It's the true tale of the world-record-breaking fish that didn't get away.

I love fishing. I catch and release. But, I've never caught a world-record-breaking monster fish.

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Patti Banner
Patti Banner
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This was my record, caught on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota in 2020. I loved every minute of it, too.

Imagine luring in an almost 28 lb. fish. That's exactly what Cathy Clegg of Stevens County did! The event took place on Loon Lake on August 7th. Cathy often fishes the shoreline off the family dock.

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As she routinely does, Cathy threw a bunch of nightcrawlers into the water. In a matter of minutes, the pole was moving, indicating that something was on the line.

According to an article from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

“I ran down, grabbed the pole out of the holder, and began to reel in the fish when it jumped completely out of the water like a salmon,” Clegg said. “Seeing it jump was very impressive. The fish ran out and back about four times, and it took about 10 minutes before my son (Caylun Peterson) managed to net the fish.”

“Caylun told me right away the tiger trout was bigger than his record fish from the previous year,” she said. “I was in total denial.”

Cathy and her son immediately put the fish on ice and brought it to a shop in Spokane where it weighed in at 27.42 lbs.

The length of the new state and International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record tiger trout is 35 1/2 inches long and a girth of 26 1/8 inches.

Ironically, on June 26, 2021, Caylun caught a state and IGFA world record tiger trout weighing 24.49 pounds off the same dock using a gob of nightcrawlers.

Read more of Cathy Clegg's fish-tale from the WDFW, here.

Watch the awesome video posted by David Stroyan on Facebook.

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