Wisconsin man ties Minnesota catch-and-release northern pike record

ST. PAUL — A Wisconsin angler caught a 46.25-inch northern pike on Mille Lacs Lake that the Minnesota Division of Pure Sources has licensed as a tie with the present catch-and-release state document.

Brad Lila, of Hudson, Wisconsin, caught and launched the fish Jan. 22.

“I set the hook as the road was rapidly peeling out,” Lila stated in an announcement on the catch launched by the DNR Monday. “I knew it was a really massive fish as a result of it peeled out drag and there was no stopping it. After about 10 minutes of preventing the fish, I knew that it’d take greater than me to land it.”

Lila stated he hollered and waved for assist and two close by anglers got here to his assist. Lila tried to get the fish to show its head to come back up the outlet, however the fish was massive and slush beneath the ice sophisticated the endeavor.

“Each time she would get close to, just a few inches of slush would come up and we couldn’t see down the outlet,” Lila stated. “A further problem was that my braided line would groove the underside of the ice and when my knot connecting the fluorocarbon chief would meet the ice backside, it will get caught. I’d need to put my rod down into the outlet to unlock my line after which my line guides would freeze.”

After about half-hour, Lila was in a position to get the fish via the ice and get fast measurements earlier than releasing it again into the water. The fish was more than likely a feminine that was carrying eggs earlier than spawning.

“It was so satisfying seeing her swim away,” Lila stated. “I’m so very appreciative of the state of Minnesota for supporting a catch-and-release (document fish) program. It’s nice to know that she’s on the market passing alongside these unbelievable genes and that another person could have an opportunity of touchdown her sometime.”

To be eligible for a catch-and-release state document, the fish should be photographed alongside a ruler or measuring stick that clearly reveals the size and will need to have at the least one witness along with the angler who caught it.

The large pike precisely tied the 46.25-inch fish caught and launched by Brecken Kobylecky, of Geneva, Illinois, on June 21, 2021, on Basswood Lake. The state’s present northern pike document for a saved fish is 45 kilos, 12 ounces, additionally caught on Basswood Lake, approach again in 1929.

You will discover present information and tips for every sort of state document, and utility varieties, at

mndnr.gov/recordfish

.

John Myers stories on the outside, pure sources and the surroundings for the Duluth Information Tribune. You may attain him at jmyers@duluthnews.com.