Fishing Personal Bests

My PB northern pike I caught when I was 16 in Duck Creek near Green Bay.  It was 36 inches long.  I took it home and ate it with my family!  She was full of eggs and I felt bad I killed it once I cleaned it.

These two photos were in the same day.  Walleye fishing in lower Green Bay with a guide, my dad and I caught our PB muskies.  Mine was 36 inches long, my dads was 45! This was my first and only musky I've ever caught in my life, back in September of 2023.  I don't fish musky often, and certainly weren't fishing for them this day but they were around and hit the walleye size crank baits as a snack!

Mine aren’t all that Impressive either.    27.75” walleye out of EAGLE lake ,Racine Cty before they poisened it out in 1988.    2#4 oz perch DEVILS LAKE ND 1983. 43.5“ pike rough measurment  ,released Tichigan, Conservancy Bay. 2 others over 40” same deal.  1989,1990, 1994.     LMB 22.5“ Tichigan 1999.     SMB 20.5” Tichigan 2023 ( a real tank).  Bluegill 11”+ Norton’s bay Big Green L , MAY 1971.    Musky 34”😭 Chip Flowage.    16 3/4”black crappie Tichigan L, released 1990.    17.1” white crappie Tichigan 1989.released.   16+# channel cat, Tichigan 1990, Conservatory Bay.   It took me 2 hrs to gather this info lol.    As a side note on the pike in Conservancy Bay.    It used to be fantastic during hot weather periods when they packed in to a couple of small areas where a trout stream emptied into the bay and cooled off the water.       You can’t get back there now because it’s solid weeds.

Trolling for walleye in Canada last year I hooked into a mid 40's northern that I got up to the boat several times.  We didn't have a net big enough in the boat and I messed up landing it by hand twice.  Lure finally popped out of the corner of his mouth and I watched him slowly sink into the abyss.  It was absolutely massive.  Had to be well over 20 lbs.  That one will haunt me for a long time.  All of my actual landed PB's aren't terribly impressive.

Walleye = 28" on the wolf river and 26" on a small inland lake.
Northern = 39.5" 15 lbs Red Lake, Ontario.
Bluegill = 9.75"+ (still chasing a 10")
LMB = 22" and 21" out of the same lake.
SMB = 20.5" out of the Eau Claire river in the late 90's.
Crappie = 15" on a tiny inland lake that froze out a couple years later.  

Most memorable tiger musky ever, my 47 caught on the bay of Green Bay which is an absolute unicorn for that body of water!

Don't know the exact size on this king salmon, but estimate was about 20 pounds and is my PB King Salmon.  Took nearly a half hour to get him into the boat.  He went left, then right, then left again and of course it hit the rod with the most amount of line out!

A few of my favorite fish to catch and my PB's.  A 25 and a half inch walleye which hit a jig and crawler in July of 2005.  Second, a  20 3/4 inch largemouth bass which I caught on a golden shiner thru the ice in 2007.  Lastly, a 10 3/4 inch bluegill, which hit a red worm on a pink jighead in July of 2013.  

33lb brown trout and and a 28lb king salmon are my personal best on lake Michigan! 

A Silver salmon(coho)..11lb 13oz...on a blue floating Rapala flat line   north end Kenosha break water April 1969

I guess as I've gotten older, I care less about what I catch.  I care more about what my wife and friends catch.
And my wife had herself an evening in Vilas County a few years ago.
We were walleye fishing a very popular lake on a very popular spot.  I counted 34 boats around us.  We saw 3 fish get caught from the boats around us.
In 2 hours, she caught 27 fish.  She let me catch 8.  She was on the spot on the spot on the spot.  And she was giggling the whole time.

