20,5″ by 13.5″ Largemouth…

OK… I’m not a bass guy so when my brother-in-law called me tonight to ask my opinion, I wasn’t too sure what to say… his son (my nephew) caught a largemouth that taped in at 20.5″ long by a 13.5″ girth. They didn’t have a good scale so they didn’t have a weight….

So what’s a good estimate of the weight of that beast? It sure sounds like a big largemouth to me… I told him they had two choices (the fish was/is still alive in their livewell): 1) take really good pictures, pack it in ice, take it to a baitshop or store tomorrow morning and get a certified weight, then take it to a taxidermist (sp?) to have it mounted or 2) take really good pictures, get many measurements, take notes about any markings, etc and let it go and have a fiberglass replica made.

Either way, it sounds like a fish worthy of a trophy. Your two cents? Any guestimates on the weight?

(By the way, they’ll be emailing pictures to me later so I’ll post them…)

I just checked a pair of fish weight calculators and they put that fish in the 5.4 – 5.6 lb range. A dandy to be sure!

Hey James,

thanks for the quick reply… gotta luv this site!

So would you consider that one a ‘trophy’ worthy of mounting?

Wow, five and half pounds, huh? Sure make the WI state record of 11+ lbs seem HUGE! No wonder it has stood since 1940!

Very nice fish indeed
As for the getting it mounted question, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Some guys would have that mounted in a heart beat and others guys would not. There are some that get out often enough and catch fish (whatever species) consistently that they may be looking for something larger.

To me, and I’m no Bass guy but, a Bass over 5lbs would look nice on the wall. That is one chunk of fish!
I hope to get a Replica of a large Walleye made one day, with the pictures to back it up

Bret

Here’s a couple of places that do reproduction mounts that have a reputation for good work.

http://www.fibertechproductions.com/

http://laxreproductions.com/index.shtml

Many others exist but these will get you started.

Both sites have some very cool lookin’ stuff

Thanks James, I have placed these sites away for safe keeping …..it can happen, I might need this info someday

That’s a great largemouth. How old is your Nephew? In my opinion, a 20.5″ fish goes back in the water. But when I was 10 I mounted a largemouth that was only 20″. If I were him, I would not mount the fish, because If he is seriously interested in fishing, he will catch another that is bigger eventually and wish he didn’t mount that. That is what has happened to me anyway. I also have a 17-1/2″ smallmouth that my uncle insisted we mount.that was when I was 7 or 8 years old and I thought it was a big fish. Well now I have caught many fish much bigger than that and I feel like I wasted that fish.

Guess My point is, a 20.5″ fish is a hog but there are bigger out there

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I also have a 17-1/2″ smallmouth that my uncle insisted we mount.that was when I was 7 or 8 years old and I thought it was a big fish.

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Like I said, it is in the eyes of the beholder

No person should ever tell another person what is and is not a “trophy”. If your nephew wants to mount the fish, it is his personal choice. I have a 5 1/2# 22″ largemouth on my wall. Not a monster, but still a respectable fish and I don’t regret putting it on the wall. It is all personal choice

thanks, all, for the input… my nephew is no youngster (he’s in his early 20’s) but really just started fishing more than just ‘throwing out a line’. I haven’t heard back from them as to what they decided to do but I’d guess they’ll have it mounted. Would look nice on the wall at their cottage!

here’s a pic… not very good quality – I think they used a cell-phone camera – but that thing is a pig!

holy God that fish is a fatty!

I hope I didn’t sound critical or anything in my post..I do strongly agree with Bret, just thinking that if your nephew is getting big into bass fishing, he will probably eventually catch one even bigger, but its all up to him. I won’t criticize or bad mouth anyone for mounting a fish, as long as it is over the legal size limit, just depends on how big a mounter is to you.

I have caught numerous bass that i had thought about mounting from 5-5.5 lbers. But my gut was telling me that i needed to wait on a bigger fish. I think the first time you pull that fish out of the water and realize how long and heavy and the first thing that comes to your mind is “this is the fish”, than call the taxidermy I was lucky enough to mount a 6.3 lber last summer and i knew right away that it was the fish!!