Maybe and No. In the mid 80's, shortly after hybrid striped/white bass were introduced to Indiana waters,each new week brought a new record. I spent an evening trading what was probably a short lived state record with another fellow fishing next to me. We took turns landing each other's fish at the Falls of the Ohio. A school of wipers had pinned baitfish against the rocks and it was pure mayhem. The "wipers" were in the 22-24 inch range and heavy bodied. At the time the record was in the 5 pound range and climbing. We probably caught a dozen large fish between us. I will never forget the weather. It was freezing rain/sleet and, it took great effort to warms one's hands when it was his turn for another shot. It was also the night IU beat Syracuse on Keith Smart's buzzer beater in the NCAA BB tournament. We were visiting my rabid IU fan in-laws who, in spite of my promise to be back for the game never missed me. I got back in time to see the last 3 minutes of the game...
Years later, when the record was in the high 18's I caught a big wiper below Norway Dam. My buddy's digital scale
clocked it as 18-3. As it was July and the water was too warm for the fish to survive, I gave it to fellow who was meat fishing. I first made him promise to take it to a familiar bait shop and have it weighed. I told him to tell the owners that that crazy school teacher caught it and that I would call that evening to confirm the weight. When I called that evening, she confirmed the weight as a little over 14 #s. When I told her about my buddy's digital readout her reply was. "That's probably accurate. It still had its head and guts then!" It didn't matter, later that day some guy brought one in that went 19-4...
fish on,
rivereddy