Record Steelhead Caught, Fish Odyssey Derby Set for Sept. 18-26
Rob Wilson of Tallmadge, Ohio was trolling out of Olcott, NY on August 14, 2004 when the fish of a lifetime hit his Pirate 55 spoon – a 31 pound, three ounce steelhead trout that stretched the tape to 39 inches long. The girth of the fish was 26 inches. The fish is now the new state record, shattering the previous mark set by Gerald Szmania by five pounds, four ounces! Szamania caught his 26 pound, 15 ounce fish while trolling off Point Breeze on May 22, 1985.
Wilson’s prize catch is an exclamation point on how good the fishing has been this year on Lake Ontario. Salmon fishing is the best it’s been in 15 years and the trout fishing – well, no one’s really been fishing for trout, the salmon has been that good. In the meantime, fish like Wilson’s continue to swim out in the lake looking for someone to catch them – just in time for the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey set for September 18-26 out of Niagara, Erie and Orleans counties.
Wilson was fishing 12 to 14 miles out of Olcott with his father, Robert; and Tom Briggs of Kent, OH around 7:30 a.m. when the behemoth hit their Pirate 55 watermelon with gold fleck spoon offering. It immediately stripped off about 300 yards of line from their Daiwa 47LC and tried to jump free. This was not a day that the fish would win, however. Twenty minutes later, they netted the trophy steelie and put it in their cooler – thinking it was a salmon. After they caught a couple more fish, they inspected their big catch more closely and realized that it was a steelhead. They still didn’t understand what they had, however.
After weighing the fish in The Slippery Sinker in Olcott, the first weight that registered was 31 pounds, four ounces. It had lost weight from the initial hand scale Rob had used, with 31 pounds, seven ounces the first weight – taken six hours earlier when they were on the boat. When it was recorded as an official weight with a witness from DEC, the fish weighed 31 pounds 3 ounces. When they were told it wasn’t a record (with that person being confused with the brown trout record), the fish almost made it to the fish cleaning table. Instead, Capt.Bob Cinelli of Olcott intercepted them and the fish was rescued before it found its way into a baggie.
What an excellent way to lead into the Fall fishing action and the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby. The only thing that could have been better was if the fish was actually caught by a registered angler in the derby!
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The Fall Classic Fish Odyssey competition, in its 28th year, will have a Grand Prize of $5,000 and $1,000 first place prizes for each of the six eligible species in the derby – salmon, rainbow/steelhead, brown trout, smallmouth bass, walleye and carp. Grand prize will be determined at the Awards Ceremony slated to be held at the New York Power Authority’s Wildlife Festival on September 26th. Honorary chairman (or should we say chairmonkey) is Charlie the Chimp, who’s quite a fisherprimate in his own right. Beat Charlie’s minimum weights in the Junior Division and win a special prize. NYPA is also the main sponsor of the Junior Division of the Fish Odyssey. Other sponsors include Sevenson Environmental Services; Anderson Equipment; Skirling Coatings and Blasting; Admar Equipment; Chiampou, Travis, Besaw, Kirshner, LLP; Fox Fence; Custom Covers and Canvas; Godwin Pumps of America; Camtech Plumbing and Mechanical; Conestoga Rovers and Associates; Dival Safety Corp.; Erie County; Niagara County; The Primate Sanctuary; The Boat Doctor; Newfane Business and Professional Association; and, Niagara Hospice. For more information, visit www.fishodyssey.net or call (716) 439-7303.
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