suprd ........... my point with the bass pic was referring the weight, and overall healthy appearence of the fish caught in a Fl canal, not how the photo was taken. That particular species of Pbass is actually not very tolerable to cool water temps, so it proved the point rather well. I have zero experience with photoshop, and I'm not sure why a fish that large (over 7 pounds) would be photoshopped??? The weight kind of says it all, and that should have been pretty obvious to anyone that was actually paying attention. Most "fishing" photos online has someone holding a fish out at arms length. Big deal, fisherman like to exaggerate. And that is what, somehow going to discredit what I stated, and/or the point that I clearly made. Buy a clue.
Some of these SA species have been in Florida waterways since the 1950's, a time when I was also walking this earth. Perhaps I should have stated from the get go that "according to my 45+ yrs of keeping fish" blah-blah-blah.
Would that have somehow made my comments in this discussion more credible? You don't know squat about me, or what I have kept over the years, so keep your personal snipes to yourself. I've never claimed to be an expert on anything, not in this thread or any other, but I've been kicking around this hobby a very long time & certainly know a thing or two about fish. This isn't me being immature, this is me growing weary of debating ignorance.
SA fish have been living, breeding (and mass producing) in FL for several decades, and to suggest that these wild feral fish in Florida cannot for some reason reach their max potential is assinine. I don't care how many years anyone here has been keeping fish - the gators aren't wiping out the mature breeding adults in Florida, nor are these fish shriveling up en mass due to the winter water temps, or anything else. For those that think otherwise, seriously, do a little homework before spouting off about something you clearly know nothing about.
As far as credible proof of size, this isn't exactly rocket science, if someone owns a tape measure they can get a pic of their fish lined up against it.
If not, how exactly can one state with certainty that their fish is 14", or 16", or better? You must somehow measure a fish to determine its length or girth. That, or it becomes a guesstimate of sorts. Perhaps the fish is 18", we won't know if nobody measures it. Tape mesaures don't lie. And yes, in my 50+ years of kicking around this hobby, probably seeing (up close) and online, hundreds of different O's kept in tanks. I have never seen an O that has been confirmed 16" long. 13", yes, some that were close to 14", yes, but never any that were 16" or better. And this isn't the first time that this subject has come up on MFK over the years. Still, no pics that involve a tool of measurement. So for myself, personally, they still might as well be a unicorn. YMMV
Now, if you have something constructive to actually add to this discussion, please do so sir.