posted by Gary on Jul 3
Archive for the ‘State Record Fish’ Category
Well there you have it, now a 3 year old girl has caught a State Record Fish. That’s awesome and I bet she is hooked on fishing for life. Teaching kids to fish is a great thing.
posted by Gary on Jun 25
Chris Rolph with his Ohio Record Blue Catfish.
Now that is a pretty Catfish, 96 pounds of blue catfish to be exact. How would you like to feel the tug on you line when you set the hook on that guy!
This fish is the new state record Blue Catfish for Ohio, it has been certified by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio State Record Fish Committee.
Chris Rolph, of Williamsburg, was fishing for catfish from a boat on the Ohio River near Cincinnati in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 11, when he hooked and landed a 54-1/2 inch blue catfish with a 36 inch girth weighing 96 pounds.
Upon landing the fish after a 30 minute battle, his fishing partner that night, Jon Owens, of Amelia, knew they had just boated a new state record catfish and the pair immediately headed back to Schmidt Field ramp from where they had launched. Later that morning Rolph, who kept the fish alive in a large aerated stock tank, had the fish weighed on certified scales at Bethel Feed and Supply.
Rolph’s record blue catfish was caught using cut skip jack for bait at approximately 12:45 a.m. Together the fishermen caught five small catfish before hooking the state record.
Rolph wanted to release the fish unharmed, therefore special arrangements were made to have the fish examined and photographed that morning by the chairman of the OWO State Record Fish Committee. Afterwards the record blue catfish was safely released into a large farm pond.
Rolph’s blue catfish replaces the previous record held by Keith Setty from Lynchburg, who caught a 57 pound, 3.2 ounce blue catfish from the tailwaters of Meldahl Dam on the Ohio River.
Joint studies conducted by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and Kentucky Fish and Wildlife found blue catfish populations in the lower Ohio River were substantial enough to warrant down listing the species from “endangered” to species of special concern.
Down listing the blue catfish opened up sport fishing opportunities for anglers on the Ohio River, resulting in the fish being added to the state record fish list by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio in 2008.
Ohio Division of Wildlife fisheries biologist Doug Maloney, at Wildlife District Five, identified Rolph’s catch as a blue catfish. Blue catfish is the largest growing catfish in the Ohio River often weighing in excess of 100 pounds. The Kentucky state record blue catfish is 104 pounds and was also caught from the Ohio River.
Ohio state record fish are certified by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio State Record Fish Committee. Assisting in the process is fisheries biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
Who will catch the next record fish? How big will it be, there are some giant catfish out there, it’s just a matter of being prepared when the oppurtunity hits. Good Luck and Tight Lines, Gary
posted by Gary on Feb 20
Happy Valentine’s Day Dear,
“Hey, Honey, look what I got you for Valentine’s Day!”
You’re just gonna love this mounted over the fireplace,
anyway chocolate and roses are overrated.
Tom Boise’s wife must be one understanding woman, because what he came home with
on the afternoon of Saturday February 14th was not a dozen roses and a box of chocolates,
but rather a potential new world-record tiger muskie.
The big fish officially weighed 27 pounds, 5 ounces, measuring 45.5 inches in length
and 22.5 inches in girth. Caught on an ice fishing tip-up from Otisco Lake in central New York,
the fish was so large it was hauled off the ice on a child’s plastic sled. A tiger muskie is a hybrid,
a cross between a northern pike and a muskellunge.
“It’s not an official record quite yet,” said Emmett Brown, executive director of the
Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wis., “but if everything checks out as reported,
the fish will be the new world-record for a tiger muskie caught on an ice tip-up,
besting the old tip-up record by five ounces.”
The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame also recognizes world records for tiger muskie in
two other categories: all-tackle (current record 51 pounds, 3 ounces), and ice fishing
with rod and reel (current record 31 pounds, 4 ounces). The organization keeps records
on more than 125 species of freshwater game fish.
Boise, of Lakeland, N.Y., started fishing about 6:30 a.m. on February 14, but didn’t hook
the big muskie until 1:15 p.m. “I knew it was a big fish when I set the hook,” said Boise.
He fought the fish for half an hour before tiring it enough that he could work its nose into
the nine-inch ice hole where a buddy gaffed the fish and lifted it onto the ice.
“It was so big, for a few seconds we just stared at it in silence,” said Boise.
“But then the whooping, hollering, and high-fives started.”
Boise eventually calmed down enough to begin telephoning other fishermen
on the lake to spread the news, one of which realized the fish could be a new world record.
“He advised me that if the fish was really as big as I said it was, to have it weighed on a
certified scales right away,” said Boise. “So I did.”
This big tiger was caught using a five-inch, live shiner minnow on a #4 hook.
Having fished the lake many times before, Boise was prepared for big fish with a
35-pound test main line tipped with a 20-pound test fluorocarbon leader.
Who’s ready to go ice fishing?
Happy Fishing, Gary
posted by Gary on Feb 20
Thomas Reed and Brian McKenyon of Kill Buck were just going ice fishing like any other time, only this time was going to be a little different. Little did they know this would be the day Reed would set the new New York Record for a Walleye.
When they walked out onto the ice on Mystic Lake in Cattaraugus County and cut their fishing holes, I doubt either angler thought that one of them was about to become the new owner of the New York state record for walleyes.
But when Reed pulled it up and flipped it onto the ice, I guarantee you they were both smiling. The walleye tipped the official scales at 16 pounds, nine ounces — topping the existing record set in 1994 by two ounces — and DEC biologists estimated the fish to be over 20 years old.
Here is Reed’s fish tale:
Tom and Brian cut the holes and set up their minnow-baited tip-ups just before daybreak, and didn’t have a bite until about 10:30 a.m., when Tom’s tip-up flag popped up. But when Tom got to the tip-up, the fish had already run off with the bait, leaving him with an empty hook.
Putting on another bait, he lowered it back into the water, and what he believes was the same fish grabbed it and took off again. Only this time, Tom’s hookset was solid. At first, he thought he had a bass, but when the fish finally got near the hole, with Brian’s assistance, he grabbed it by the gills and flipped it on the ice. McKenyon immediately told him that he believed it was a state record. He was right, and it’s now safely at the taxidermist’s. It was the only fish they caught that day.
Speaking of walleyes, back here in the area at Dave’s Bait, there were reports of a nice 25-inch ’eye taken at the Great Sacandaga Lake by Mike Bailey of Northville that tipped the scales at 4 1⁄2 pounds. He caught the fish in the north end of the lake on a medium-sized shiner, in about 10 feet of water. The north end seems to be where most of the action is right now.
The largest northern pike reported there was taken by Vern Duelsler, also of Northville. His trophy measured 39 1⁄2 inches and was estimated to weigh about 18 pounds. He was fishing tip-ups in eight feet of water with large live bait down near the bottom.
The smallmouth bass are alive and well at Sacandaga, but they’re out of season. A pair of anglers from downstate who rented a channel-edge shanty from Dave’s caught and released at least 30 smallies throughout the day, a number of which were in the 20-plus-inch category.
But in general, the angling has been slow on Sacandaga, something local fishermen are blaming on the water draw down that has been going on for a while now. I was told it went down six feet in just one day. Ice anglers should move out into the deeper waters for the best chance for fishing success.
Two recent tournaments on the Great Sacandaga saw some nice fish checked in. The 701 Fish & Game Club attracted 71 entries. The top three walleye catches were James Dibble of Broadalbin, 19 1⁄2 inches; David Foster of Hope, 18 1⁄2 inches; and Lorne Brown of Burnt Hills, 18 inches. Garrison DeRocker of Broadalbin and Grayson Fonda of Mayfield tied, each with a 36-inch northern pike, and took the top two spots in that division, while Dibble was third with his 27 1⁄2-inch fish. Dibble also won the perch division with a 13 1⁄4-inch catch.
The annual Fish House Fish & Game Club’s two-day event attracted 196 anglers. Leading the way in the walleye division was Pete Geelan of Broadalbin with a six-pound, 51⁄2-ounce ’eye that measured 27 1⁄2 inches. Geelan won the walleye category last year in this event. Second place went to Jesse Walter of Broadalbin with a four-pound, 15-ouncer, followed by Ira Cromling III of Broadalbin with his four-pound, nine-ounce catch.
