DNR NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Newest state record fish hooked in Root River
A Minneapolis resident has joined an exclusive club of anglers who’ve caught state record fish.
Chad Wentzel landed a record 4-pound golden redhorse on May 8 from a bank of the Root River in Fillmore County, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has confirmed.
Wentzel was fishing using 6-pound test line. He pitched his worm presentation, leaving the bait on the river bottom until he hooked into the record breaker, which bested the previous record by one ounce.
The golden redhorse is the latest in a string of record-breaking fish caught in the past few years. Six Minnesota state fishing records have fallen since December 2011 with anglers hooking bowfin, river carpsucker, burbot, shovelnose sturgeon, warmouth and golden redhorse.
“Records are broken more frequently than many imagine,” said Mike Kurre, who coordinates the DNR’s state record fish program. “Though still a rare occurrence, catching a state record fish is always in the realm of possibility.”
RECENT RECORD BREAKERS
Prior to Wentzel’s record, here are the most recent chart-topping fish:
Ben Ranzenberger of Winona bested the past record warmouth while ice fishing on Dec. 23, 2011, in Bartlet Lake on Pool 6 near Winona. Ranzenberger caught numerous warmouth over the record with the largest weighing 9 ounces. The previous record caught in 2010 and weighed slightly more than 6 ounces. He was fishing with wax worms and a tiny jig.
Fred Draeger of Wabasha smashed the current bowfin record of 11 pounds 4 ounces by a whopping 1 pound, 5 ounces on Sept. 14, 2012, when he caught 12 pounds, 9 ounces worth of fighting flesh. Fred enticed the new state record with a gob of nightcrawlers and landed this very interesting looking fish in the back waters of the Mississippi on 8-pound test.
Nicholas Nutter of Chaska landed a river carpsucker on Nov. 19, 2012, that weighed an impressive 4 pounds, 6 ounces and had a girth of 21 5/8 inches. His record was caught on the Minnesota River with a jig and ringworm combination and bested the previous mark by 7 ounces.
Aaron Guthrie of Bemidji caught a burbot weighing in at 19 pounds, 8 ounces on Feb. 24, 2012, on Lake of the Woods, beating the previous record of 19 pounds, 3 ounces. Guthrie was using a fathead minnow on a tip-up. Guthrie was targeting burbot – also called eelpout – for its flavorful white meat.
Sarah Gartner of St. Paul hooked into a shovelnose sturgeon that tipped the scales at 6 pounds, 7 ounces just south of the Red Wing dam Feb. 19, 2012, on the Mississippi River. Gartner was using a multi-colored jig and a minnow to score this new state record. The previous record was 5 pounds, 9 ounces.
STATE RECORD GUIDELINES
An angler who catches a potential state record fish should strictly adhere to these guidelines:
Obtain and completely fill out a current application for a Minnesota state record fish. Find them on the DNR website or local DNR fisheries office. The submitted application must be signed, completed, legible (print or type) and witnessed and signed by a notary public.
The potential record fish must be weighed on a certified commercial scale legal for trade which carries a sticker affixed by the Minnesota Department of Public Service, Weights and Measures Division, showing that the scale’s inspection and approval falls within Minnesota Statutes for Weights and Measures. Weighing must take place in the presence of two witnesses other than the applicant, or witnessed by a DNR Fisheries or DNR Division of Enforcement person in lieu of the two witnesses, who must sign the application attesting that the official weight was witnessed.
At least one good photograph of the fish (taken broadside for further identification) must be submitted with the application. Length and girth measurements of the fish must be taken and recorded on the application, with length measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the end of a pinched tail and girth measured around the thickest portion of the body.
A DNR Fisheries staff person must identify the species of fish and attest to the correct identity by signing the record fish application.
For a listing of state record fish, a submission form and more information, visit ” target=”_blank”>http://www.mndnr.gov/fishing/staterecords.html.
