Possible Record Sunfish

[fishnfun]

I am asking all you seasoned anglers out there to answer a question for me. My friend and I were fishing the lake at Summerlake Park in Tigard mostly catching small bass. when my friend reeled in one of his fish it was a big pumpinseed panfish. We estimated it to be around a pound which would have broken the current record by several oz. We released this one but my question to you is if we catch another of that size should we keep it?? We would not eat it due to the fact that we think the lake is polluted. What should we do? Release all fish or keep them to be certified???

[Cliff]

i think you should release and let someone else enjoy the fight as well! But its really up to you

[Jon55]

My .02 is that if you think it is likely a record keep it and have it certified. If it truly is close to a record it is no doubt not too far away from death by old age anyway. They only live so long. Catching a record fish gets people excited about fishing. My source is old but it has the Oregon record for pumpkinseed at 5.1 oz. caught at Lake Oswego in 1988. If your fish was anywhere close to a pound it was probably a new state record. :yay:

[Sandz]

Id keep it and get it cert.ed if I had a good scale weight. Though I would say if you dont carry a scale its kind of hard to judge such things by eye.

[ExBassGuide]

Get you name in the record book!
Keep the fish and get the weight certified then contact the O.D.F.W. for what to do with it (information is in the regs. too). It is a BIG thing you should never pass up the opportunity! I wish I would have kept a fish that was 150% bigger than the state record (warm mouth). I have had TWO state record fish caught from my boat (when guiding) and the two turned in the fish! You only get one chance in you life to catch a record fish (if you are lucky!).
Roger

[Damon]

Was with a buddy of mine on the Snake River a couple years ago and caught a perch that was surely a record. However we only took a picture, fileted and ate it. Checked the record after we got home. That won't happen twice!

[DonD]

The current Oregon record for Pumpkinseed is 7.68 oz. It was caught out of Lake Oswego in 1996. A one pound pumpkinseed would have demolished the state record and probably set several other records as well.
A hardy fish could probably be kept alive in a bucket or livewell until you got to the nearest state inspected scale. Most grocery stores have them. You would need two witnesses (the person doing the weighing has to be one witness) and a clear, side-view photograph so that the fish could be positively identified. If you know you have a good photo, you might be able to make it back to the water and release the fish, if you wanted to do that.

[fishnfun]

Thanks for all the replies everyone My friend and I really appreciate it!! :cheers:

[grplnxprt]

Was with a buddy of mine on the Snake River a couple years ago and caught a perch that was surely a record. However we only took a picture...



Do you still have the picture?

[Love Fishin']

For future reference, all Oregon state records for warmwater fish are certified for the state by the Oregon Bass & Panfish Club. The rules and application form are on the club's website (http://obpc0.tripod.com/). The application is then approved or disapproved by the Board of Directors and becomes official at that point.

[Bass Whacker]

nice keric
wasnt I there?
it was like 8 in.!!

[fishnfun]

it was huge!!