by McDave » Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:00 am
Hey Hank,
No, I wish I could catch one of those. My wife's Dad caught that up in Canada about 30yrs ago. That's the biggest river trout I've ever seen. Remember, I grew up down where you are. Brookies and 12" rainbow were it other than bass out of the Butte. I have caught many walleye and sauger, a couple pike and the strangest fish ever called a paddlefish. You don't really catch them, you snag them with giant treble hooks on surf poles and reels. They make their way up the Mississippi to the Missouri, then to the Yellowstone to spawn. Damn things are prehistoric filter feeders but they average 5-6ft. They don't really fight as much as dig in. you just keep walking downstream and reeling and eventually they come to the bank. The caviar is really prized and the local fish an game guys process your fish for you and keep the roe to sell.
I did catch a 23 lb king salmon in lake Michigan about 8miles off Sheboygan years ago on a charter, but nothing worth mounting. There are two rivers less than a mile from me, and a small lake a couple miles away, but I really don't have the patience for that. Most of my friends have freezers full of walleye and we have a fry and do the oysters at the same time.
Now that Branding is almost done it's oyster season.
Anyways, I bet you would like the Jersey Lilly Hank. Always characters there, and a slower pace too. Don't you get up this way sometimes?
McDave