Fishing is one of those sports that's measured in inches. To those who love fishing and bragging about their success every inch counts. When you're on the water not every fish that comes net is photo worthy. In fact, fish big enough to come with bragging rights are amazingly hard to come. If the truth were told, even the most seasoned anglers can usually count the number of trophy fish they catch each year on the fingers of one hand.
The fact that taxidermy quality fish are rare is the very reason serious anglers carry a pocket camera and milk every opportunity to talk about the big one that didn't get away.
For the crew and guests of Fishing 411 television the past year has been an exceptional run of good luck. On camera we managed to hook and land a host of trophy class fish including outstanding examples of steelhead, walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, brook trout, perch and king salmon. Each and every one of the fish pictured below marks a milestone for the anglers who caught them and the fellowship shared on the water.
LAKE ERIE STEELHEAD
Steelhead certainly aren't the first species that comes to mind when talk turns to Lake Erie. Throughout the Central Basin where Lake Erie is deep and cool, steelhead are amazingly abundant and some grow to impressive size. In August long time friend and fishing buddy Pat McLaughlin signed on to be a Fishing 411 guest for a trip to Wheatly Ontario, located just 40 miles east of Detroit.
The two day adventure turned out to be the most amazing steelhead fishing Pat or anyone else on board had ever experienced. We landed 25 fish per day and boated more than a dozen fish over the 10 pound mark. Pat's 12 pounder was his first steelhead, the biggest of the trip and it will forever stick in my mind as one of the best trophies Fishing 411 caught on film all season.
RON LEVITAN 10.4 POUND LAKE ERIE WALLEYE
Captain Ron Levitan has caught literally thousands of walleye during his more than 20 year charter fishing career. Over the years he's long since lost count of how many double digit fish have come aboard his boat the Passin' Time.
Last November while filming a segment of Fishing 411 near Huron Ohio, this pot belly porker brought a smile to the faces of everyone on board. Some might say that an honest 10 pound walleye isn't that rare, but try catching one on camera some time!
NUNGESSER LAKE PIKE
Few fish are as menacing as the northern pike. Fish nearly as long as a man's leg will get even the most seasoned angler's heart pounding. In May Fishing 411 host Mark Romanack was fortunate to land this full figured northern pike that measured 42 inches long.
The fish was caught while filming out of Angler's Kingdom on Nungesser Lake located about five hours north of International Falls. Pike this size are getting so rare, an angler almost has to visit a wilderness camp to have a legitimate chance at landing a trophy like this. On this particular trip we boated more than a dozen in this class and countless other good fish.
LAKE ST. CLAIR SMALLMOUTH
Lake St. Clair is a smallmouth factory. During May the lake could also be described as the world's greatest trophy smallmouth destination. For a few weeks prior to the spawn, every monster smallmouth in the lake moves shallow and goes on a feeding binge. Doug Samsal, a multi-species guide on Lake St. Clair caught this massive six pound plus smallmouth casting a spinnerbait in Anchor Bay. During the rest of the day Doug and Mark teamed up to catch nearly 20 other fish in the 4-5 pound class! Now that's amazing smallmouth action. Most of the fish came on white tube jigs, except for this exceptional specimen. Even better they are all still out there waiting to be caught again.
SAGINAW BAY WALLEYE
Like a chip off the ole block, Jake Romanack enjoys fishing as much as his father. Back in July he tied into a 28 inch walleye trolling a Reef Runner Deep Little Ripper 15 feet down over 22 feet of water. For mid summer a 28 inch walleye is exceptional and worthy of a little bragging even if my kid did catch it!
Saginaw Bay was once considered a world class destination for trophy walleye. Today the fishery is cranking out huge numbers of15-22 inch walleye, but few trophies like the one Jake caught. It just goes to show you that you never know when a big fish will bite.
