State Record Greenie

Never saw a green sunfish even close to hers! Awesome.

WOW ! I wonder what it weighed when first caught. Probably another oz. I am torn though, as to whether pond raised fish should be allowed in the record books.

sundrop said:

WOW ! I wonder what it weighed when first caught. Probably another oz. I am torn though, as to whether pond raised fish should be allowed in the record books.

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I am also. I like it being publicized to know that the size is attainable, but the record has an implication of fishing prowess playing into it.

OptiMystic said:

I am also. I like it being publicized to know that the size is attainable, but the record has an implication of fishing prowess playing into it.

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90% of the game is half luck.

Gene - Red》X《 - Asheboro

Luck and prowess are both largely removed in catching private pond sunfish, IME. A fish that size will still put up a fight but if it has nowhere to go the drag will wear it out soon enough. I love catching them, but I would not submit an 11" bluegill from the pond for a citation.

I just see it as a controlled environment and have even heard pond owners say they are raising record making fish by feeding etc. Not as random and unique as true survival of the fittest wild caught.

I have no problem counting fish from a private pond, but I am iffy about fish that are fed regularly. I'm okay (kind of) with ponds where they have feeders to bring fish to one area, but I feel like if most of their diet comes from feed then they should be for fun not records. It's like hunting, I admire people with large hunting lands where they carefully manage their deer populations, give them access to good nutrients, and plant feed plots to grow the most healthy deer they can. But you won't see me walking into a cow field, shooting the biggest one and bragging about it.

Swampin' said:

I have no problem counting fish from a private pond, but I am iffy about fish that are fed regularly. I'm okay (kind of) with ponds where they have feeders to bring fish to one area, but I feel like if most of their diet comes from feed then they should be for fun not records. It's like hunting, I admire people with large hunting lands where they carefully manage their deer populations, give them access to good nutrients, and plant feed plots to grow the most healthy deer they can. But you won't see me walking into a cow field, shooting the biggest one and bragging about it.

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I had a buddy in CO that called range cattle "slow elk".

The problem is that feeding is a gray area. We stock grizzard shad in public lakes. That is different than tossing in pellets. Or is it? There are a couple of components - the possibility that they are farming fish and reporting the best harvested as a record and the restricted access. Record vegetables come from private gardens, but record fish are supposed to (IMO) have been caught as a sport where some skill (and luck) led you to a fish you didn't know for sure existed until you caught it. And the second component - access - comes into play if you believe it should be fair and open to anyone to "compete".

At least in the record books it says where the fish was caught and people can see for themselves if it was wild caught or farm caught. That way you and I can decide which catches we respect and which we don't. Maybe they should add a subscript for the private pond caught ones that tell where the biggest wild one was caught?

Swampin' said:

At least in the record books it says where the fish was caught and people can see for themselves if it was wild caught or farm caught. That way you and I can decide which catches we respect and which we don't. Maybe they should add a subscript for the private pond caught ones that tell where the biggest wild one was caught?

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Or biggest from public water. Wild, native or other designations are another can of worms entirely...

You know like putting an asterisk next to Roger Marris's name in the Home Run Column because well....I guess just because?

Pond, lake, river or bucket that fish still has to choose to eat what you are offering. And even in a pond you still dont know which 1 cubic foot of realestate it occupies. A record is a record its impressive if caught on hook and line regardless.

Gene - Red》X《 - Asheboro

impressive fish....
note - last year on a certai flow i saw 2 green sunfish in a clear pool that were surely state record specimens..they would not hit anything.

Mack in N.C. said:

impressive fish....
note - last year on a certai flow i saw 2 green sunfish in a clear pool that were surely state record specimens..they would not hit anything.

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See, *those* are the fish that, if you catch one, should really receive the publicity of a record. I agree, the private pond fish are cool stories and photos but too subject to manipulation. If I go down to my pond and throw live crickets on the water for many years and cull the small fish to let a few grow big, then years later decide to catch one on a live cricket, that's not even remotely the same as if Mack had caught one of those wild sunfish.

Cool picture, nice fish!

Just because you attempt to raise a record fish doesn't make you successful. A small pH controlled pond with temperature regulators doesn't turn 1/2 pound fish to 2 lb fish no matter how many minnows and craw fish they eat . Just saying .. I tried for 2 years to raise a monster with no luck I will say yellow perch do better than any of the other specimens