Last November when Tom Aufiero was fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon on the landlocked Torch Lake, surely the last thing he expected was to catch the new world record, but somehow that’s exactly what happened. The new record now stands at 26 pounds 12 ounces and is the new official IGFA All-Tackle world record for landlocked Atlantic Salmon. Caught on 6 pound test line!
“I was pulling my hair out, running out of hope having tried everything,” said Supinski about Aufiero’s fish. “I’d changed flies 16 or 17 times. Then I decided there must be some mysis shrimp in the lake and put one on figuring to give it one more try.
“Tom dead-drifted the shrimp and she saw it, then moved three to four feet off the bottom and just engulfed it. Tom, being a good steelhead fisherman, knew not to set the hook too early. Then he stuck the fish and all hell broke loose.”Aufiero said he fought the salmon for 15 minutes and called it “a dogged fight,” before landing the big female.
Atlantic salmon, which are prized for their fight, have historically been found only in two places in Michigan, the St. Mary’s River and Torch Lake, where the state introduced them to create an Atlantic Salmon fishery. Atlantic salmon were once native to Lake Ontario but became extinct by 1900, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Torch Lake produces world record Atlantic salmon | MLive.com.
did he release it or kill it?
In order to become a true world record the fish must be kept and killed by the IGFA to examine the stomach contents, etc.
Stocked fish though, how does that count as a record? Wouldn’t we all be feeding Largemouth in our aquariums? Still, a huge & beautiful fish.
Bill has got a good point, i could keep a Perch for years and feed it natural food and take it to a lake and get it photographed and claim a record…The other thing is they should have an xray type thing just to verify stomach contents (although i know it would never happen with costs and everything)…It’s alright for Mr Tom to come along and kill the record, that’s great for him but what about every other fucker that wouldn’t mind a go?!
I do believe this is the very same lake that produced that gigantic muskie a couple of years ago – http://www.fishingfury.com/20091002/50-pound-muskie-caught-in-michigan/
@bill, It’s my understanding that the lake has not been stocked in a very long time. I think the last stocking of atlantics was in 2006, so 5 years ago.
@woody, I would imagine that xrays would be pretty damaging to a fish and releasing it afterwards could also be troublesome if it’s dna were to be damaged by the radiation. That said, I agree that not killing world record fish would be a great step forward.
@Clive, it is definitely the same lake.
I’m pretty sure an English bloke got the world record Carp in France a few years ago that weighed in at 82lbs…He broke that record a year later when he caught the same Carp again, but in the year it had put on another 4lbs so he won again with an 86lb Carp, so obviously that Fish is alive and well and waiting to be got again…That Lake must be pretty popular over your bit of the World if There’s Musky that big and now monster Trout!
Beautiful fish and a very nice record. You said 6 lb test? Very well done
What a great fish,also great photo.Way to go on the record.