Pacu Caught in Grand River, Michigan

A Pacu was recently caught in the Grand River in Michigan by Isa DeVos. This is likely another example of an aquarium owner releasing his non-native fish in to the local waters and not a sign that we’re being invaded by another invasive species.

Pacu, a vegetarian relative of the piranha, can grow very large over their life span (up to 60lbs!) and easily out grow even a large aquarium. Many fish owners don’t consider how large their pets can grow, or even how long the can live for. I’m sure this owner thought they were doing the human thing by releasing them, but in fact it’s the opposite as they’re now endangering native species.

You may also recall an earlier post about Adam Eibling’s “impossible catch” of a 5lb Pacu in Ohio.

New Landlocked Atlantic Salmon World Record!

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.

New All-Tackle Brown Trout World Record!

The IGFA recently announced a huge brown trout caught in September is officially a record! The massive fish weighed 41 lbs 7 oz (18.8 kg) and measured in at 43.75 inches with a girth of 27 inches. The trout was caught in the Manistee River, Michigan, USA.

Caught on September 9, 2009 by Tom Healy.

Healy was using a #8 silver Rapala Shad Rap.

via IGFA

50 Pound Muskie Caught in Michigan!

It’s fairly common to hear about 50 inch muskie being caught each year, but its very rare to hear about a 50 pounder! Check out the size of this incredible muskie!

Photo by David Rose

“On Sunday, September 27, Kyle Anderson of Rapid City, MI caught this 50-pound 8-ounce Great Lakes muskie. The fish is now the new Michigan state record. It beat the old record, set in 1984, by 2.5 pounds. Anderson was fishing in Torch Lake, near Traverse City.”

I used to spend summers out near Traverse City when I was a kid, but I had no idea that there were fish like this were swimming around!

Check out more photos at Field and Stream

via OFNC

Monster Lake St. Clair Muskie

Lake St Clair is known for having an impressive muskie population, but most of the fish aren’t as big as muskie found in other areas like the St Lawrence and Ottawa River. This past weekend the two massive muskie over 50 inches were caught, including a frightening 56 incher that was registered as 39 pounds!

What a beast!

via Michigan Sportsman