Tall tales of fishing catches can grow and grow. Here’s one outdoorsman’s take

I recently saw a two-year-old video that showed an angler on a boat fighting a decent striper, however the resulting banter between several onboard buddies about the size of the striper was a good example of how fish can grow. It’s why most folks, as well as other anglers, can be skeptical of big catches.

Not that I don’t get stoked about landing a big fish, but in this case, the video shows the excitement building as each angler takes a shot at guesstimating the weight. The first guy sees the fish under the boat and claims it’s well over 20 pounds. Between the whooping – they finally net the fish and another guy chimes in that it’s “got to be at least 25 pounds -- or more! The adrenaline is now pumping and they are jumping around the fish as the angler lifts it up – and the final guy goes on record that it’s at least 30 pounds ! Yep- it’s now officially 30 pounds by unanimous decree. Funny how that happens.

For some reason, no one offered to actually measure or weigh the fish. It’s pretty easy to tell it’s a nice 18-pound striper, but it’s nowhere near the length, size or girth of a real 30 pound fish. Most legitimate 30 pounders are usually a good 42 inches. It wasn’t close and other anglers who watched it – called it out too.

In addition, they kept the fish, so it wasn’t possible to claim they didn’t weigh it because they needed to release it quickly, which would have given them some credibility. I believe that many anglers have done some version of this.

To be fair, this sometimes happens in the excitement of the moment, especially in a group, that causes anglers to unintentionally over guess a fish’s size. Pride, ego , status and competitiveness can all get intertwined in the temptation to upsize, too. Of course The antidote for this is to weigh and measure the fish before bragging about it.

I think it’s fair to say we’ve all pushed the limit, so I can’t throw too many bricks at the video but it’s a good example of how embellishment can spread.

It made me think.

There may be several different degrees of stretching the truth that anglers use at times to increase the size of their catch.

Here’s my take:

First level: Normal Entropy

It’s a physical law that says things expand and fill the universe as in get bigger. It’s when a 9.8 pound bass leaps up to a solid 10 pounds. There’s just something not right about leaving a hanging decimal instead of rounding up to the next number.

It makes so much sense on many levels and it’s a lot easier to remember. Such a nitpicking little thing that’s overlooked - usually extended as a professional courtesy to a good fishing buddy and returned in-kind.

Second level: Fudging

In this mode the fisherman pushes, but doesn’t break - the limits of credibility. Good anglers know what the probable outer limits of size and weight should be for the catch. It’s a real talent to know how to stay just below the radar where the claims can pass the “ sniff test” of your peers. Go past this unseen but very real barrier and you risk pushback. Normally calm fishermen can get carried away into this “ zone” by a big catch.

Finally, and my favorite level: Gross Exaggeration

I’ve seen so many videos that are titled Monster Bass, or Monster Stripers that were nothing more than obvious hype by the creators. You see pictures with someone holding a 2-pound bass at arms length but calling it a 5-pounder.

Even non-anglers can see that it’s not the advertised weight/ size . Breaking this unspoken barrier of sportsmen decorum with wild claims is why the general population often doesn’t believe us.

I can’t say that I blame them because as a group we don’t seem to be a bastion of integrity .

Now understand that I came up with these categories to try to convey the fact that not all exaggeration is outright lying.

I don’t think it’s fair to paint all anglers with the same brush- but unfortunately it’s part of the culture. It’s funny, but the most suspicious people about anglers’ catches- are usually other anglers.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there are anglers who actually tell the truth about their catches. They may not tell you anything else that’s truthful, such as how and where they caught the fish. But you already knew that.

Never give up!

Roger George: rogergeorge8@protonmail.com, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars