In the 2012 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ fishing handbook on page 77 there is a graph that can give an angler the approximate weight of a fish based on the fish’s length. A 17-inch crappie, for example, will weigh approximately 3.3 pounds while a 56-inch muskie will flirt with the 50-pound barrier.
When Don Mickel, who is a professional fishing guide based in Bemidji, Minnesota, landed his large walleye on the Rainy River in early April, however, the graph was no help. The graph only went up to 29 inches and his walleye stretched well beyond that length.
Fishing with a friend, Mickel was drifting and vertical jigging a fireball jig in 12 feet of water when a fish hit.
“The bite was a ‘tap-tap-bam’. And I knew it was a big walleye right away,” Mickel, who spends as much time as possible on the Rainy River, said. When the fish was netted, Mickel and fellow anglers had the opportunity to admire the catch, and they were amazed.
“We measured it right away and it was 35.1 inches long and had a girth of 24.25 inches,” Mickel said. “On our cheap spring scale the fish weighed 17.9 pounds. And when I compared the measurements to the probable weight, the walleye also weighed 17.9 pounds.”
If those figures are correct, Mickel can lay claim to Minnesota’s state-record walleye. The current record walleye is 17.8 pounds and was caught in 1979 in the Seagull River. That fish was 35.8 inches long but its girth was only 21.3 inches.
“As soon as I caught and measured the walleye, I called the DNR, told them that I might have the state record and asked them what to do,” Mickel said. “They told me that the walleye was a catch-and-release fish and that, because of the regulation, it had to be released and couldn’t be recognized as a state record.” The Rainy River is open to walleye fishing until April 15 with a daily limit of two walleyes but neither can be larger than 19.5 inches.
Mickel next contacted the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. He recently learned that the Hall of Fame officials have issued him a certificate for landing the 4-pound test line world record walleye.
–Source, the Bemidji Pioneer with a tip of the hat to JR Absher and the Outdoor Pressroom.
