Thread on record walleye??

[DTro]

Most all the big walleyes around 10lbs are going to have a 17-19” girth. It takes a very special walleye to break the 20” mark. If you go back in the archives in the Red River forum and look at some of the huge late winter prespawn toads( in the low to mid teens in weight) they catch up on Lake Winnipeg they aren’t much more over 20, sometimes 21, and I’ve see a few @ 22” but that’s about it. I think I do remember a fish that Ed Carlson posted a couple of years ago that might have had a massive girth (maybe 24), but do a little research on Google for anywhere in the US and it’s very very difficult to find documentation of a walleye with a girth bigger than 23” let alone 24.5

Again fish calculators are not an exact science but I’m fully convinced that when measured accurately it will get you +/- 2lbs on a fish under 30lbs. Averaging a few calculators commonly used, this fish would have weighed about 22lbs +/-2lbs.

So all these 30” 10 lbers you see posted in this thread…..

Double em

[Shack]

I certainly have no stake in this situation and honestly it does not matter to me one way or another, but have wanted to test an image based on averages and pixel length for a while. They do use this as a form of image "gauging" in photo forensics and could even be used in a court of law. Stressing the word "could" along with the word "be", with including that the following would not be admissible in a court of law...

I used the fisherman's ring, which is a control item that is right at the depth of the fish in question and appears as it was a manufactured piece which allows it to be judged verses human body parts which can be hard to judge based on them being unique.

Being generous and figuring this person may have a ring finger above the law of averages, I gave him an overall ring width of 1" which is 25.4 mm. A basic ring chart can show where the averages are when it comes to ring sizes:

So, using estimates such as distance from the camera, then using the amount of pixels this persons ring spanned across, yada, yada, yada, I was able to form a (+/-) idea of what an inch would constitute using this image and for this fish and this persons ring on his finger and came up with the following:

Note: The stroke was produced on the inside of the inch reference box to make counting each of the boxes easier. A border so to speak, which was added on the inside of box and not added to the outside.

Count them up and come up with your own "missing" inches due to the fish's head and tail being cropped out or missed. Add up the red rectangles and this is a pretty good idea of a real time measurement. The formula used is un-tested as I have not used it against a documented and measured fish image, but I still feel it is within the ball park of reality.

The way this image was taken I would compare to the way many Bigfoot images seem to be taken, with clarity being its only attribute. In this case, the person in the image having big hands down plays the fishes size. If we could get his actual ring size and a few dimensions, it would help us get a more accurate size verses ruling on him having large knuckles. Although he would have to have almost a smaller than normal ring size to make a huge impact.

My guess would be around a 31" fish, but only considered using what was left in the image, so who knows? This was just for fun anyways.

[Stick in Mud]

Well that's all science-y and stuff, Shack...maybe you should start a "Forensic Files: Walleye Edition." I know I'd watch!

[Nick Kuhn]

Keep in mind there are high school cheerleaders out there that aren't 24" in girth...

[IcePro]

Keep in mind there are high school cheerleaders out there that aren't 24" in girth...

That's why are school mascot was a pirate....all the girls had sunken chest

[reinhard1]

. good luck.

[SFC]

argh

[Gordie]

There must be some type of square root divided by the overall circumference of the hypothesis of the third power X 2-11=?

Hopefully the record will be broke before this can be figured out.

[IcePro]

Gordie....

I think you broke the world record for a cat....

with the fisherman's hat matching the gas tank of the boat

[Shack]

Eh- Now that would be a cool show. Debunking the fish and game internet urban legends.

Gordie I left the complicated aspects out while adding in those nice shiny red rectangles with white borders just for you to help ease the pain.

Seriously though, Dtro's dedication on L+G and running the King of the Cats (KOTC-See Catfish forum) is a major reason I even have these ideas and thoughts on measuring fish images in question.

[Hoffer]

I think its cool you put the time and energy and examination into this.

I was just hoping your end result was going to be something like 36 inches or something like that

I think its a 31 inch fish. Not much more.

[CaptainMusky]

Not specifically talking about this story, but I think its hilarious how "fish tales" come back around with different twists.

REmember the state record pike that was caught on Rainy Lake? The guy pictured in the boat with the huge fish laying across his lap? Later there was a photo of a state record from boundary waters. It was a pic of a fish on a line then a giant pike came and tboned it.

Well, later, these two stories joined together to form ONE story about it being caught somewhere else.

In actuality the fish pictured with the guy was caught in Europe, hilarious. And the two stories were completely separate events.

