Northern Pike
Smoothrock Lake, Ontario, Canada
45 inches; 27 pounds “I was fishing for walleyes with a 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a redtail chub. I thought I had snagged on a huge rock because it almost pulled the rod out of my hand; then my drag started running, and I told my son, Nick, ‘I got something big on!'” Vote for your favorite photo in the comments section by Friday, December 30, 2011. The angler with the most votes will receive a tackle box from Plano. Also, a randomly selected voter will win a tackle box.
Largemouth bass
Unnamed creek, northeastern, PA
21 inches; 6 pounds “My dad taught me how to catch chubs in the creek and use them for bait. I have been fishing since I was 2-years-old, and I caught this largemouth on one of those chubs.”
Amberjack
Venice, LA
54 inches; 50 pounds “I was fishing with my parents and a friend near an oil rig. I hooked this fish while vertical-jigging in 400 feet of water. I fought it for 20 minutes–my dad was snapping photos the whole time.”
King salmon
Coihaique River, Chile
55 inches; 45 pounds “I traveled to Coihaique with my dad, Claude. Our guide told us we might encounter a few King salmon. I hooked this one on a 7-weight fly rod. It gave me a quarter-mile run downstream before giving up.”
Rainbow Trout
Private river, Bailey, CO
30 inches; 14 pounds “I caught this big rainbow in early April using a Blue Fox Vibrax lure–specifically one with a gold spinner. I got the fish mounted and it’s now on my wall.”
White sturgeon
Suisan Bay, CA
65 inches; 80 pounds “It was a day I will always remember. I was chartering a boat out of Martinez, fishing around the Mothball fleet. It was a nice sunny day with a slight breeze, and the water had a slight chop to it. I caught it using live grass shrimp for bait.”
Striped bass
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
33 inches; 16 pounds, 1-ounce “I was fishing with my dad, John, and my grandpa in June, the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. I caught this fish with a shad right after first light on a clear, calm day. It was my first striper ever.”
King Salmon
Frankfort Port, Lake Michigan
35 inches; 20lbs “I was trolling with a greasy chicken wing spoon in mid-June. It was a calm evening, which allowed my wife, Tiffany, and I to venture four miles out into the lake–normally a challenge in our 16-foot craft. It took me 15 minutes to land the fish.”
Brown Trout
Snake River, ID
23 inches; 6 pounds “This is the largest brown I’ve ever landed in 30 years of fishing the river’s south fork. I caught it on a CD-14 Rapala lure, and then released it.”
Muskie
Big McKenzie Lake, WI
50 inches; 37 pounds “I was fishing with my father, and caught the one when we opted to use bass tackle instead of our muskie gear. It jumped twice, was landed, and then released.”
Chinook Salmon
Klutina River, AK
57 inches; 63 pounds “This big one became the 2011 River Record on the Klutina River. The significantly strong gem was on its way to spawn up the river when I used a bait caster with salmon eggs to hook it.”
Smallmouth bass
Springfield, VT
15 inches; 3 pounds
King Salmon
Lake Ontario, Oswego, NY
37 inches; 40 pounds “I was on a charter from the Fish-On Motel in Pulaski, New York. I was trolling across the lake and this one hit a spoon that was out 300 feet from the boat. It was a 30-minute fight to bring him in.”
Striped Bass
Red River Dam, TX
46 inches; 40 pounds “I was fishing below the Denison Dam in early April with my guide Norman O’Neal [left in photo]. This big fish made three runs and I fought it for 25 minutes against the current from the dam. Truly the fish of a lifetime.”
Chinook/King/Spring Salmon
Rivers Inlet, British Columbia
55 pounds
Redfish
Gulf of Mexico outside Port O’Connor, TX
39 inches
Lake Trout
Boundary Waters Canoe Area outside of Ely, Minnesota
37.5 inches
Largemouth Bass
Indian River, Michigan
21 inches; 5 ½ lbs
Northern Pike
Wisconsin’s Lake Monona
42 inches
Northern Pike
Black Bear Island Lake Saskatchewan, Canada
44.5 inches
Muskie
Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada
50 inches; 42 pounds Chad is on the left and Hunter Cranford, who netted the fish, is on right holding the tail. When Chad caught the Muskie on June 9th, he was the season record holder at Whitefish Bay Camp. It’s unclear what the status of his record is now.
Mackinaw
Taylor Reservoir, Colorado
36inches; 24 pounds
Carp
White Lake Michigan
29.8 lbs This fish was caught on a bow.
Largemouth Bass
Minerva Lake, Adirondack Mts
18 inches; 5 ½ pounds
Smallmouth Bass
Lake County Michigan
20 inches; 5 pounds
