Indiana DNR - Fish of the Year

[nater]

From the DNR:

2009 Record Fish

There was only one Indiana state record broken in 2009. Paul Huber of Seymour caught a 32.25-inch bowfin that weighed 16.52 lbs. in Mutton Creek in Jackson County. The previous state record bowfin was caught in 1988 and weighed 16.0 lbs.

2009 Fish-of-the-Year

There were 54 entries for 2009 Fish-of-the-Year, of which 27 were accepted. The smallest was a 12-inch bluegill caught by Abby Byrer of Warsaw in Crystal Lake, and the largest was a 50-inch muskie caught by Edwin Van Cleave of Chicago in Big Barbee Lake. Bill Hudock of Michigan City and Joe Tackett of Claypool tied for the walleye Fish-of-the-Year, each catching walleyes measuring 31 inches. Also, Chris Terry of Noblesville caught a 22.75-inch smallmouth bass while fishing a retention pond in Hamilton County. River fishing accounted for eight of the 27 entries, six came from Lake Michigan, eight from other lakes, and five from private ponds.

[zpagac]

That 50 inch muskie is probably the one that ate Chuck's bluegill and tried to break his flyrod.

[mattdoddridge]

Mutton Creek is this some kinda slang for an arm of a bigger lake or something? If it's the mutton creek I'm thinking of I can't imagine it having a 16 lb. fish of any species rolling around in it.

[zpagac]

Don't know anything about Mutton Creek, but the one bowfin I have ever caught came out of a little tiny creek that was about 7 feet wide and had a max depth of about a foot (at best). Granted, the fish was about 30 feet from where that stream fed into a lake, but it was still in some really small water.