At one point, an old guy in a Ranger Reata came within 6 feet of our boat.  I saw it, told her to turn around and she said if he took a leak, she could shake it for him.  That's when we got a dirty look and he left the area.  Another boat was about 2 casts away, being respectful, not catching anything.  As we are packing up to leave, he asks if he can have our spot.  She says, "Sure".  He thanks us and she shows him her bait, and where to cast.  As she said it, "I'm casting into the setting sun!".  As we pulled away, he caught us a fish and gave us a huge smile and waved his arms at us.

We were just on a tip of a drop off.  She was casting out deep and working her jig slowly up the drop off.  Can't imagine the number of fish that were stacked up there, but it was a trip I'll never forget.  Not for size, but for volume.  And almost all were for her.

And I'll always love that lake and that spot.  Not only for that trip, but because it was the last spot I got to fish with my father.  He got me 6-2 in a short trip and he caught a walleye on the last cast he ever made.

All-time best day fishing for Northerns.  Day before Father's Day 2006 fishing for Northerns on Big Muskego with my Brother-In-Law.  In the course of 3 hours, between the 2 of us, we caught and released over 100 northerns.  Yes, you read that correct.  We were anchored by one of the deep holes, big storm moving in.  It was absolute insanity.

I went 4 consecutive casts boating a 30"+ fish.  I kept going bigger with spinners and my BIL was going smaller.  Had an absolute riot.  Couple instances of one of us saying, "Get the net.." and the other saying, "...hold on, I gotta land one..."  I kept one 33" that inhaled a MEPPS #5 into the gill plates and was bleeding like a stuck pig.

50 pound Bay musky.  A 53 inch inland lake musky.
30 1/8 inch Vilas Walleye.
Too many 30 inch walleyes in the Bay to count, largest as 31.5.
24 inch smallie, Bay.
But the best?  A 28 inch walleye and a 30 inch walleye on the same trolling bait at the same time.  

Not a musky fisherman but did land a 40 1/2” 20 lb 2 oz musky while bluegill fishing. Also landed a 36 3/4” musky walleye fishing. A couple 28 1/2” walleye on the Winnebago/Wolf River system. 22” smallie from Kentuck Lake. 14 3/4” perch from Green Bay some 30 years ago. Some perch and bluegill catches that made great fish fries. I have a 13 year old grandson, a 24 year old nephew and a wife who all enjoy fishing. Anytime I can put them on fish is a good day. Age has slowed me down so now time on the water is precious especially with those I mentioned. Fair weather and shorter trips now rather than tolerate the elements and make a full day of it. 

Musky- 50 1/8"
Northern Pike- 41 1/4"
Walleye- 31 1/4"
Small Mouth- 22 1/4"
Large Mouth- 20 1/2"
Crappie- 15 1/2"
Bluegill- 10"
Chinook Salmon- 44 1/2"/36# x 2
Great Lakes Brown- 16# (can't remember how long)
Great Lakes steelhead- 19# (can't remember how long)
Inland brown- 23"
Inland rainbow- 19.5"

Nephew and I had a day on the Bay and had 9 walleye over 28"
Buddy and I had a day on the Fox with 76 walleye, average size was 25"
Caught two smallmouths on one bait twice.
Had an hour muskie fishing (verified by timestamp on camera) where I caught 5 muskies in exactly one hour. (46", 44 1/2", 41", 38", 32" and also lost one, which I think I landed a half hour later.

Two walleyes one was from the Mississippi River the other was from Wisconsin River by Petenwell damn

Both still swimming 😵‍💫

I'm not the best fisherman in the world, but I'm old so I've got plenty of stories.   
Biggest freshwater fish; 25# King Salmon, Lake Michigan
Biggest saltwater fish; 30# Pacific grouper, Southern California
Eleven Canadian fishing trips; best two were North Spirit Lake Lodge and Lac Seul
Some of the most enjoyable were smelt fishing and perch fishing in Lake Michigan, back in the day.
Strangest; fishing in the Phu Cat River in Vietnam using concussion grenades. (Best chow I had in the Nam)

I still get out there with friends and family, so probably a few more stories on the way.

Tight lines