[bigfishy]

Congrats!! I do see ur point about not having species or size on the award??

Just curious, because i have a few fish every year that would qualify, do the fish NEED to be kept in order to recieve this award??

I could see keepin a big stocker trout but i don't know if i would keep a 6+ lb. smallmouth knowing that the fish could be upwards of 5-8 yrs old...Most of my "qualifying" fish would be smallies and i have too much respect for a fish that size that beat the odds,survived and got to trophy stature...

I realize that the fish is just being a fish but i would rather give a fellow angler a shot at catching him, maybe even bigger than before...I think some fish are too valuble to be only caught once...

just my two pennies as i'm sure some guys feel this way about different species...