When the Bassmaster Elite pros are practicing sometimes they cut the hooks off the baits, remove the trebles, And sometimes even bend the hooks down to where they don’t stick the fish. Sometimes they intentionally catch them to see what the size the fish may be.
This morning Buddy Gross caught his first largemouth that weighed 4 pounds that he is 100% sure he actually caught this fish in practice. When I asked him how he knew he said because he’s got a big hump on his back and he weighed the exact same amount.