Angler’s Second-Ever Lake Trout Sets Record, Thanks To Veteran Guide
Minnesota has added yet another massive lake trout to the catch-and-release category of its record book.
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced June 4 that 68-year-old Joe Bouta from the town of Benson caught and released a 45.5-inch laker in early May from Lake Superior’s Minnesota waters.
It was only the second lake trout ever caught by the 68-year-old retired construction business owner. His first was 10 minutes earlier that morning. He and his youngest son Andrew were in the boat of fishing guide Ethan Waytashek of Lake Superior Jigging Guide Service in Two Harbors, Minn.
The laker was the fourth catch-and-release state record in the last two years on a Waytashek-guided trip. He said the senior Bouta was jigging fresh smelt in about 100 feet of water when the fish slammed the jig. Steady winds between 10 and 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph had made for wavy conditions that forced the trio to stay closer to home rather than venturing out to a Michigan waters section of the lake, which had been the original plan.
“It took about 10 minutes to get the fish in, and when I netted it I didn’t think it was that big,” explained Waytashek via text. “I’ve caught so many big trout now I really don’t get that phased by them. I pulled it out of the net and put it on the bump board, and it hit 45.5 inches. I turned around to those guys, and I said, ‘I think we just caught a new state record.”
Glad They Didn’t Cancel The Trip
Bouta said the wind almost prompted them to cancel the trip, but 33-year-old son Andrew — who now runs the family home-building business and had been out once before with Waytashek — wanted to go ahead after talking it over with the guide.
“I was supposed to be guiding them in the Michigan waters part of Lake Superior, but we canceled that because of the winds,” said Waytashek. “I had told them if they just wanted to go fishing and catch ‘eater-size’ trout with a chance of a big one we could do that.”
The senior Bouta said when Waytashek would spot a fish on the fish finder father and son would alternate who would jig for it. With the record laker it just happened to be the elder Bouta’s turn. The fact he hooked the state record fish was “just the luck of the draw,” he said.
The fight lasted about 10 minutes, Bouta continued.
“It was a good fight,” he explained. “He (the lake trout) took quite a bit of line out three times before he finally started giving up and kind of started coming up.”
Proper Protocol For Handling A Whopper
Guide Waytashek then instructed them how to handle it.
“You have to properly hold the jaw without touching the gills and support the body of the fish,” he explained to Wired2fish. “Handling is the most important part. I then did the proper process of photographing the measurements and the release of the fish. We then finished out the rest of the day with a few more ‘eater-size’ fish. After the trip I had those guys follow me to my house where we filled out the application and took down his license information and trout stamp and then submitted it to the state.”
Waytashek’s guide service focuses on vertical jigging lake trout in Superior’s Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan waters, with a focus on always releasing the big fish, as some of them are 30- to 40-plus-years-old. The guide said he was pretty sure it was a good-size fish because of how thick it appeared on the depth finder.
The Son’s Perspective
Son Andrew said he was glad he scheduled the trip because his father has sacrificed a lot for him over the years. He described his dad as humble and said father and son would probably agree that 90% of the credit should go to Waytashek, who put them right on the fish.
“He [Waytashek] knows his stuff really well,” Andrew said. “It was fun to go with him.”
The elder Bouta has now been invited to the Minnesota State Fair on September 4 for a ceremony recognizing state fishing record holders, son Andrew said.
“We are going to get all the grandkids and stuff and get him down there.”
The senior Bouta is a lifelong recreational angler who grew up biking to nearby lakes to fish for northern pike, but now his preferred fishing is for walleye.
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