World Record Walleye Catch & Release

[walleyehunter]

Jay Millar and his fishing buddies always have a competition to see who can catch the biggest fish. The winner gets a homemade trophy, a free fishing trip, and of course bragging rights. All great prizes, but Jay Millar got a much bigger prize, a world record!
While out ice fishing last winter on Lake Temagami, ON, he caught a 34 inch Walleye, but as a conservationist Millar practices CPR (Catch, photograph, release) and put the fish back in the water. This was fortunate as sometime later, the news got around and Millar was told he may have actually achieved a catch and release world record. After filing lots and lots of paper work, Millar is now officially recognized by the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame — having recently secured a World Record Catch and Release Angling Achievement. He did not weigh it as this is said to damage the fish's interior.

[walleyehunter]

Walleye World Record Catch & Release

[walleyehunter]

With a free fishing trip hanging in the balance, Jay Millar was more than a little excited about landing a 34-inch walleye this past winter on Lake Temagami.

But a much bigger prize awaited.

“My buddies and I go ice fishing every year and whoever gets the biggest fish gets his next trip paid for by the others, plus a trophy I made,” explained the 46-year-old Miltonian. “My friend caught a 28 incher and thought it (the contest) was all wrapped up, so I was pretty happy to bring in an even bigger one on the last day. Boy did I party that night.”

Bragging rights would eventually extend well beyond his fishing cronies. During a trip to the Toronto Sportsman’s Show in March, Millar met up with one of his angling idols — Gord Pyzer — and was only too eager to share the news about his most recent catch.

Details would soon spread through cyberspace, leading a fellow fishing enthusiast from Saskatchewan to question if the Miltonian had earned himself a world record.

A few months and a mound of paperwork later, Millar was being officially recognized by the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame — having recently secured a World Record Catch and Release Angling Achievement.

Said the newly-minted world record holder, “I knew it was pretty big right away, but I really had no clue that this could be a world record. It was a pretty lengthy process to get everything verified, but it feels unbelievable. So many people who know how much I fish were saying it’s about time.”

A self-described conservationist when it comes to his favourite pastime, Millar rarely keeps what he catches — taking as much satisfaction in releasing his fish as reeling them in.

“For many of us it’s all about CPR, catch, photograph and release. Actually I don’t even eat fish that much. I fish year-round and probably only keep six to 10 of them, and that’s usually for my mother-in-law,” said the long-time fishing lover, whose other notable catches include 20-something pound salmons and a 100-pound sailfish in Mexico. “It was a female fish and you could see she was full of eggs, so putting her back was even more important to the future of fishing. To me the most rewarding thing about this is that I got a world record and my fish is still swimming around.”

With his scale freezing up at the tail-end of the trip, Millar was unable to weigh his world-record walleye after measuring and photographing her. That turned out to be quite fortunate.

He explained, “I found out later that with live release catches you can’t weigh them because their organs can get scrambled around holding them vertically on the scale. So my best advice is just to have a tape measure with you.”

As tough as guiding a sizable fish through a hole in the ice is, an even bigger challenge lies in keeping it alive for the release.

But that’s something Millar is more than willing to put the effort into.

“It doesn’t take long for them to freeze up, but she was pretty tired after the fight so I had to hold her in the water for a bit to make sure was she moving enough to be released because with ice fishing you can’t see them swim away below the surface,” said the avid angler, whose favourite fishing locales include Georgian Bay and nearby Bronte Creek.

“Once I felt the tail kick enough and knew she was going to be okay it was a pretty great feeling. I’m in this for the sport, not just the catch.”

[wkpaddler]

Awesome catch. Good for him putting her back to spawn again.