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Record walleye hooked at Tiber |
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Wednesday, 28 November 2007 |
 Record Fish – Bob Hart of Missoula holds a 17.75-pound walleye he caught Nov. 18 at Tiber Dam. It’s believed to be a new state record.
On Sunday, for his second walleye, he apparently broke the state record. Hart, 46, caught a 17.75-pound walleye at 7:15 a.m., Sunday, on the north shore of Tiber Reservoir southeast of Shelby. The fish measured 35 inches long with a 22-inch girth.
The fish has been weighed on an official scale and measured, but not yet seen by a state Fish, Wildlife and Parks fish biologist.
The previous state record – 16.63 pounds and 31.5 inches long – was caught January 2000 in Fort Peck Reservoir.
“We were just sitting on shore fishing with a minnow and a weight to keep it on the bottom,” Hart says. He had the five-inch minnow at about 20 to 30 feet when the walleye struck.
It took about 15 minutes to land, Hart says. He had 6- or 8-pound test line on his reel.
“I said ‘Ohmigod,’ and called my friend to get the net,” says Hart, who was fishing with Gordon Smedsrud of Shelby. The pair immediately took the fish to Shelby.
“It took us a while to find a certified scale in Shelby on Sunday morning,” Hart says.
Fortunately Taylor’s Hardware Store was open. The fish was then taken to a local taxidermist.
To qualify as a state record a fish must be weighed on a scale certified by the state as accurate and witnessed by an observer. Dave Yerk, fisheries biologist for FWP, has seen the pictures of the fish on the scale and affidavits from five witnesses but has not seen the actual fish yet – the final act to declare a fish as a state record.
“It’s a formality,” Yerk says, “I’m sure it’s a new record.”
So how does a fish grow that big in Tiber, not known for extremely large walleye?
“There is a very abundant forage fish, cisco, in Tiber for a large fish,” Yerk says. During previous netting surveys, Yerk and his crew have sampled a 14-pound walleye from Tiber.
As for Hart, a life long fisherman, he has caught bigger saltwater fish – a 180 marlin – but no freshwater fish even close to this one.
Now, several friends are offering to take the fish off his hands. No dice, Hart says. “I think I’ll hang it in my office,” says Hart, sales director for Blue Cross Blue Shield.
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