27" Bass Caught and Released out of Tonka this weekend???

[Lured_In]

Anyone hear or have close knowledge of a 27" Bass caught and releases on Tonka this past weekend??? Heard on Bears Facts and Fish Tales last night on 1500 AM, that someone had caught and released a monster they had caught while fishing top water for muskie.........truth or fish tale?????

[Matt Johnson]

Wow?!?! 27-inches should take over the state record and then some... past 10 pounds even... my guess would be that it's a fish tale...

[EBass]

LOL - there isn't any 27" bass in this state! The state record was 23.5".

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I dont think a northern strain bass can attain those lenghts. Either someone is lying or they need to brush up on their fish identification skills!

[vister]

my brother caught a 23.5 inch bass late this summer. Had the state record not been broken last year, it may have had it at 8lbs 7 oz. a 27 incher would be over 10 lbs easily, so fish tale i would say

[The Grebe]

Oh ye non believers! There is to a 27 inch bass in Minnesota, there is! Ruby slippers to! At least there was....Why, there is even a 25 pound smallmouth, really...I talked to a guy down by the river that caught it!

He had a white beard and white hair and at first I thought that perhaps it was St. Nick on his day off, but when I got a closer look, I realized that although they may have been distantly related, it wasn't him. When he swore at a pike that cut him off, I figured he must have been from the side of the St. Nick family that isn't talked about!

He also got a 4 pound crappie the same day! Really, he did, cause he told me he did! Why should I not believe him?

[HAppnhook]

I have caught many 6-7lb fish in a pond across the street from ewhere I live. A few years ago, a neighbor kid caught a 6.75 and it is still in the freezer and the pond winterkills every 4-5 years. So don't be too hard on the tale!!!

[Maximum12]

HAppnhook, sorry, I missed your address?

[polarsusd81]

I can pretty confidently say that there isn't a 27" bass swimming in a Minnesota lake. The biggest I have caught was a 24.5" and that was just shy of a thousand miles south of here. I will be back to the same body of water in a month though, so maybe I can better that number. I have learned a lot in the last couple years since fishing there so I might have a chance.

[tunrevir]

Truth or fish tale? Heh,heh, haah. Well we are mostly all fisherpeople here and if it was that big........... coulda been a carp! Seriously, if that fish was CPR'd Kudos to the fisherperson. If it is a load well..........we are all fisherpeople, right?

Tunrevir~

[HAppnhook]

Max, what's it worth to ya? It is truly a bass factory. You can go out and hook into a dozen or so just from shore. I had a very large one take off a 1 pounder last year so I know that a few of the big ones survived the last kill.

[ricqik]

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LOL - there isn't any 27" bass in this state! The state record was 23.5".

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Actually there is, uhm, was. An novice angler caught it from O'Dowd off a $1.99 spinner, unfortunately the fish was dinner before it can be officially weigh. The angler skinned the fish so the skin was retained and measure and came out to 27" and girth was 18" or so and weight was est to be 10-11lbs. Was in the newspaper some yrs ago along with a picture to prove. Yes it is a brute. I still have the newpaper clipping, somewhere. I've moved 4 times since so I'll scan and post it when I can find it.

[ezwalt]

That’s one of the greatest fish stories ever. Do you remember why he skinned and ate the fish? He thought it was a carp… Talk about your stupid luck

[Griggs]

Its true. I caught it.

[EBass]

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Actually there is, uhm, was. An novice angler caught it from O'Dowd off a $1.99 spinner, unfortunately the fish was dinner before it can be officially weigh. The angler skinned the fish so the skin was retained and measure and came out to 27" and girth was 18" or so and weight was est to be 10-11lbs. Was in the newspaper some yrs ago along with a picture to prove. Yes it is a brute. I still have the newpaper clipping, somewhere. I've moved 4 times since so I'll scan and post it when I can find it.

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I'm not buying that either.

[TMF89]

I'm 50/50 on it, I'd love to read the paper clipping. People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish, or have children! I mean seriously, like... how do you screw that up?

[DTro]

yeah that's actually a true story, not sure about the length though, but there was a story for sure about an asian fellow that put a knife to a very big bass. As the years go by of course it gets bigger and bigger. Now that I think about it I'm sure it was 28"

[ricqik]

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People like that shouldn't be allowed to fish, or have children! I mean seriously, like... how do you screw that up?

