Rick is going to the right places for his large crappies. If you want evidence, read this from the KC Star:
A record crappie
■ WHAT: 5-pound black crappie caught by John Horstman of Mokane, Mo., in a Callaway County farm pond on April 21.
■ STATUS: Horstman already has been awarded the Missouri state record. His catch broke the former mark of 4 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by Ray Babcock of Independence in a Clay County farm pond. Now he is applying for a world record with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), an organization based in Florida.
■ IGFA WORLD RECORD: The IGFA all-tackle world record for black crappie is 4 pounds, 8 ounces, a mark shared by two fishermen. But you won?t find Babcock or even Kansas record holder Hazel Fey, who caught a 4-pound, 10-ounce fish in 1957, mentioned. IGFA officials say that they didn?t start keeping freshwater records until the late 1970s, and many fishermen who set state records before that never applied for IGFA records. Instead, the IGFA world record is shared by Allen Paap Jr., who caught his fish in 2003 in a farm pond in Otoe County, Neb., and Carl Herring Jr., who caught his in 1981 at Kerr Lake, Va.
■ NATIONAL FRESH WATER FISHING HALL OF FAME RECORD: 6 pounds, caught by Lettie Robertson in 1969 in the Westwego Canal in Louisiana.
[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 25 May 2006).]
Your post brings up a question I have always wondered about. Please understand that I am not bringing up something that I am for or against or want to rant about. I just question whether any fish caught in a farm pond should be considered for either a State or World record if that particular farm pond is on private property and the fisherman needs permission to fish it? This is just a question and nothing more. If that body of water is not open to the public where everyone has a chance to catch a new record, then should the only people who have permission to fish it be allowed to enter their catch in for a record? A long time ago I read a debate on this that happened in the State of Ohio where a largemouth bass was caught and it exceeded the current record for Ohio and it was caught in a private lake that the caretaker pumped cold spring water into it during the hot summer months to maintain the water temperature, the fish were all fed daily and an aerator was used on it during the winter to keep it from freezing over. I do not remember the outcome of this debate. The “record” bass was caught on a clob of worms on a hook while the fish were being fed. I really do not know how I feel about this one way or the other. So, what do you think? Remember that this is just “food for thought” and nothing more.
I am fortunate to have access to some great private farm ponds because of the work I do. I DO know that, in general, these ponds and any other private pay to play places are far easier to achieve catching success in than much of the public water we ply.
Fish size a challenge here? WHY? When you fish among 20"-24" fish, you can EXPECT to catch 20"-24" fish…or large bass, or whatever.
I personally think only fish from public waters should be allowed for public records status.
…lee s.
Now what an interesting debate, one of which came from right field. My intent here was to give often overlooked farm ponds, and many are, just like smaller lakes are bypassed by the hundreds up here, because they’re too shallow or you can’t get a boat in them, due credit. So it isn’t the record that was so important to me as the venue. That said, I’ll leave the private/public debate concerning fish records to others. Farm ponds are fun to fish, and many are in picturesque settings that are fine places to escape. And, many have good sized fish that are not minipulated and probably ignored by the landowners. Frankly on a trip through the midwest you can pass thousands that are seemingly just sitting there fisherless. JGW
[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 25 May 2006).]
I do not have much difficulting in getting to many farm ponds, but I know that there are many folks who do. Several landowners have told me a few names of folks they do not want on their land.
I am not cncerned about rec ords so I won’t comment on that.
The water wasn’t blue enough-- The sky was too overcast-- The guy caught the fish on a Tuesday instead of Monday–
Heck, if he’d caught it in a puddle on the freeway there’d be something wrong with that, too.
It’s not like the guy hand-raised it in his bathtub.
If he caught the fish in the State and it beat the old record, then let it be so…
Here in Missouri the Dept. of Conservation stocks hundreds of ponds on private property and they allow the land owner the descretion as to who they allow to fish there. It keeps the natural resources of Missouri rich and healthy. (We can also get a free magazine every month from the MODOC just because we live here.)
I’m not saying that the pond where the record crappie was caught was stocked by MODOC, but it doesn’t matter. Here in Missouri we just celebrate great fishing!
Hurray for big fat Missouri crappie!!!
There’s almost nothin’ wrong with the first lie, it’s the weight of all the others holdin’ it up that gets ya’! - Tim
