Angler Breaks 76-Year-Old Wisconsin Smallmouth Record at 9.72 Pounds
Austin Schiefer's 9.72-pound smallmouth from Green Bay is Wisconsin's new state record, beating a 1950 mark. Here is how he caught it and how it compares.
A smallmouth bass weighing 9.72 pounds, caught in Green Bay by angler Austin Schiefer, is the new Wisconsin state record. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved and certified the fish on Nov. 3, according to Field & Stream.
The fish beat the previous state record, caught by Leon Stefonek in 1950, by more than 10 ounces. That mark had stood for three quarters of a century.
How Schiefer hooked the fish
Schiefer told Field & Stream he was fishing from a boat with a friend in the deep water of Green Bay. The pair had caught smallmouth on tubes all day before deciding to change baits. He switched to a stouter rod and tied on a 5-inch soft jerkbait rigged on a minnow-head jig, then made an 80-foot cast.
Using live scope, a forward-facing sonar that shows fish in real time, he watched a large shape rise off the bottom and trail the bait for 30 or 40 feet before taking it. At first he thought he had hooked a big drum because the fish was rolling on the bottom. As it came closer, he said, it began shaking its head and taking drag, which is how a smallmouth fights.
The fish circled the boat and paused on the port side. Schiefer’s partner netted it on the first attempt.
Weighing and certification
The two guessed the fish was well over 7 pounds. The digital scale in the boat read 9.6 pounds. Schiefer began calling the DNR.
At the boat ramp he took the fish to a local bait shop, where staff sent him to a nearby grocery store with a certified scale. That scale read 9.72 pounds, or 9 pounds, 11.5 ounces. He borrowed a cooler from his grandfather, who lives in the area, to keep the fish overnight. The next morning he met two DNR staff members, who completed the verification.
Why it matters
State records for smallmouth are rare to break, and this one had lasted since 1950. The new Wisconsin mark is also close to the top of the sport. The IGFA all-tackle world record for smallmouth is 11 pounds, 15 ounces, caught by David Hayes in July 1955 at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee.
The catch also shows how the bait and tools used affected the outcome. Schiefer found the fish with live scope and landed it on a soft jerkbait after the tubes that worked earlier in the day had been set aside.
Source: Field & Stream