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Now now, don't tainte the story too much. He simply went out to fishing hoping to get a few for the table, just so happens big ole liked his spinner better than a nice lively sunfish. I'm glad someone caught it and it made public then to have it die and never known then we'll all just keep saying MN bass don't grow that big.

[MSRiverdog]

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yeah that's actually a true story, not sure about the length though, but there was a story for sure about an asian fellow that put a knife to a very big bass. As the years go by of course it gets bigger and bigger. Now that I think about it I'm sure it was 28"

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I caught one of them to but from a drainage ditch, sure tasted good, I lost the pic, it was a lot of years ago. My neighbors thought I imported a Grouper from Antartica it was so big.

[Blainebob]

Those dis-believers are the guys that have only caught the one and a half pounders.I myself have a state certified 23 1/2 incher weighing 8lbs3/4oz from a metro lake.Anythignn in this state over 6# is a trophy,and remember the old saying,there is always a bigger one out there!

[waxworm]

I caught a 27" bass in Florida that only weighed 7 3/4 pounds, so I guess I can believe it.

[B@ssDoctor]

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Those dis-believers are the guys that have only caught the one and a half pounders.I myself have a state certified 23 1/2 incher weighing 8lbs3/4oz from a metro lake.Anythignn in this state over 6# is a trophy,and remember the old saying,there is always a bigger one out there!

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Photo Please! Mount or release....

[Duffman]

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Those dis-believers are the guys that have only caught the one and a half pounders.I myself have a state certified 23 1/2 incher weighing 8lbs3/4oz from a metro lake.Anythignn in this state over 6# is a trophy,and remember the old saying,there is always a bigger one out there!

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First off, we don't grow them that long up here boys, it's just not possible. Check out all the state records for largemouth in the midwest and beyond. For those that list lengths, you will be hard pressed to find anything longer than 25". This includes states that have very little ice cover if any at all.

I've caught a decent number of bigger largemouths and I'd even state that a 5lb fish is a trophy fish for the majority of casual to somewhat serious fisherman in MN. 6 lbs is a rare catch and that fish will probably be around 21".

The current state record holder said that he considers a 7 lb. bass (22") to be a once in a lifetime catch in MN. And this is coming from a tourney guy. A 27"er in MN?, no way, no how. Those 20 lb. California bass come in around 28 1/2", now someone is trying to tell me that someone caught and released a bass on 'tonka, a bass that most likely at this time of year would double the current state record in weight. Yeeeaaaaa right.

[katoguy]

Gotta go with Duffman on this. The northern strain of largies in MN (shorter growing season) will not grow this long. I have one on the wall that went 8-0. Not even a true 23" (girth something like 19", though - will have to check the records). Another 4" on a northern strain would be another how many pounds? Northern strain have reached 16#, but certainly not this far north. I do think there are some 10#ers swimming in MN.

But, heck, anything is possible. Keep the faith.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Katoguy, did that fish on your wall come from MN waters? Thats a pig!

[katoguy]

Yep, just outside of Mankato in late Oct of 96.

[Mr.Seaguar]

I can tell you how to get a 10# bass anywhere. Stock the heck out of the lake with small bass every year. Thats why the pond that winterkills gets the big ones. Eventually a few turn cannibal and become whoppers. I have seen this in gravel pits in Iowa. Bass dont rank real high on my list sos I never fished for them.

[andrew chadwick]

I caught a 23 incher one spring in the twin cities while crappie fishing.

Ive caught several 22's

I have also caught numerous 20-21s, as well as untold amounts of 18-20 inchers.

they are out there, you just need to fish the right lakes, and know what they are doing.

most of the 22's came while fishing muskies.

A 27 incher is possible, but very improbable

[Lured_In]

Well quite alot of discussion regarding this one. I only passed on what I had heard on the radio show............I for one would tend to agree that it was a fish tale, but thought I'd throw it out there and see and hear everyones thoughts.

I do believe there are new state records out there, and also agree with that fact that it could come from a smaller lake, like the current record out of Auburn. Although Tonka does have some tremendous bass in it, 27" would be a a tale to prove!

Have been fishing a very small lake in the Brainerd area the passed 2 years and have consistently been catching fish in the 22 - 22 1/2" range...........hopefully will pull the new record out of there next year! Thanks for all the thoughts and remarks!

[Daze Off]

Only way there is a 27" bass of any kind in MN is with PhotoShop....

Daze Off