MANISTIQUE LAKE PERCH
Back in February the Fishing 411 crew headed north to fish perch on North Manistique Lake near the town of Curtis. This overlooked Upper Peninsula gem is a literal perch factory. For those who work at it, jumbo perch can fill a bucket quickly. Like any perch fishery, most of the fish are 7-9 inch "eaters", but enough 10-14 inch "jumbos" are taken to make this lake more than worth a close look.
Honest one pound perch like this one bite aggressive swimming/jigging lures like this Salmo Chubby Darter. The fall fishing is also outstanding and worth taking time for a visit.
LAKE MICHIGAN KINGS
Everyone is talking about the wonderful salmon fishing Lake Michigan is cranking out. The number of fish coming to net is amazing from Frankfort all the way to Benton Harbor. If there is a down side to having so many kings in Lake Michigan it's that the trophy size fish are seemingly a thing of the past. Lake Michigan has a reputation for producing big kings, but in recent years the bulging salmon population has lead to a decline in forage fish and smaller kings.
Back in September Chip Cartwright of Wolverine Tackle treated the Fishing 411 crew to a magnificent day of salmon trolling out of Frankfort, Michigan. The waves were big that day, but the salmon were even bigger. We limited out on a mixed bag of coho and bruiser kings like the one Chip is holding. Hooking a fish like this is like snagging a passing freight train! Now that's good television.
LODGE 88 BROOK TROUT
Brook trout are one of those fish that are more often measured in inches than pounds. That's because two pounds of brook trout is hard to come by. Imagine a five pound brook trout and you'll have a good idea of the excitement Pat Clark of Bert's Custom Tackle felt when he reeled in an honest five pounder during a recent visit to Lodge 88 near White River Ontario. The fish hit a Salmo Executor crankbait trolled on a flatline.
For Pat the fish was a major rush to catch on camera and for Mark this brookie was the biggest he has seen in more than 25 years of fishing across Ontario. It was a rush just being in the same boat with a fish of a lifetime like this!!
SUMMING IT UP
Catching fish is fun, but catching truly big fish provides a level of excitement that non-fishermen will never understand. No matter what the species, a big fish on the end of the line rules supreme.
Captain Ron Levitan has caught literally thousands of walleye during his more than 20 year charter fishing career. Over the years he's long since lost count of how many double digit fish have come aboard his boat the Passin' Time.
Lake St. Clair is a smallmouth factory. During May the lake could also be described as the world's greatest trophy smallmouth destination. For a few weeks prior to the spawn, every monster smallmouth in the lake moves shallow and goes on a feeding binge. Doug Samsal, a multi-species guide on Lake St. Clair caught this massive six pound plus smallmouth casting a spinnerbait in Anchor Bay. During the rest of the day Doug and Mark teamed up to catch nearly 20 other fish in the 4-5 pound class! Now that's amazing smallmouth action. Most of the fish came on white tube jigs, except for this exceptional specimen. Even better they are all still out there waiting to be caught again.
Like a chip off the ole block, Jake Romanack enjoys fishing as much as his father. Back in July he tied into a 28 inch walleye trolling a Reef Runner Deep Little Ripper 15 feet down over 22 feet of water. For mid summer a 28 inch walleye is exceptional and worthy of a little bragging even if my kid did catch it!
Everyone is talking about the wonderful salmon fishing Lake Michigan is cranking out. The number of fish coming to net is amazing from Frankfort all the way to Benton Harbor. If there is a down side to having so many kings in Lake Michigan it's that the trophy size fish are seemingly a thing of the past. Lake Michigan has a reputation for producing big kings, but in recent years the bulging salmon population has lead to a decline in forage fish and smaller kings.
Brook trout are one of those fish that are more often measured in inches than pounds. That's because two pounds of brook trout is hard to come by. Imagine a five pound brook trout and you'll have a good idea of the excitement Pat Clark of Bert's Custom Tackle felt when he reeled in an honest five pounder during a recent visit to Lodge 88 near White River Ontario. The fish hit a Salmo Executor crankbait trolled on a flatline.
