I had a friend out with me years back at Cachuma and he says take me where there are some fish. Okay!,off we go whap he gets a smallmouth that I believe I caught 3 times prior in the little area we were in. I tell him ,Do you Know what the lake record smallmouth is? He says no! I tell him that they don't know even at the marina. We go up, and sure enough they aren't sure but they tell us for it to be certified we have to take it to the El Rancho Market in Santa Ynez and weigh it on there certified meat scale. I tell my bud hell lets go I've got nothing better to do. Off we go to the market. The marina had called ahead for us and they were ready. He dropped it in the parking lot getting it out of my livewell,puts it in a bag and we take to the meat counter. We place a live and kickin' Smallmouth on that scale and it just laid there ....Right up until they were going to push the button and call it official. She whips her tail 5 or 6 good ones skitters off of that scale across the stainless countertop a plops into the steaks about 4 feet away.So the staff is wiping off the steaks and I'm making a mental note never to buy steaks there. Well we do get her weighed and back to the livewell and back to the lake where upon my buddy decides he's going to let it go...I tell him she's been stressed out to much,manhandled,dropped etc,etc. He will have to keep her heck! it is the new lake record and all.We belonged to a club at the time and he caught some serious feedback from the club for mounting that fish and putting it on the wall at his gas station. I just don't agree. For all we do, "fishermen" I think the occassional taking of a fish is no big deal.I remember the old days with chain stringers and whatnot and we as fishermen/conservationists have come so far and in the long run I don't think any of the real "sticks" keep fish any more. I sacraficed a 3 pounder last year to the fishing gods by sticking it on a 7 year old clueless kids hook while dad distacted him and we watched him wind it in. What a face,he's hooked for life....However when he told us it was the biggest trout he'd ever caught we corrected him and told him ...It's even better than that it's a bass. He'll be driving around in $40,000 bass rig in no time and he'll be practicing and preaching Catch and Release.