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Something changed for Richard Ofner recently. He went from diehard kayak fisherman to record-holding diehard kayak fisherman.
Ofner was joined by a couple friends for a blustery day on the Thames River in Ontario, Canada hoping to tangle with his very first muskie. After only 30 minutes of effort, he was rewarded with this beautiful 48" specimen that actually broke two lipgrips in the process of trying to safely remove the hooks. Not wanting to put the giant fish in harm's way, the hooks were removed and Ofner slid the fish up onto his lap for a quick picture. The fish was placed back in the water boatside and swam away strong.
www.CanadianKayakAnglers.com administrator Russ Jones validated the catch and has put it atop the leaderboard in the musky category of his website's Hall of Fame, the official Canadian kayak-caught fish registry. Since kayak fishing has been catching on here in Canada, Jones has been scouring big kayak fish reports from fishing websites across our nation and adding them to the registry. Fish are validated according to length rather than weight and tackle is a non-issue as long as the fish is caught legally, in season, and from a kayak.
Congrats Richard on your new personal best, or rather, Canada's personal best!
Photo Credit: Russ Jones
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Don Theoret is owner/admin of Ontario's Home for Kayak Angling, www.Yakfisher.net