Biggest fish in the lake

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

This is the most awesome story in fishing! I love it when I hear about catfish by the dam as big as volkswagons.

Every lake and every dam no matter where you are i hear that story. Another one of my favorites is when i hear someone says they know a guy that used to dive but wont anymore because of the monster cat fish. I love to spearfish and if i ever come across one of these volkswagon size fish that i hear about you better believe im putting a spear through him

[pavon azul]

Here's a link to the 2007 tourney mentioning the walleye catch.

http://www.flwfishing.com/news/2007-03-02-fleetwood-finds-five-more

[Ham]

I was watching a fishing show on a Canadian walleye fishery and the guide was saying 24 inch walleye was a real big one. Hmmm

Now the Great Lakes are just crazy. Tons of BIG walleye.

[bfishn]

I can't say if there's still any 20+ eyes around, but I have doubts. I can say for sure I saw one once though.

It was on my annual prespawn rendezvous, over 15 years ago. I was on them at night and trying to go every night. A guy I worked with wanted to come, so we met at the ramp at dusk. The deal that year involved really shallow fish that spooked easier than the neighborhood cat. You had to approach quietly with a paddle, it could take 20 minutes to get in position. Bump the boat or light a smoke and they were gone. All of this was wasted on my partner, who made enough racket to wake the dead.

Before midnight he wussed out and asked for a ride to his truck and I readily obliged. Thick fog had formed, so it was idle only to the ramp. After dropping him I headed to the only other spot we hadn't disturbed, still foggy and idle only. Dropped a couple longlines and settled in for the trip.

A good 10 minutes of driving by graph and stern light put me around a bend. When I glanced at the rod on the stbd gunnel, I saw it. Suspended just under the surface in 14ft of water, motionless, just a foot off, and parallel to my gunnel. As I glided past at ~1mph, it just turned and vanished. I had handled 12 & 13 pounders before, and this one was twice that size. My heart missed several beats before I grabbed the helm to kill everything and crank into a circling return. I cast that area till the sun rose.... nothin'.

That fish haunted me for the next few years while it was possible it was still alive. It was the motivation for an aging goofus to keep doing stupid stuff on cold winter nights. Now I know that fish can be no more. Surprisingly, I'm good with that.

[crappieslayer]

Are there 20lber's in Bull and can you catch one? Sure. Does the powerball ever reach 500 million and you have a chance at winning it all? Sure. Do people that fish bull fillet fish in the 'trophy class of 8-15lbs'? Sure I've seen it. Do your odds go down of catching that 20lb monster when people keep trophys for table fare or whatever they do with them? Sure. Let's face it, when people CPR (Catch-Photo-Release), your odds of 20lbers would only increase. But, I think that 'window' you talk of, is closed or at least it keeps on closing a little bit at a time.

But I believe the state record walleye is in Bull, Lower Bull. In deep water and feeding on all the little immature bass that swim by. She's in the depths that a fisherman never reaches,...and for good reason. I dream daily that the 'window' is not yet closed.......then I pinch myself.

[Ham]

I had handled 12 & 13 pounders before, and this one was twice that size. My heart missed several beats before I grabbed the helm to kill everything and crank into a circling return. I cast that area till the sun rose.... nothin'.

That fish haunted me for the next few years while it was possible it was still alive. It was the motivation for an aging goofus to keep doing stupid stuff on cold winter nights. Now I know that fish can be no more. Surprisingly, I'm good with that.

If there was one once, there's a decent chance there is another one now.