Missoula is known for a few things in the fishing world.Arguably, we have some of the best fly fishing in the state with the rivers and creeks that run through and surround the Garden City.
Lake anglers who live in Missoula certainly don't have to go far to catch their fair share of lake trout, perch, northern pike, trout and bass.
Bob Hart of Missoula recently caught the new state record walleye. Hart, 46, was fishing with his buddy Gordon Smedsrud of Shelby. They were fishing from shore on Tiber Reservoir, 80 miles north of Great Falls, when the large fish took his minnow at around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18.
It was just the second walleye that Hart has caught in his life. The first one was 14 inches in length he caught the day before.
Sunday's monster of a walleye tipped the scales at 17.75 pounds. The weight of this fish shattered the old fish record of 16.63 pounds, which was caught ice fishing on Fort Peck Reservoir in January 2000 by Dan Spence of Belgrade.
That's not bad for a guy who hadn't caught a walleyes before Nov. 17.
The fish was 35 inches in length with a 22-inch girth according to the press release from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. It was weighed on a certified scale at Taylor's Hardware Store in Shelby, which was open Sunday morning, and Hart obtained five affidavits from five witnesses, two of the requirements to be honored as a new state record.
For anglers, news of a state record fish being caught is always a surprise but where it was this walleye was caught might be even more surprising to hard-core walleye anglers.
Many anglers have commented to me that the next state record would come from Canyon Ferry Reservoir near Helena. That lake is known for large walleyes that are caught and released during the two-day Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival, which is held every June.
More than once, the winning team caught 10 walleyes that weighed over 70 pounds in that tourney. Compare those numbers to the weight that normally goes to the winner of the Tiber Tourney, around 30 pounds for 10 walleyes, and it stands to reason that Canyon Ferry or even Fort Peck Reservoir would have produced the next state record. But that wasn't so.
Congratulations to Bob Hart, who is a sales director for Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
As for what Hart will do with the fish, which is now in the hands of a taxidermist?
” I think I will hang it in my office,” said Hart. You can take a look at Hart and the large walleye on www.montanaoutdoor.com.
Mark Ward's statewide Montana Outdoor Radio Show airs Saturdays from 6 to 8 a.m. in Missoula on KGVO 1290 AM. E-mail Ward at captain@montanaoutdoor.com.
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