Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire O' Lordy, how do I explain this one...

This reminds me of my brother. When we were kids and fishing at a Michigan resort he caught a huge crappie. We had that for dinner that evening.

A few days later we were back in town getting more bait and my dad told the owner of the shop about the size and weight of the crappie. Turns out that the local chamber of commerce had a contest for the biggest crappie, and his would have won as the contest was almost done. The prize was a boat, motor, trailer.

OUCH!

What is a goldeye?

Oh man. I would be sick.

What are the GPS co-ords of the spot where he caught it?

You are misreading the rule book. The only age restriction is 16 or older have to have a fishing license, under 16 don’t but are still eligible.

MASTER ANGLER RULES
• A fish need not be harvested or verified by a Game and Parks employee to receive a Master Angler. • All fish must be taken from Nebraska waters.
• Ifafishiscaughtfromprivatewaters,avalidfishingpermitisrequiredtoreceivetheaward.
• Fish must be taken by hook-and-line, not bank lines or set lines.
• Fish must be legally hooked, played and landed by the applicant.
• The catch must be verified by a Game and Parks employee, a permit vendor, a witness, or a photograph.
• Anglers 16 years of age or older must possess a valid Nebraska fishing permit and enter the permit number
on the application.
• Only fish immediately released are eligible for an award based on length. Any fish kept in a livewell or on a
stringer must meet the minimum weight requirement.
• Anglers may receive only one award based on weight per year for each species. Catch-and-release awards
are unlimited.
• Anglers who release a Master Angler fish will receive a Catch and Release Master Angler pin in addition to
the Master Angler certificate.

Forgot to add. Go to NEFGA.org it’s the Nebraska Fish and Game site. It is affiliated with Nebraska Game and Parks. In the fishing section there is a fisheries specialist that goes by Whitetips. He works for G&P and those folks can identify the fish and explain better than I on the rules.

Master angler award sounds good, but if he gets wind of what happened, take him plinking and present him with his own 22LR. Kids can always be bought. Instant "Best Grandaddy" status...

I hadn’t a clue what a goldeneye was. So I googled it. Looks like a big dang minnow.

That happened to me in Nebraska this year also. Only it was only a master angler bass. My 8 year old grandson caught a bigger largemouth than I had ever seen. I estimated it at 6 to 7 lbs. No scale or tape measure with us. Got to looking at the requirements for master angler later. We had already agreed to catch and release at the pond, but could have got him a certificate. A couple months later, he caught a very impressive northern pike. We did measure him at 9 lbs and 34 inches. 1 lb short of master angler. Kid doesn't even realize these were very nice fish.

I can appreciate the quest for the best Granddad honor. I have a similar situation with my two grandsons and the dock catfish record at my lake house. I can tell you some grandsons are highly competitive and don't take well to having their record smashed by the other Grandson. My 5 year old smashed the 8 year old's 14 lb record with a 20 lb blue cat. The 8 year old is not happy. I actually look at it as creating a love for fishing and the outdoors. I'm working hard to encourage that and I get to experience all the activity that that includes. I learned the hard way you don't get caught without bait or a set of scales that work. That will get you on the list in a hurry.

Ha, same here.
Are they for eating, or just catching?

Only one thing Grandpa can do, Spend the rest of your days fishin' with that kid trying to find that fish again.

We still need to see a picture!

Don't know if your state had it, but Colorado had a master angler program where they credit you for big fish that you release. You could check on it.

https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/MasterAngler.aspx

He’s actually now a part of a very small and elite group of anglers who have released WR fish. Lots of guys can kill near record, and even record fish, but few release them, especially if the fish is likely to be a record. Doing a lot of WR attempt observations for the IGFA, I’ve personally seen at least 50 fish that exceeded WR weight released, and sadly quite a lot of almost WR fish killed. That’s why the IGFA has release categories now which include measurements along with weight.

If you have a pic with measurements showing (like the fish next to a measuring tape) send it in to the IGFA and they will likely send you a certificate for him if that’s a species they keep records for (I’m not familiar with the fish species). Also make sure to contact your local Fish & Game Dept, newspaper, and local fishing magazines to tell them the story, which they may put into print.

I can honestly tell you, after a lifetime of catching saltwater fish, likely tens of thousands of them, my best trophies are the articles my Mom & Dad cut out of the local paper after they called in and told them about the catch I made as a kid.

Whatever you choose to do, please congratulate him from me for the awesome catch (and release).

When I was a teenager, I caught a white sucker that I thought was close to 10 pounds (the WR is 6 1/2). Trash fish, I left it on the bank for the birds. At the time, I figured it would be a embarrassment to hold that record.