Posted on 05/22/2021 4:17:22 AM PDT by mylife
A Bellwood man says he’s feeling blessed after landing the catch of a lifetime at a Cambria County lake Saturday.
Randy Thompson says he and his family own a camp near Lake Glendale, in Cambria County, and decided to go fishing for the day.
Thompson says he and his family go fishing there all the time and the day started off like any other day.
He was using a Zebco fishing rod he had picked up from Walmart for $20, with some shiners for bait.
“My daughter caught a couple smaller bass earlier in the morning and then 11 o’clock it just...boom,” Thompson said.
Thompson said he hooked a "monster" – a musky weighing dozens of pounds.
He said he struggled to get the fish to shore but luckily some nearby fisherman came over and helped him land it.
“If they didn’t bring their nets from their boats, we would have never have got it,” he said. “Thank God those guys came over and helped me.”
Thompson said he didn’t get the exact measurements of the fish before he released it back into the lake.
“I worked construction all my adult life and I know what 60 pounds feels like,” he said. “That fish was 60 pounds plus.”
He added that they were able to measure the fish and it was about 52 inches long with a girth of about 30 inches in diameter.
“Some of the older guys who were watching us catch this fish, they fished that lake all their lives for the last 50, 60 years and they never hooked onto something like that,” Thompson said. “It was definitely the fish of a lifetime.”
Typical piss poor reporting. Journalist sucks. (Sorry woke up full of piss and vinegar this morning). Where did he catch this fish (other than a lake in Cambria County)? And how much did the fish weigh? I find it difficult to believe that a guy catches a fish this big and only goes on a guess of it's weight. The Commonwealth record for a Muskie was set in 1924. It was 54 lbs. 3 oz.
they did not weigh
I am pretty sure that “dozens of pounds” is a official unit of measure for fishing up North.
Prince Gallitzin State Park? I’ve walked trails there many times.
There are charts that convert length and girth to weight. The idea is to get the fish back in the water as fast as possible and not fiddle around trying to weigh it. Actually the fish is being held incorrectly. It should be held horizontal for taking pictures.
Where did he catch it? In the mouth of course.
Sorry, that was the standard line of an old fishing buddy of mine when someone was trying to get him to say where he caught something.
But not used for state records.
ders some big azz fish up here
This appears to be Pennsylvannia. Cambria County is a little east of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh).
I am not a fisherman, so I have now learned (from wikipedia): Anglers seek large muskies as trophies or for sport. In places where muskie are not native, such as in Maine, anglers are encouraged not to release the fish back into the water because of their alleged negative impact on the populations of trout and other smaller fish species.
I wondered if you could eat this one. Apparently not.
One of the items not included in my tackle box is a scale simply because I have no intentions of catching a fish that needs to be weighed.....
I don't have one either, particularly because I mostly catch and release. That's mostly. There are two exceptions: 1.) When I do intend to eat a fish, and 2.) if the fish is what I think is close to a record or worthy of a citation. The latter still does not require a scale, because an official weigh station is usually required.
And here in Alaska, the Indians think it’s immoral and sacriligious to release any fish. Don’t want to be playing with their souls.
Been awhile since I eyeballed a fish weight, I’d say that one would be about 40 lbs */- 5. There, close enough 👍😁
WV record (length) was caught and released a few weeks ago at Burnsville Lake. Had it been caught before the spawn it would have been a record weight also.
https://wvexplorer.com/2021/05/14/west-virginia-record-musky-burnsville-lake/
Seems like the muskie stocking programs in Appalachia are paying off.
I’m down with that assessment. Cruel, to boot..
Actually, your estimate is rather accurate. I never caught a Muskie that big. However, I have caught a fish of similar shape (torpedo) and size. It was a 42 lb wahoo. That was some excellent eating.
Point noted.
Eh, sister-in-law caught a 24” channel cat (catfish) near Fremont, Ohio last week. with a rod from Ollie’s. They will be eating it.
“Actually the fish is being held incorrectly. It should be held horizontal for taking pictures.”
Why, does vertical make its butt look big? j/k
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