A Minnesota angler who purchased a pricy fishing rod to celebrate his recent retirement is now the state record holder for bluegill.
Dale Hoffman, 59, a longtime construction worker from Ramsey, caught the 2-pound, 3-ounce bluegill July 7 at Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota-South Dakota border.
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It was memorable because it became the largest certified bluegill catch in Minnesota history, but also because it only happened because of Hoffman’s quick reflexes.
Wired2Fish reports that Hoffman, who had purchased a St. Croix spinning rod for his pontoon-boat outing with his sister and a friend, had left his rod unattended when the massive bluegill struck and the rod was lifted from
the deck.
"I could see $300 just flying out of the boat," Hoffman recalled.
But Hoffman snatched the rod and reeled in the record bluegill after a few minutes. He had been using a slip bobber, a gold jig and red worms.
His catch breaks a record held briefly by Chris Mulcahey, who caught a 2-pound bluegill on May 29 at Big Stone Lake.
For comparison, the all-tackle world record for bluegill stands at 4 pounds, 12 ounces, for a fish caught at Alabama’s Ketona Lake in 1950.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fisherman buys new rod to celebrate retirement, lands record bluegill