Recently you had the 21" crappie debacle. It started out in Illinios. I just heard the other day it was rumored to be caught on Mille Lacs, with the same pic! LMAO

These stories sure grow legs...

[mrklean]

a lot of those are emails that go around and the story changes every time, this time someone is actually claiming and trying to defend themselves catching a state record but yes to many fish tails out there

[BigTen]

Just for fun, any guesses on the girth of this fish?

a few data points to help you out........I am 6'5 and 275lb with 2 or 3 sweatshirts on (fishing outside). The fish was just a touch over 31.5" long.....fish is being held normally, no long arming.

Second picture is of the fish laying by a 10" hole prior to releasing it.

If you click on the pics to enlarge them, they are a little clearer, as they are higher resolution pics.

For what its worth, the fish Ed Carlson posted a few years back was a monster, but the girth of 24 inches was nothing more than a guess. They did not measure it. I think its possible that virtually nobody has seen a walleye with a legit 24" girth, but that's just my opinion.

[CANOPY SAM]

I've really spent a lot of time thinking thru this guy's decision to push this fish as a new state record, and line class record, and I'm still having a difficult time getting my mind around it all.

I mean honestly, if you're a fishing guide and you compromise your own integrity to this extent, wouldn't that be somewhat of a death sentence to your business?

Why would someone do this? Rather than increasing business, or drawing positive attention to your skills as a guide, making up a story, and being publicly ostracized, would only serve to discredit you both personally and professionally.

I just can't figure it? As many have previously said, it's laughable. Unless he's telling the truth...

Has anyone, anywhere, heard anything else about this fish, or this "alleged" fishing guide?

[CANOPY SAM]

Post of big greenback came up while I was typing my last post.

That is an absolute SOW! Goes to show that earlier post about really big fish look beat up, and unattractive doesn't always hold true. That walleye is gorgeous!

6'5" and 275 lbs.! I'm not even going to ask what the "Big Ten" references! I'd wager you could eat that thing whole!

I'm learning a lot about the average girth of big walleyes. After the last few educational posts I'd guess 21-22 inches?

[PierBridge]

I mean seriously when is the last time anybody has even claimed to have caught a 14 pounder. 13 to 14 seam to be the max number.

Call me skeptical but I don't believe there is even a 16 swimming anywhere in Minnesota.

This guy ought be ashamed of himself to be honest and I hope he's reading every single post on the web!!

[PierBridge]

Quote:

I mean honestly, if you're a fishing guide and you compromise your own integrity to this extent, wouldn't that be somewhat of a death sentence to your business?

He's not compromising anything, as far as I'm concerned he's going to increase his business. I can't imagine one person would say I'm not going to hire him because he fudged a bit, or a lot on the size of the fish.

A large percentage will believe this kind of stuff and bite on it.

I do believe he may have under-estimated the social media angle on this though!

[DTro]

Thanks BigTen for giving some perspective and adding a little knowledge it’s evident you’ve been around some big walleyes

We share the same feelings about the 24” girth and like I said a little research brings up very few if any documented girths of that size and the girth is what really made me throw the flag on this one, only because I’ve personally measured dozens of Flatheads with a 24” girth and bigger so I have a small understanding what a circumference of 24” should look like on a fish. I’ve also witnessed a few ultra fat MN river walleyes that weighed in the low teens and completely surprised when we only get a girth of 18 or 19”

Having said that, I’m guessing 19-20” on the girth of that fish and I bet it went low to mid teens in weight. A beauty for sure!

[CaptainMusky]

i have it figured out how they achieved 24" girth. They measured with the dorsal fin fully extended. Easy mistake. LOL

[IcePro]

i have it figured out how they achieved 24" girth. They measured with the dorsal fin fully extended. Easy mistake. LOL

Using metal tape, does not quit work when measuring circumferences. Than they added the 3" for inside measurments.

What ruler again measures in .1 that you can use for measuring the girth.

[Deitz Dittrich]

what would make this story even better would be if someone could sleuth out the exact location from the pict.. only to find out it was caught on the Canada side of the river..

[DREZLER]

Big Ten that thing is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NICjockey]

The piano hinge on the well below is 24". I was alone, she got stuck in the net and I did not want to keep 'er out of the water any longer. THAT is a good excuse for not laying it on a tape. And it would never occur to me to claim is was a record fish, even if the hinge were 35" long.

[Hoffer]

Big 10

Very nice fish!

With that said, my guess is 31.5 inches (as you stated) and around a 20 inch girth. Weight around 13.5 - maybe 14 pounds.