From today's Great Falls Tribune.
Whatta fish. I spent many a Sunday afternoon on the Bootlegger area of the lake when I was a high school/college age kid.
A Missoula angler caught a walleye Sunday out of Tiber Reservoir that apparently breaks the state record.
On Saturday, Bob Hart of Missoula caught his first walleye of the weekend — a 14-incher. On Sunday, he caught his second walleye of the trip, a 17.75-pound 35-inch walleye with a girth of 22 inches.
Hart caught the record walleye at 7:15 a.m. while fishing a minnow from the north shore of Tiber Reservoir southeast of Shelby.
The fish has been weighed on an official scale and measured but not yet seen by a state Fish, Wildlife & Parks fish biologist.
The previous state record — 16.63 pounds and 31.5 inches long — was caught in January 2000 in Fort Peck Reservoir.
"You just don't hear of very many big walleye coming out of Tiber, especially to be caught from shore. That is what was interesting about this one. He caught it from the shore by just fishing a minnow," said FWP biologist Dave Yerk.
"We were just sitting on shore fishing with a minnow and a weight to keep it on the bottom," Hart said. He said he had the five-inch minnow at about 20 to 30 feet when the walleye struck.
It took about 15 minutes to land the fish, said Hart, who had 6- or 8-pound test line on his reel.
"I said 'Ohmigod,' and called my friend to get the net," said 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 said.
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.
Yerk 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 said, "I'm sure it's a new record."
Great Falls walleye angler Bob Bahr said the news was fantastic.
"That is good to hear. I fish quite a bit at Tiber, and this past summer was one of the best it's been in a long time. The fish were a little fatter than what they have been in the past. But I think the biggest we caught was 17 inches long."
"Generally, what we see being caught is 10- to 18-inch walleye," said Yerk. "But since the cisco (a forage fish) have taken off, we have handled bigger fish. Two years ago, we netted a fish that was 14 pounds and 30 inches and it was in incredible condition. Certainly some of the larger walleye are capitalizing on the cisco."
Bahr, a boardmember of the Great Falls Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited, said a very nice walleye was taken out of the Millers Bottom area last winter.
Bahr said he doubted that the news would increase fishing pressure at the reservoir.
"A few more people will fish it but I don't think it will impact it a great amount," Bahr said.
Hart, a life-long fisherman, says he has caught bigger saltwater fish — a 180-pound 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.
