We hope that anyone that hooks up on one of these has a good heart.
Amen to the above statement.
First off, congrats and thank you for doing such a great job on raising these fish.
Secondly, anyone that hooks up with one of theses fish is extremely lucky. I drive 5 hours to have a slight chance at a big brown like this. The thought of having one in the back yard makes me want to go grab the rod right now.
Registered: 11/05/04
Posts: 473
Loc: Black Rock, Bridgeport, CT
Amazing accomplishment, raising fish like that. In my opinion they should not be released for the public to catch. Or if they are going to be released, they should be tagged/ marked for quick id and should not be considered for a state record.
Maybe it will have to go into the record books with an asterisk like as if it was an athlete on steroids. Come on people - the sanctity of a stocked vs natural fish? What was the last big record trout? Immaculate conception? I just want to hear the story of whoever is lucky enough to catch it.
"It's not the numbers caught or the tags filled, but the number of opportunities that we've pass up on or released that defines us, these experiences teach us more than any book or guide ever could and is guaranteed to bring you back for more" -swifty-
Registered: 02/14/03
Posts: 2563
Loc: Port Huron Michigan
80 percent of ice anglers use a 6 inch auger and would never get that thing up through the hole and if it happened to spool out the reel before the angler got there it would just break the tip-up down through the ice. I say put it in E Twin where it would have a chance and not some mud puddle like Westside.
St. Clair River. Port Huron, MI. #1 Prolific Fishery in North America Bar None!