khaos
2012-11-08 20:43:58
All those pictures got me wondering - Just how big do chums get? World record is listed at some 37 lbs. Photos provided from fellow trollers show fish well over 20 by the looks of them. Personally, I've never weighed one over 18.
Abundance
2012-11-09 02:48:21
The chums that ran in Neets Bay last summer were unusually big and mature. I caught very few small bright ones, personally. It was the same with Anita Bay. I know at least one gillnetter there got one in the thirty plus pound range. I think that the world records are for sportfishing. I don't have scales on my boat, but I know that a number of mine were over twenty. Since we sell them ungutted, they weigh more than a fisherman who dresses his fish might guess. Ordinarily, chums weigh in at 6-8 pound average. That was at least doubled on many of my deliveries this year. It sure saved us, what with the drastically reduced catch.
Salty
2012-11-09 06:09:16
The biggest chums I have heard about are in the mid 30's. the biggest I have caught are in the mid 20's.
In 2003 my wife pulled in a bright chum at Neets Bay that weighed at 29 lbs. It was a nice fish, should have taken a picture. :)