American Chris VanEvera has pulled a massive char out of Michigan’s famous Lake Superior – while also winning a local fishing tournament. The 45-year-old angler was out with five friends on the lake near the town of L’Anse in mid-June and had been fishing there since dawn. His hope: a quick bite in the clear water of the lake.
Winning fish bites early
An hour after sunrise it was time and the big char bit. The veteran angler expected an early bite, telling Outdoor Life magazine: “We were up well before dawn and fished early because Lake Superior is so clear and I was expecting an early bite from trout and salmon.” The big char pounced on a trolled spoon that was on the side of the boat early in the morning.
The fish bit very carefully and I thought maybe we got caught somewhere,” says VanEvera. “It took a few minutes to get the Planer Board into our boat and when I did that and felt the fish directly I knew it was a good fish.”
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The salmonid weighed an impressive 38 pounds (17 kilograms). The size and shape of the abdomen in particular catch the eye and are rarely seen in this form. Despite the great catch, VanEvera is still worlds away from the current record on Lake Superior in Michigan. The record fish was caught in 1997 and weighed a staggering 27 kilograms (61.5 pounds). What is still unclear about Chris VanEvera’s current catch is the age of the fish. Biologists assume that the fish in Lake Superior – especially char and trout – age very slowly. The proud angler brought the fish to a taxidermist, who surprised VanEvera by estimating the age: “They think the fish is the same age as me,” says the 45-year-old father.
Those: Outdoor Life