Broadalbin angler Matthew Bunker’s 12-pound, 15-ounce pike took first place in that category, followed by Terry Graudons of Mayfield with a 12-pound, two-ounce catch. Third place went to Matt Cornell of Broadalbin with an 11-pound, 11-ounce pike.
Big perch honors of the day went to Jason Savoie of Broadalbin with a one-pound, 10-ounce catch. Mike Kazlaukas of Broadalbin caught the only trout of the day, a two-pound, nine-ouncer.
I didn’t receive any information about the Mayfield Lake ice fishing tournament last weekend, but I heard there were quite a few anglers on the lake, and pickerel were biting lake-wide.
On Round Lake, there’s been plenty of activity, and the anglers I spoke with there said they were catching a variety of fish. The pike were running in the mid-20-inch size, and most of them were setting off flags in the back (east) of the lake. Live bait in six to eight feet of water in and around the weeds will get you the most action. The panfishing there seems to be the most productive just off the shore along Route 9 in 10 feet of water. Jigging with teardrop jigs tipped with grubs will get bluegills, perch and sometimes crappies. There was a rumor of a lost 40-plus-inch tiger muskie in the deeper water in the south end of the lake.
Lake Lonely big pike action was slow, but there is still a good opportunity to hook up with a nice set of teeth if you stay in the north end of the lake in about 10 feet of water.
Put a big bait down right on the bottom beneath a tip-up, and just in case, set another right in the weeds in four to five feet. They’re cruising, and you never know. If you can find an eight- 10-foot weed edge on the west side of the lake, jigging with tiny tubes or teardrop jigs tipped with grubs can produce some nice panfish. Bill Parry of the Lake Lonely Boat Livery did well there, pulling up a few bluegills and one 14 1⁄2-inch perch.
Speaking of perch, three generations of Praticos had quite a day with the Lake George perch population. The Glenville ice-angling trio of Tom Sr., 84, Tom Jr. and David were busy all day jigging up perch. They were fishing in various bays in the Southern Basin of the lake in 30 feet of water using colorful size 8 jigs tipped with grubs. This is an annual event for the Pratico family.
Reports received from Lake George are that the lake trout are still down in 80-plus feet of water, and are favoring small suckers. Much of the action is lake-wide in both the Northern and Southern basins. Average size of the lakers is 23 to 27 inches, with one 35-inch laker said to have been pulled through the ice around the Point of Tongue.
Amsterdam ice anglers Mike Auriemma and John Loucks had a good day fishing on Otsego Lake. Mike landed a 22-inch, 41⁄2-pound brown trout fishing in 26 feet of water with a spot tail chub set 12 feet beneath the ice. Ross’ Bait reports that a number of his bait customers have been talking about good lake trout fishing all season in this lake, and a number of the fish have been in the 30-plus-inch range. Otsego Lake might be worth the ride.
The bite at Saratoga Lake has also slowed considerably in the last week, and the anglers who competed in the Saratoga Tackle’s tournament there this weekend definitely found that out. The biggest walleye was a 5.26-pound fish caught by George Brown of Saratoga Springs, who received $91. Henry Ostrander of Saratoga Springs was second ($45) with his 4.70-pound ’eye, and Keith Crounse of Voorheesville was third ($30) with a 3.96-pounder.
Only one northern pike came to the scales in this event, and it was a 7.34-pounder caught by Peter Rogers of Hudson. He received $166. In the perch category, Rogers was again on top with a 1.28-pound fish worth $91. John Rychek of Stillwater was second with a 1.12-pound perch, and Mike Moon of Ballston Lake was third with a .80-pound catch. Second and third returned $45 and $30, respectively.
The accumulated pickerel award winner ($70) was Rogers with a five-fish limit totaling 11.12 pounds.
These numbers and weights are unusual for this lake, especially for the pickerel that are usually setting off flags all over the lake, all day. Panfishing anglers have told me that the fish they are taking are down deep, and most of them are over sunken weedbeds. If you drop a colorful tiny jighead tipped with a grub or use a tip-up with small minnow down just above the weeds, you should get enough for supper.
Well What Are You Waiting For, The Next Record Fish Is Out There Waiting For Somebody To Come Catch It!!!
Happy Hookin’ and Good Luck, Gary