Cody Woodward, of Orford, New Hampshire, caught this 35-inch, 18-pound trout while fishing and spending some quality time with his grandfather on New Hampshire’s Stinson Lake. Isn’t that what fishing is really all about?Dave Hebert, of Douglasville, Georgia, caught this lunker lake trout (31 inches) at the river inlet to lac Dusterlo, in Quebec, Canada, this past June.A 23-inch, 7.5-pound Largemouth, taken in a watery strip pit coal mine in Indiana, was the largest bass that James Blanford had ever caught, and it’s certainly good enough to get a nod from us here. Nice fish, James.Jessica Horning of Indian River, Michigan, also landed a nice bass–5.5 pounds and 21 inches.While fishing with his buddy, Gregory Schmitt, on the Ashokan Reservoir (which, incidentally, is part of the New York City water shed system that gives the Outdoor Life office its drinking water), Keith McCulloch (pictured) landed this 6-pound, 25-inch beauty. All of the Outdoor Life editors will now raise a glass (of office drinking water) to Keith’s fine fish.Martin Hawker (pictured) and his buddy, Richard Sherman, caught this 28-inch, 8-pound brown trout one evening on a pond in Acton, Maine.Melvin Stewart was featured in last year’s Fish of the Year program, and he’s back with more great fish this year. Here, Melvin shows that he’s been keeping busy reeling in more nice bass since we last heard from him.It doesn’t get much better than fishing for walleye in Ontario, Canada, but Russ Spletzer proved that the trout fishing aint bad either. Russ was fishing for walleye on Red Lake with his boys, Paul and Matt, when he hooked this 39-inch, 20-pound laker.Ryan Nickel of Suamico, Wisconsin, struggles to hold up his 27-inch lunker walleye. Ryan was fishing with his dad on Green Bay, and when he finally reeled in the fish, Ryan turned to his father and said, “Dad, is this one big enough to put on the wall like the ones you have?” Sure looks big enough to us!This photo was sent to us from Shannon Jeanne–a monster largemouth (9 pounds, 25 inches) that bit on a rubber worm flipped into some weeds. Where the fish was actually caught wasn’t specified, but the submitter made a point of telling us that the fish was released back into the water after being caught.Stephanie Sheusi landed this 5-pound, 13-inch walleye on Lake Erie. She used worms as bait.Timmie McEachern sent us a number of photos from Caney Lake, Louisiana. This 9.5-pound largemouth was a personal best for Timmie, who has fished the region for nearly half a century.Brian Slater sent us this photo of his 20-inch, 5-pound bass, which he caught on Father’s Day on Lake Jacksonville in Illinois.We haven’t seen many yellow perch entries for Fish of the Year in the past, but Edward Amey’s submission proves that there are nice perch out there waiting to be caught. Edward caught this particular perch while fishing with his wife (on their anniversary!) on Snipe Lake, in Alberta, Canada. 13-inches. Not bad for a perch. (Edward’s wife also landed an 11-incher).Perry Meltzer shows off his nice (over 6 pounds) largemouth, which was caught in May in Sullivan County, New York.Ron Klucas’ walleye weighed nearly 16 pounds. He caught it on Lake Francis, in South Dakota.Skyler Dickneite (pictured here with an admiring onlooker) shows off his 9-pound, 13-ounce bass, which was caught on a pond in Freeburg, Missouri.This rainbow trout, caught with a Rooster Tail by 14-year-old Hunter Lieb in Mingo Creek, Pennsylvania, measured 23-inches long. It was taken on the opening day of Pennsylvania’s season.Al Asche holds up his dual walleyes–24-inches and 25-inches, respectively–from Clear Lake, Iowa.This 30-inch bowfin, a species that can pack quite a bite, was caught by Josh Wolfe.Chris Rowan, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, caught this striped bass in the Hudson River. It weighed 25 pounds and measured 38 inches in length.Jason Gostiaux is first mate for Captain Paul Pacholski and Deac’s Retreat Charter Service, but when he’s not tending to the boat, he’s quite the fishermen. Here, Jason shows off his 30-inch walleye, caught in Michigan. “I needed a mohawk to make the fishing better,” he joked.Mark Nelson sent us a photo of his 45-inch striped bass. He was kayak fishing off the Massachusetts coast.Another photo of Russ Spletzer’s nice lake trout.…and another photo of Timmie McEacher’s largemouth.Gerald E. Beckens, of Sodus, New York, caught this 30-inch, 10-pound walleye on Lake Erie in May.Larry Talley, from Rapid City, South Dakota, shows off his 9.7-pound lake trout, which measured 30 inches and was caught on an ice fishing trip last January.Myron Bright (left) shows off his 10-pound walleye, which was caught on Lake Melissa in Minnesota.11-year-old TJ Gaasbeck, from Crystal Falls, Michigan, proudly holds his 10-pound walleye. TJ caught the fish while ice fishing with minnows.There’s only one week left to submit your Fish of the Year photo! Send your photos as an e-mail attachment to OLLetters@bonniercorp.com. Be sure to include your full name, the location of the catch, and the fish’s length and weight in the submission. Hurry! The deadline is September 15.
