Record Walleye Caught 18.30 Lbs.

[Rick]

Provincial walleye record shattered by local priest

Parishioners at St Eugene in Nipawin, Canadian Martyrs at Carrot River, and St. Mary in Choiceland are well aware of Father Mariusz Zajak's "fishing stories". They're about to hear more. And the news comes with legitimate bragging rights.

BY BRIAN MCLANE

Journal Staff

Wednesday January 12, 2005

Still smiling Father Mariusz Zajak proudly displays his 18.30 pound walleye he landed while ice fishing on Tobin Lake, near the Resort Village of Tobin Lake, on Tuesday afternoon Jan. 4, 2005. The Roman Catholic priest now has legitimate bragging rights to the provincial record for walleye.

Nipawin Journal — Provincial walleye record shattered by local priest

BY BRIAN MCLANE

Journal Staff

Parishioners at St Eugene in Nipawin, Canadian Martyrs at Carrot River, and St. Mary in Choiceland are well aware of Father Mariusz Zajak's "fishing stories". They're about to hear more. And the news comes with legitimate bragging rights.

The Roman Catholic priest broke the provincial record for walleye by .24 pounds with a 18.30-pound catch January 4, 2005. The previous Saskatchewan record walleye, at 18.06 pounds, was caught and released on Tobin Lake in 1997.

— Photo by Brian McLane

Father Mariusz landed his trophy while ice fishing alone in his ice shack on Tobin Lake at around 5 p.m., Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 4. But there's still more.

Click Here for the rest of the story

[Matt Johnson]

I saw that today, Woodman emailed it to me. Just incredible!! Thats a heck of a nice fish!! A big congrats to Father Mariusz Zajak!!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[iffwalleyes]

I wounder if there was some divine intervention there. Boy that sure would be something to tie into. Maybe someday.

[Corey Bechtold]

I may have to quit my job and become a minister! I guess the Lord works in mysterious ways!

Corey Bechtold

[Northlander]

Man what a fish but it sure looked ruff in that pic. Must have been being kept in a cooler of water or something. Only in my dreams so far!

[CrappieJohn]

Now that is a dandy. I wonder if the prayers said while hauling that one up were conditional? lol What a prize!

[I Like Worms]

REPOST, REPOST, REPOST!!!!

Also as seen in this thread:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=484574&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

and this one:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=483156&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

and ORIGINALLY POSTED on this one, over one week ago.:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=480363&page=5&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[huckleberry]

Anyone know if it was released? Tragic if it wasn't.

[Big Johnson]

Just Read in the Nipawin, Sask. Journal that the fish is now recognized as an ice-fishing World Record by the Freshwater Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wi. Apparently there is no line weight class for ice-fishing, just method used and kept or released.

[buzbunni]

In my opinion it's not tragic at all. That is a legitimate record, once in a lifetime fish. If he chose to release it...great. I don't think he did, and that is just fine in my book too.

[Chad711]

Quote:

---

In my opinion it's not

tragic

at all. That is a legitimate record, once in a lifetime fish. If he chose to release it...great. I don't think he did, and that is just fine in my book too.

---

I agree with you 100%!

[huckleberry]

Absolutely! I agree that it's a once in a lifetime fish but why not give someone else that possible once in a lifetime opportunity and get a graphite replica made?

[MRWALLEYE2005]

Some places you have to have to kill the fish to have it a state record like in Minnesota. You have to get it certified at a scale then take it to the dnr for verification and tests, and then file the paperwork on it. I know the smallmouth bass record would be broken but a guy took it to a baitshop and weighed it then released it. .

[schweady]

as white as she looks, no doubt it was kept. can't blame the padre, tho. dandy wally.

[echotrail]

I'm pretty sure he will take the fish home and mount it.

[sidecar pan fishin man]

From what I read about it he released it. Troy Pike

[the clam]

yeah i saw that picture and read an article in feild and stream .... thats a monster

[1DIRTBALL]

Quote:

---

In my opinion it's not

tragic

at all. That is a legitimate record, once in a lifetime fish. If he chose to release it...great. I don't think he did, and that is just fine in my book too.

---

Applause, applause! I couldn't have put it any better myself. I'm very tired of self righteous types trying to coerce everybody to believe only as they believe. After all, this is a FREE country.1DIRTBALL

[bigbucks]

I gotta agree with this one as well. That fish probably wouldn't live much longer & may have even been in rough shape by the time he got it in the house. Once fish are those big from what I've heard & read they don't spawn anymore anyway. Granted it's huge, but it's still only one fish. It would be at the taxidermist if I caught it.

[MuleSkinner]

I agree with big bucks. I have no clue how to tell when a fish is on its natural death bed. You can see a paneled door in the background, so it looks like he's either in a heavenly ice house, or well off the lake, so you know the picture was probably not taken fresh. But still, does anyone know how a fish dies of old age? I mean, they have to have cells deteriorate or something. Maybe that's why the tail looks so rough...

[swalleyi]

Ditto to what you last 3 or 4 guys said.

[Skitterpop]

Fishing in the boondocks of Sask. and releasing it would not really increase the odds of anyone of us having a chance to catch that fish. It would have died of old age and nobody would have known. Not to mention he is fishing in a walleye factory of a country that commercially harvests walleyes all the time. Just look at Lake Winnipeg.

[Kylersk]

There's now a story on Startribune's HSOforum about the catch and the fishing 'stories' that have surface because of it.