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Oh boy...has anyone heard this poor guy's story yet?
This past April an Oregon fishing guide, Ed Iman, enticed, hooked, and landed quite possibly the largest walleye ever boated by man. Weighing in at 25 lbs 4 oz, Iman's fish was any walleye fisherman's dream. Only one problem...Iman released it.
That's right, C&R at its finest. When Iman boated the fish he turned to his brand new digital scale and weighed his catch. The scale read 11.5, so, the ponderous Iman (although skeptical of the weight for a fish of such size) released the egg bearing female.
Later that day Iman's fishing counterpart noticed another fisherman holding up a 15 lb walleye that was much smaller than the "11.5 lb" fish his friend had just released. The rest is a combination of "history" and  , revelation.
Iman's scale was factory-calibrated to metric and thus the fish he weighed really [when converted (11.5 X 2.204)] was a 25 lb monster!
Interesting stuff...really. But what a bummer for Iman. Personally, I'm glad that such a big fish is still out there making her big, beautiful, monster babies each season.[cool]
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Thanks for the read. Too bad he didn't realise it when he caught it. Was there any pics taken?
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[black][size 3]If true, that's quite a story.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]However, I find it hard to believe that a guide could not tell the difference between a fish weighting 11 pounds and one at 25 pounds.[/size]
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[size 3]I don't mean to be skeptical, but the story does have a rather unusual twist to it. [/size]
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[size 3]Would you hire this guide?[/size]
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Well, from what I read in Outdoor Life Magazine (I wrote the above passage I originally posted based on what I had read in a waiting room), Iman did in fact release it right after he caught it and weighed it and no, no pictures were taken unfortunately.
I feel the same way you do too Saberfish but apparently he released her for two reasons. One: He didn't fault a brand new out-of-the-package digital scale. Two: It was a large egg-bearing female and he planned on releasing her whether she was close to what the scale read or a little over. But yeah, what an unusual twist. Hopefully I can dig up some more interesting scoop on this story and others for everyone.
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[black][size 3]My congrats. to the guy for releasing the fish.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]A fish like that, assuming that it's still productive, could add considerable to the gene pool of any water.[/size]
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[size 3]It just seems strange that he wouldn't have a better idea of it's weight. Heck, even a caveman could figure that one out. lol [/size]
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I can usualy pick up a fish a guess the weight and come closer then only half the weight of the fish. 25lbs and 11.5lbs feels completely different....
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thanx for the story. im still working this out in my head. having trouble with him not being able to tell it was what he says. but thanx for throwing it up for us. ken
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I understand, at first glance (while I was reading the article) I thought to myself "how does a professional guide misjudge the weight of a trophy walleye?" But, after rereading I picked up the two points which I noted earlier. One: He had just purchased a high-quality digital-scale and opened it that morning for his fishing trip. Having placed faith in the manufacturers name (mistake) he assumed that the scale was ready to go and ready to take accurate readings (what he paid for). Two: When he boated her, he noticed she was an enlarged egg-bearing female. Being a guide and noting the size of a fish that supposedly weighed 11.5 lbs he released her to go and reproduce some more.
In the end it was his scale which was the real killer; he put too much faith in its functionability, took the mis-read for fact, and released what he thought was a very large, very egg-filled, reproductive walleye.
But....I still agree with you guys. Wouldn't his excitment tell him to recheck the scale? Also, wouln'dt his natural instinct as a professional tell him "Hello....REALLY big for an 11.5 pounder!"
Regardless...he still knows where she lives.
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ive caught my share durring the spawn as well. but a fish of that weight would have to be quite a bitt longer than a 11 pounder. hello is quite right my freind. thats why i question it. 11 pound spawning eye 29 to 32 inch fish. he had better kick his eye doctors butt. lol
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things that make you go hhmmmmmm. sounde like a fish story to me. later chuck
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we all have picked up a 10-13 pound bowling ball, we all know the gigantic differance is weight from one ball to the other.
personaly before I ever put a fish to scale, I give it a weight, then check to see how close I am to my weight, I am not a pro guide but I have never been off more than a pound and usualy I am with in a half pound.
a gallon of water wich weighs 8 pounds, that in it self should be a quick refferance point. a 2 1/2 gallon jug of water weighs 20 lbs. When a 36 inch fish wants to wheigh 42 lbs that baby better have some girth to it like this one...
[center][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/1347/cat/500/ppuser/89"] ![[Image: common_carp_2.JPG]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/data/500/thumbs/common_carp_2.JPG) [/url][/center] [center] [/center] [center]this 31 inch carp weighs 16 pounds[/center] [center] [/center] [center][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/6675/cat/500/ppuser/89"] ![[Image: 36_inch_carp.jpg]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/photos/data/500/thumbs/36_inch_carp.jpg) [/url][/center] [center]This 36 inch carp weighed in at 42 pounds[/center] [center] [/center] [center] ![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=722;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=722;) [/center] [center]This 24 inch walleye weighed in at 3 pounds[/center] [center] [/center] [center]I cant see a pro getting that excited.[/center]
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even tho I dont beleive the story, (I aint sayin it not ture, just hard to swallow)
it is still a good story to tell, over a couple boilermakers at the bar, I am sure I could have gotten that baby to weigh in at least 29 pounds.
If I ever wanted to validate a fish of that class I would deffenantly had taken a pic of lenth and girth... that would tell the story.... I usualy always take the time to make my fish say cheese before going back to the water these days, digital pics are the berries...
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I've been following this story a little bit, through other sites in that area. Makes a great story and all, but I think thats about it.
He's a guide who has been fishing for eye's for a long time and has caught many big ones. He would know the difference between a 11lber and a 25lber.
But publicity is good for a record releasing walleye guide.
The Columbia River is the home of some very big eyes. Check out the ten pound club on Walleye Central.
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That's the way I look at things. Whether or not it's a true story (and it's very probable...we've all had our moments) it makes for GREAT C&R campaigning. I'm glad that she slipped away into obscurity to eat, swim, reproduce, and be merry.[cool]
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