POST 4: Walleye Pictures at the Heart River

Additional Pictures of the Record Walleye

The time was 4:26pm. I followed Mike Anderson, an employee with Game and Fish, back to the park parking lot where I met up with my family and some friends. My family friends R.H. and A.H. were introduced to Anderson and took some photos of my walleye at the park. See image below:

This was a picture taken by R.H. or A.H. while at the park. 

My family and I spoke briefly with my friends before we walked up over the road to meet up with Gibbs who was still fishing on the shore where I caught the record walleye. He brought his net with him and together with my family, we all walked to the bank of the Heart River. Mike Anderson with Game and Fish followed and took several photos. The six images below were taken by Anderson at the bank of the Heart River.

There was NO damage from a hook on the body, back, fins or tail. 

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River

Image taken by Game and Fish at the shore of the Heart River.

We were at the riverbank for a while as Anderson was taking pictures. I explained how I caught the walleye, the bait I was using, etc.

Anderson took pictures of my walleye and asked how I caught it. Why wasn't he interviewed during the investigation? Why weren't all of the images released to the public?

He said the announcement of my record walleye would be made on Monday morning (April 22nd). He requested I not share photos or information until Game and Fish made the announcement because they wanted to break the story through their media channels. He asked if I was excited and said to "just wait until tomorrow" when the news learns of the new record. We spoke for a while longer and then parted ways. Many of the witnesses were still on the bank fishing at this time. Some even asked if they could take photos.

My family and I arrived back to our parked vehicle at park. The time was 5:22pm. We left the park, purchased food through a drive-through and headed home.

Calls and voicemails

On my drive home, I called many of my friends and left messages for some that didn't answer. I was extremely excited to tell people about my catch and the verification of my walleye. Here was one of those voicemails: https://youtu.be/iy4xBo_X_J8.

I was extremely excited to speak with my friends about my walleye. I had no concerns about how it was caught and still believe it was caught legally. 

Home

Once in Lincoln, I dropped my wife and kids off at our house while I made a few stops around the neighborhood. I wanted to show my neighbors and friends the walleye before having to place it in the freezer. Several of my neighbors and friends took pictures of the record walleye. I returned back to the house after approximately 30 minutes.

Around 6:10pm, a couple of friends came over to our house (R.D. and B.D.). I spoke with them, showed them the walleye, and completed a short inspection of the fish. I was looking at the color of the walleye, the fins, the scales, and even looked in the mouth at the teeth. It was at this time I saw a hole in the mouth of the walleye. The hole was located in the upper jaw. While looking over the walleye, I wasn't able to find any other holes or damage other than a couple tears in the soft dorsal fin and what appeared to be string burn on the walleye's cheek. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Amanda and our friends helped me wrap the fish back up in wet towels and plastic bags for storage in the freezer.

The walleye had a fresh tear/hole in the mouth and string burn on its cheek. There was no damage from a hook on the body, back, fins or tail. 

Things to Know 

I returned to the the Heart River at the location where I caught my walleye along with a Game and Fish employee. Pictures were taken next to the same witnesses who saw me catch my walleye. The witnesses congratulated me and asked to take their own pictures of the walleye. No one raised any concerns as to how the walleye was caught. The same is true for all of my friends and neighbors who saw the walleye. They took pictures and asked how I caught the walleye. They expressed no concerns. 

Witnesses expressed NO concerns to either me or the Game and Fish employee. 

Potential changes 

Again, I am NOT trying to get anyone on my side about how my walleye was caught, and you can believe what you want. What I am bringing to your attention is another potential opportunity for changes.

Considering I went back to the location where I caught my walleye and brought with a Game and Fish employee, wouldn't this have been a good time for Game and Fish to gather more information from potential witnesses? Wouldn't this have been a good time for witnesses to voice any concerns and provide any potential evidence?

When/if Game and Fish develops a process for verifying record fish, they should include asking for and interviewing potential witnesses as part of the process.

While at the location where I caught my walleye, Game and Fish could have asked for names and contact information from anyone standing at the shore who may have witnessed me catching my walleye. They could have asked for any pictures and videos. In the least, Game and Fish could and should gather additional information in the event they needed it at a later date.

While back at the Heart River, Game and Fish took several photos. These photos documented how there was no damage from a hook anywhere on the body of the fish. Why weren't these images released to the public?

In the future, all images and videos taken during the verification process should be released to the public as part of a report.  

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