(WWJ) This fish story is a true one — weighed, measured and verified by the DNR.
An angler from Ortonville, Michigan caught a 47.86-pound, 47.5-inch Chinook salmon over the weekend ... breaking the previous state record by more than a pound.
Luis Ricardo Hernandez Martinez was troll fishing with Capt. Bobby Sullivan of Icebreaker Charters on Lake Michigan near Ludington early Saturday morning, Aug. 7, when he reeled in the big one.
"I never expected a catch like this would happen," Martinez said. "It's possible for anyone if I can do it! I would like to extend a great 'thank you' to Capt. Bobby, as it was he who made this catch possible for me."
The Moonshine raspberry carbon spoon lure used to catch the state-record Chinook salmon on Lake Michigan.Michigan DNR
"Luis did an amazing job, executing perfectly everything I asked him to do in order to bring this fish in," Sullivan said.
The new state-record Chinook salmon was verified by Jay Wesley, Lake Michigan Basin coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, with Scott Heintzelman, the DNR's Central Lake Michigan Management Unit supervisor, also present.
The previous state-record Chinook salmon — at 46.06 pounds and 43.5 inches long — was caught by Ray Essex of Grand Rapids, out of the Grand River in Kent County in 1978.
Michigan's state-record fish are recognized by weight only. To qualify for a state record, fish must exceed the current listed state-record weight, and identification must be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist.
To view a current list of Michigan state fish records by species, visit Michigan.gov/StateRecordFish.
For more on planning a fishing adventure in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/Fishing.
