Trout Fishing for a Record Walleye

(Editor's note: This article is dated but contains interesting material and so we decided to run it. The current record walleye was caught in 1991 by Jeffery Tanner Provo River on the Provo River. It went 15 lb 9 oz, was 31 3/4" long and had a girt of 20 3/4" .)

Deer Creek Reservoir — When ten year old Jon Ackerman and his friend Kenny Adams went trout fishing with Jon's dad, Kent, they were more worried about the wind and the rain than about catching big fish. The water was rough. The wind had stirred up the reservoir and there were only three or four other boats crazy enough to be out in that kind of weather. Fishing conditions were anything but ideal.

Jon had just received a new rod and reel and was anxious to try it out. He wasn't about to let a little rough water keep him from fishing. But, things didn't look good. After trolling for about 30 minutes they hadn't had had a single strike. Fishing was pretty poor.

Then it happened!

Jon was trolling a frog pattern flat fish in 30 to 40 feet of water (down about four colors) when a fish hit. It hit hard and went deep. Jon knew it was a big one because he couldn't get it to come up. It was a lot like doing battle with a submarine.

As everyone in the boat cheered him on, Jon began to slowly work the big fish to the surface. At last the battle was won. The tired fish broke the surface near the boat.

Immediately two things flashed into Jon's mind — How would he ever get it into the boat (it was a whole lot bigger than the net they had brought) — and what kind of fish was it? Jon had never seen a fish that looked like that before.

With dad's help, and using the small net the best they could, the fish was pulled into the boat. It was a monster! The toothy fish weighed in at 13 pounds 6 ounces, had an 18 inch girth and was 32 inches long.

The problem was, they still were not sure what kind of fish it was. After all, they had been out trout fishing and this was no trout! The ranger at the state park wasn't sure what it was either but he said he thought it was a walleye — a big walleye. He suggested they call Park's Sportsman in Orem to see what the record for walleye was. One of the employees at Park's looked up the record and told them it was 13 pounds 1 ounce. The fish Jon caught was 5 ounces over the old record!

Of course it was time to celebrate! They called their family to let them know why they were late and to tell them about the new record. When they finally got home the girls had baked a cake with "BIG FISH" written on it.

So, what are Jon's plans now? He's out to catch an even bigger fish and set another record.