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Post by hambone on Jun 5, 2016 13:51:28 GMT -5
Hey guys, got a question, but first a story! I never really thought about it but today while I was working in the basement I got to looking at one of my fish that I have mounted on the wall. It is a striper that I caught when I was probably 10 years old. It was the first striper I had ever caught. Remember it like it was yesterday, I had went with my dad crappie fishing it was during the spring and was spitting rain. I had caught a bluegill about 6" long and decided to put it on a hook on my new abu Garcia that my grandpa had given me( it wasn't new, one of his hand me downs but new to me). I out it out behind the boat free lined as we trolled around bank jigging trees for crappie. We was just above the cliffs before you make the bend to go towards magnum. All of a sudden something got and began spoiling my reel. I worked and worked and finally landed it, it was the biggest fish I had ever seen and the first striper I had ever caught. And to this day the biggest I have ever caught. Dad mounted him for me as a birthday present. We didn't measure or weigh him that I can remember though. But today I measures him and he or her measures 37&1/2" that's a citation right? Can I still get a citation for it of I sent in for it or does it have to be alive?
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Post by mwardncsu on Jun 5, 2016 19:26:09 GMT -5
Great story - A citation is 37" or longer, or 20 lbs or heavier (on a certified scale) - you can get a citation for length OR weight - so you do not have to kill the fish just to get paper - a witness or a picture of the fish on a measuring device suffices for a length citation and if you have certified scales (i.e. have had your Boga's certified and the certification is still valid), you can have a witness or a pic of the scale for weight.
Don't know how far back they will issue citation paperwork - could drop an e-mail to the contact info on the DGIF website.
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Post by hambone on Jun 5, 2016 20:14:14 GMT -5
Great story - A citation is 37" or longer, or 20 lbs or heavier (on a certified scale) - you can get a citation for length OR weight - so you do not have to kill the fish just to get paper - a witness or a picture of the fish on a measuring device suffices for a length citation and if you have certified scales (i.e. have had your Boga's certified and the certification is still valid), you can have a witness or a pic of the scale for weight. Don't know how far back they will issue citation paperwork - could drop an e-mail to the contact info on the DGIF website. Thanks for the info mward, I'm gonna contact them and see. |
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on Jun 5, 2016 20:24:36 GMT -5
Awesome story - if possible you just need a witness signature - I'd think if you send them the money, they'll send it back.
Bigun may know, but depending on how old it is/when it was caught, it may not fall into the current 37" 20lb citation measurements - they did change that sometime in the 90s I believe from a larger size but I could be wrong. One of old timers will remember.
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on Jun 5, 2016 20:28:39 GMT -5
UPDATE: I was thinking it was 25lbs but a little research shows it was 15lbs in the 80s and went to 20lb 37" on July 1,1989, so you'd definitely have a citation regardless.
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Post by hillbilly on Jun 5, 2016 20:31:24 GMT -5
Write a letter telling your story to go along with your request. Send a picture of the mount and have your Dad sign as a witness. They should issue your citation, and as a matter of fact, it's a great story for the 50 year anniversary of the lake
Good luck -
Heck, maybe the President of the Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club will even write a quick letter in your support.
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Post by hambone on Jun 6, 2016 18:48:44 GMT -5
I've been doing some homework on when I actually caught this fish. I actually caught it in March of 1998 when I was 13 years old. Wow does time fly, that's 18 years ago, its hard to believe. So with that I am going to turn in a citation form with my dad as a witness and a picture of the fish. Oh and just another little fun tidbit. The reel that my grandfather had given me that I caught this fish on, I believe was a Garcia 5000 if memory serves me correctly. After I caught that fish, it never worked again, something broke on it I can't remember now what, but I do remember it was no good after that day
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Post by mwardncsu on Jun 6, 2016 20:26:39 GMT -5
UPDATE: I was thinking it was 25lbs but a little research shows it was 15lbs in the 80s and went to 20lb 37" on July 1,1989, so you'd definitely have a citation regardless. I knew it - all those "back in the good old days" stories of multiple citations a day - here they were playing under different rules - heck I bet they even changed how scales were made so that what is a 15 lber now was a 30 lber "back in the day"  But seriously - with those rules we'd have a world class citation producing fishery now  |
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on Jun 6, 2016 20:55:02 GMT -5
UPDATE: I was thinking it was 25lbs but a little research shows it was 15lbs in the 80s and went to 20lb 37" on July 1,1989, so you'd definitely have a citation regardless. I knew it - all those "back in the good old days" stories of multiple citations a day - here they were playing under different rules - heck I bet they even changed how scales were made so that what is a 15 lber now was a 30 lber "back in the day" But seriously - with those rules we'd have a world class citation producing fishery now Yeah but they had 700+ citations some years back in the day. I don't think we could get close to that even today - maybe 500. |
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Post by striperjohn on Jun 7, 2016 7:36:09 GMT -5
I don't think I like the 37 inch length as a citation either. We have all caught fish around that length that were barely 13 lbs. I know it would be difficult but a 37 inch/ minimum 18lb combined would be better.
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on Jun 7, 2016 8:00:51 GMT -5
I would totally be against a weight minimum tied to the length min. That's just asking for every 18lb+ fish to be killed for paper. Length is the real measure of a fish's growth anyways - fish are no different than people in that some are heavier than others. I've also never seen a 37" 13lb fish - that fish must have been near starved to death.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2016 20:31:17 GMT -5
UPDATE: I was thinking it was 25lbs but a little research shows it was 15lbs in the 80s and went to 20lb 37" on July 1,1989, so you'd definitely have a citation regardless. I knew it - all those "back in the good old days" stories of multiple citations a day - here they were playing under different rules - heck I bet they even changed how scales were made so that what is a 15 lber now was a 30 lber "back in the day" But seriously - with those rules we'd have a world class citation producing fishery now Mr. Ward, do not dog the 15lbers.....we had to catch them.... that's what we used for bait to catch the 30 and 40lbers. Ha!!!!!  |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jun 7, 2016 20:43:36 GMT -5
What do you mean "used to"...... You wondered where my reports were from a few recent weekends ??  |
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Post by striperjohn on Jun 8, 2016 8:01:00 GMT -5
I would totally be against a weight minimum tied to the length min. That's just asking for every 18lb+ fish to be killed for paper. Length is the real measure of a fish's growth anyways - fish are no different than people in that some are heavier than others. I've also never seen a 37" 13lb fish - that fish must have been near starved to death. Based on the new thread mward started johnr has seen really long fish with no weight also. E.g a 43 inch 18-20lber is not much of a stretch to 36inch 13lb which I have seen and the fush appeared to be quite healthy. |
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on Jun 8, 2016 8:59:10 GMT -5
I'm not saying you haven't seen it - just saying I have never seen a 37" 13lb fish. But if we're talking 36" now (there's a difference), then yeah I have seen some skinny fish around 13-14lbs - never seen a 37" fish under 15lbs and the overwhelming majority on SML are 18-21lbs most of the year unless post spawn or late summer squeeze - I don't think it's an issue. All of the 37"+ fish are healthier now that the fish to bait ratio is in a better place. They weren't healthy at all the previous 4-5yrs with rare exception - lots of 39-42" fish that were 18-24lbs when the potential for that length is 25-30lbers - they get a little food to eat and bam, their weight is up. There's been as many 30lb fish caught this year as I can remember since 2010.
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