Lake Riviera 11-9-08 (Big Bass)

[gymrat987654321]

Well I started fishing about 10:30 this morning using an assortment of artificials. Finally about 11:30 I caught a small pike of a 1/16 oz jig with a 2" chartruse curly tail. Then around noon my line goes "zzzzzzzz" BIG FISH. The fish is pulling drag for 30 seconds straight, then it's only dead weight. I tried to reel it in but I didn't want to snap my line. Only 4# test on it. So I'm pumping it and little by little he's getting closer. I finally get him close enough to see him and all I see is weeds. At this point I'm thinking it's a big turtle so I take a stick and start clearing him off in case it's a snapping turtle and to my suprise it's a fish. Judging by the size of the thing I thought it was a carp but after clearing it off more I realized it was a huge bass. This is by far the biggest bass I ever caught. I have no clue what it weighted, I'm not good at estimating weight, anyone want to take a guess on what this bad boy weighted? After a few pictures I released him to fight another day. As soon as I released him I realized I didn't take a length measurement. O'well. Also caught another pike an hour later.

[bassnblues]

Woahh!!! That's at least a 6-7lb fish...Dude...that's a trophy of a lifetime!!!

Congrats!!!
 

[mgm]

Nice bucketmouth.....its hard to estimate, but with that belly, I guess 5-7lbs.

[Salty Dog]

Your The Man!

[captainbailey]

Nice catch i'd say about 5#

[Pfishingruven]

 

I told you they were still out there biting!!  That is a slob of a bucketmouth!!  Congrats...I agree 6lbs at least.  They don't come that big in NJ very often.  See, you are getting rewarded for putting in your time.  All those times you got skunked...that fish makes up for it!  I bet that was a blast on ultralight tackle.  That is a great trophy fish.  WAHOOOOO!!!!  Now try and remember exactly what you did to catch that fish so you can use that technique again.

Those are nice chain pickerel too.  Did you catch the bass on the same jighead and worm??  
I didn't realize the lake you were talking about was Riviera.  All the reports said it was good fishing the last few weeks...and you proved that!

Congrats again BASSRAT !

 

[ped579]

Lake Riveria has always been good I am surprised that not many people fish it more...Great catch and 5 thumbs up on the C&R...

[wb]

ezily 5-6lb++

nice fish 

[rugman]

where is this lake Nice fish bud. Nice football Bass

[gymrat987654321]

where is this lake

I don't know exactly but it's somewhere off of Brick Blvd.

Did you catch the bass on the same jighead and worm?? 

Yup, you can still see it in the fishes mouth in the 3rd and 4th pix. I was suprised to see a big fish like that hit such a small lure. Here's a pic of it

[rugman]

where is this lake

I don't know exactly but it's somewhere off of Brick Blvd.

Did you catch the bass on the same jighead and worm?? 

Yup, you can still see it in the fishes mouth in the 3rd and 4th pix. I was suprised to see a big fish like that hit such a small lure.

Thanks .Nice fish down there . It is a little to far for me .good luck

[Bucktail]

Way to go!   I'd agree that bass is probably 6 or 7 lbs.  Next time you catch a big bass, and you don't have a scale, try measuring the length and girth.  If you don't have a tape measure, you can use a length of line until you can find one.  Then use the formula below.  It's surprisingly accurate (to within 1/2 lb). 

(Length X  Length) X Girth then divide the answer by 1200.

ie: L 20 X L20 =400 X G 16

This gives an answer of 6400 to divide by 1200 which equals the weight of 5.333 pounds.

If you don't feel like doing the math yourself, click on this link and just plug in the numbers!   http://www.fishingwithrolandmartin.com/tips/fish_calculator.htm

[Pfishingruven]

Way to go!   I'd agree that bass is probably 6 or 7 lbs.  Next time you catch a big bass, and you don't have a scale, try measuring the length and girth.  If you don't have a tape measure, you can use a length of line until you can find one.  Then use the formula below.  It's surprisingly accurate (to within 1/2 lb). 

(Length X  Length) X Girth then divide the answer by 1200.

ie: L 20 X L20 =400 X G 16

This gives an answer of 6400 to divide by 1200 which equals the weight of 5.333 pounds.

If you don't feel like doing the math yourself, click on this link and just plug in the numbers!   http://www.fishingwithrolandmartin.com/tips/fish_calculator.htm

Great info Bucktail!  Those formulas are really good!  They have spent a lot of time and statistically are 94% accurate...They have them for many species including saltwater species.  For stripers, they even have a table to help calculate the age of the fish you caught.  I think it is pretty neat!

Also, if you catch a big one like that, you can be eligible for a Skillful Angler Award.  I think that fish would have qualified.  It is only 6lbs by weight or 21 inches for catch and release.  They just require and side shot and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a pic of the fish being measured.

So, since you forgot to measure...you have to go back and catch that fish again after it has grown some more !  Or go find another lunker !

 

[IrishAyes]

Fantastic catch. Way to catch em up.