, Bass Fan, and Terry Battisti a well known writer in the publications Bass West and Inside Line.  Terry is also the consummate authority on the hunt for the world record bass and a member of the Northwest Shimano Pro-Staff.
I talked with "Tater" (his nickname) for over 40 minutes last night about this catch and all the hoopla that it has generated.  He told me that the fish is well known among local anglers having been caught several times in the last few years by different anglers.  This fish has gained about 5-6 pounds over the past 5 years according to records kept.  She is an easily identifiable fish that has a distinct mark on her lower right gill plate.   There have been several scale samples taken of this fish and her genetics are very well known in the scientific fishead circles in Southern California.
The ironic thing is that once she spawns, she will lose nearly 6 lbs in egg weight. WHAT A LOAD!!
The anglers that caught her are among a group of well known So-Cal big fish hunters that target the large fish that ply the waters of the San Diego County drinking water reservoir system.  When he foul hooked the sow, he was sight fishing in nearly 20' of gin clear water.  He set the hook when his jig disappeared as the fish moved over the bait rather than inhaled it as he thought.

Smitty

He's got that bright yellow bumble bee colored Puma for sale.  Want his number to make an offer?

Smitty