Keith Lusher 02.19.26
An Iowa angler has set a brand new state file for black crappie after touchdown a large fish throughout a Tremendous Bowl Sunday ice fishing journey at Lake of Three Fires.
In keeping with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Micaiah Thompson of Greenfield caught a 17.8-inch black crappie weighing 3.95 kilos on February 8 on the 85-acre Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County. The fish surpasses the earlier state file of three.88 kilos, set in 2013, by seven-hundredths of a pound.
Underneath Iowa DNR pointers, a brand new all-time state file should outweigh the earlier mark by no less than one ounce to qualify. Thompson’s fish cleared that threshold and was later confirmed and licensed by state officers.
Thompson and his fishing accomplice, Dan Ginn, had taken 5 children from a church youth group out on the ice that afternoon. Whereas the children targeted on catching bluegills, Thompson and Ginn focused walleyes utilizing jigs and minnows, together with a couple of tip-ups set close by.
The group was unfold out alongside a tapering level that dropped from 3 to 17 toes of water. Utilizing sonar, Thompson situated a deep brush pile loaded with fish and commenced jigging close to the construction as darkness fell.
“At about 6 p.m., proper earlier than we have been on the point of depart, I noticed a good-sized fish come as much as my lure on sonar,” Thompson stated. “It missed that one, however I had one other rod down in a second gap with a inexperienced jig and minnow, and it hit that one laborious.”
Fishing with a small ice rod spooled with 10-pound braided line and a 4-pound monofilament chief, Thompson fought the fish for a couple of minute earlier than bringing it to the outlet.
“I believed it was a walleye the entire time,” he stated. “Even after I acquired it up into the outlet, we nonetheless thought it was a walleye as a result of its mouth was so large. As soon as Dan put a flashlight on it, that’s once we realized it was a crappie.”
The anglers weighed the fish that evening on a handheld scale, which learn 4.1 kilos. As a result of it was Tremendous Bowl Sunday and most companies have been closed, they have been unable to get an official licensed weight till February 10. The fish formally weighed 3.95 kilos on a licensed scale, topping the long-standing file.
Thompson and Ginn initially tried to maintain the crappie alive in an aerated bait bucket full of chilly water, however after the official weigh-in, they realized the fish wouldn’t survive and determined to maintain it.
Earlier that very same afternoon, Ginn had landed a 17.2-inch crappie, including to what was already a memorable outing.
The Iowa DNR encourages anglers who imagine they might have caught a state file fish to right away contact their native conservation officer or fisheries biologist to make sure correct documentation, identification, and weighing on a licensed scale.
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