An Oklahoma fisherman landed a potential new Minnesota state record lake whitefish on Saturday while fishing Lake of the Woods near Springsteel north of Warroad, Minn.
Billy King's whitefish, which he brought to Thompson Taxidermy for mounting, weighed 13.57 pounds on a certified scale at Doug's Supermarket in Warroad and measured 29 { inches long, according to Sara Thompson of SJT Marketing in Warroad, who shared a short write-up and photo of King with the big whitefish.
The ice fishing trip was King's first, Thompson writes.
The Department of Natural Resources in Baudette, Minn., confirmed the catch as a lake whitefish Monday morning, said Phil Talmage, area fisheries supervisor for the DNR in Baudette. Next up, King needs to complete an application and have it reviewed by staff from the DNR's state record fish program before the catch becomes an official new state record, Talmage said.
Besides being weighed on a certified scale, fish need to be witnessed by at least two people and verified as the correct species by two DNR fisheries biologists. Entry forms also must be signed by a notary public.
The existing state record lake whitefish, caught on Leech Lake near Walker, Minn., on March 21, 1999, weighed 12 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 28 { inches, DNR records show.
King was fishing an area near Springsteel known as "the Sandbar" on Saturday while fishing with Lyle Erickson, Thompson said.
King, who was en route home to Oklahoma on Monday morning, wasn't immediately available for comment, but no doubt the ice fishing trip is one he won't forget anytime soon.
