Nice Brown from Merrill

[njfisherman1975]

Nice fish...shame it's not swimming anymore...but it's not illegal. No harm...no foul in my book!

[jimmythegreek]

I dont rly understand why people keep these bigger fish, they are breeders and usually arent as good as the juvenile fish. I have no problem w anyone keeping a legal fish, but not sumthin I would do

[Jigman13]

Not like my $0.02 matters here but an 11 lb brown in NJ is a fish of a lifetime. That fish would have a TOUGH time not ending up on my wall...

And can browns even breed in Merrill Creek? I know lakers have been documented to breed in RVR--not Merrill.

[bigfishy]

Lakers def breed in MC, without a doubt....

As far as the brown goes, its not documented that they do, but it has no chance of makin babies on someones wall...
I always say that nature finds a way.....

Hybrids are not supposed to be able to multiply, but they do

Congrats!! beautiful catch of a lifetime!!! i'm def jealous

[baetis]

Congratulations to the angler.

[maddhatterr]

Nice job on the slob!

[jimmythegreek]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

Not like my $0.02 matters here but an 11 lb brown in NJ is a fish of a lifetime. That fish would have a TOUGH time not ending up on my wall...

And can browns even breed in Merrill Creek? I know lakers have been documented to breed in RVR--not Merrill.

Yeah I totally agree, that fish would end up on my wall....BUT.....not sure when the last time anyone here mounted a fish, but they dont actually use the fish anymore. The taxidermist orders a foam body from the measurements which you can give them if taken then released with a pic then they paint the fish. Not sure if anyone even does the old school mounting of the actual fish anymore.

[The Dominator]

As you al know The Pike I caught out of the Passaic last year 45" Monster was also a fish of a lifetime out of NJ.. I made sure I took weight length girth and photos.. To have a replica made for my wall...I am glad that I let the monster back in the Passaic to be caught and hopefully released again... Anyway very nice fish!!!!!!

[bigfishy]

Originally Posted by jimmythegreek

Yeah I totally agree, that fish would end up on my wall....BUT.....not sure when the last time anyone here mounted a fish, but they dont actually use the fish anymore. The taxidermist orders a foam body from the measurements which you can give them if taken then released with a pic then they paint the fish. Not sure if anyone even does the old school mounting of the actual fish anymore.

This is a very good point!!! If they don't do skin mounts anymore that would meen that the ONLY reason to keep a fish of this caliber would be for a food source....A few good pictures, length and girth measurements, and you would have a chance at catching that same fish at 20 lbs.

I am all for keeping fish , if you and/or your family NEED it for food....When my kids were little and money was short, i would go for stockies in areas that don't hold over fish yr. round, and literally fish for dinner.....If i got skunked , i went hungry.....

I believe Lee Wulff who said, trout are too valuble to only catch once, was way ahead of his time....I use this mindset with every species that i fish for...
Maybe not in my lifetime but most likely in my childrens lifetime, i believe gamefish have the potential to become a very limited resource....Just look at whats happening in our oceans....Ya best striper run in yrs., but i mean the BIG picture....Comercial fishing on a worldwide scale is desimating the planets fish population in a relatively short amount of time....Taking and taking ma natures fruit until it is too late to save seems to be the norm on a wide scale......Might sound a little off topic or in different directions but the TAKE like its unlimited mindset needs to be a thing of the distant past if we all want our grandchildrens, grandchildren to experience the joy of fishing that we all hold so near to our hearts.....I don't want our future population to only know about fishing by what they read in books or see at museums and aquariams.....I'm not a very religious person, but to me , fishing is like my church.....Its what i do to find inner peace.....

Sorry for the rant, mind is racing and fishing is always in the leed....
Again gr8 catch....Post some pics when ur mount is done...gr8 catch!!
How epic was the battle???