New Lake Record Walleye - 11 pounds 4 ounces - Olga Middlebrook

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wayne gustaveson

wayne gustaveson

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Olga and Clay Middlebrook were trolling in Ticaboo Canyon on August 23, 2018 using a crank bait and steel leader when Olga hooked this monster. The huge walleye was 11 pounds 4 ounces, weighed on a brand new digital scale. The fish was 31 and 1/8 inches long, with a girth of 17 and 5/8 inches. The fish was then released to swim and perhaps be caught again.

This surpasses the old record of 9 pounds 15 ounces, 28 inches long, caught by Lannie Sitterud, in Two Mile Canyon in 1991. That record held up for 27 years.

Congratulations to Olga Middlebrook the new "Walleye Queen" at Lake Powell!
 

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wayne gustaveson said:
Olga and Clay Middlebrook were trolling in Ticaboo Canyon on August 23, 2018 using a crank bait and steel leader when Olga hooked this monster. The huge walleye was 11 pounds 4 ounces, weighed on a brand new digital scale. The fish was 31 and 1/8 inches long, with a girth of 17 and 5/8 inches. The fish was then released to swim and perhaps be caught again.

This surpasses the old record of 9 pounds 15 ounces, 28 inches long, caught by Lannie Sitterud, in Two Mile Canyon in 1991. That record held up for 27 years.

Congratulations to Olga Middlebrook the new "Walleye Queen" at Lake Powell!
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Did she/they happen to say what crank bait they were using?
 
My guess is this record will be broken. I'm convinced there are 15-pound plus walleyes swimming in Powell. I'm also convinced there are smallmouth in the lake far bigger than the current lake record. I don't hear of anyone night fishing for smallies on Powell. I believe if more people did so we'd see both the smallmouth and this new walleye record broken fairly soon. Still, great fish! That's a dandy walleye no matter where you're fishing! :)

Ed Gerdemann
 
What can they tell us more about catching walleye in August? Was this just a fluke, or can decent numbers of walleye be caught during the summer with the right technique and conditions? If so what are they?

How deep was the crankbait running? What other conditions were they fishing; water depth, rocky point or what structure, how far from shore etc?

Did they catch more walleye....how many and how often...in what conditions.

Thanks Jay
 
We've tried for years to catch walleyes in October using tactics similar to those we use in May, with limited success. Then last year, near Trachyte, we managed to catch several in one morning. I'm not sure we were doing anything very different (other than using Gulp rather than live crawlers).

I've always just assumed that with the tremendous increase in walleye population that even fairly casual fishermen like us are now able to catch walleyes at this time of year. We absolutely pound them in May, but not in October (or certainly in August). We've always been slow to use crankbaits simply because of our success with crawler harnesses. We're rethinking our strategies, though, and all tips are appreciated.

kstockman
 
I am not trying to knock anyones awesome catch but that walleye does not look 11lbs... Maybe I am the only one thinking out loud? Attached is a photo of a 30" 11lb walleye. Just saying before the record books are re-written maybe their digital scale could be verified with a 10lb weight hanging on it? Still a really nice fish she caught.
 

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9F82EB20-2B3A-415A-966B-A7E9BE29C7A6.jpegPictured is a Walley I caught in Navajo Canyon. It was 22” and our scale said it was only 3.4 pounds if memory serves.

Wayne is an ambassador and therefore too much of a gentleman to dispute it (which is a great credit to him and why he’s been doing what he does so successfully for 40+ years) but personally, I’d say this is a new “unconfirmed” record at best. And an example of why it’s so important to take photos of verifiable measurements if you’re not going to keep such a big fish for professional verification.

Obviously we all want to be respectful to each other, but there is no shame in disputing something as meaningful as a Lake Record if there isn’t verifiable proof. Getting forensic, using forced perspective and deduction, I’d say this beautiful fish is no larger than 24” & 4-5 pounds.

Wayne is right to take people at their word, however I do think something as sacred as a Lake Record should be verified for it to stand the sniff test.

This one smells fishy. That’s my opinion, I’d gladly retract it with a heart felt apology if proven wrong.[/QUOTE]
 
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Bigbrookie said:
What can they tell us more about catching walleye in August? Was this just a fluke, or can decent numbers of walleye be caught during the summer with the right technique and conditions? If so what are they?

How deep was the crankbait running? What other conditions were they fishing; water depth, rocky point or what structure, how far from shore etc?

Did they catch more walleye....how many and how often...in what conditions.

Thanks Jay
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Jay, Olga and I fished this Saturday and Sunday using our crankbaits, along the rocky points in the northern most portions of the lake. We would cast our baits on the leeward side of the rocks as we drifted past them and use a medium retriev speed. The baits we used would dive 6’ to 8’. This weekend we caught 9 walleye. But nothing over 3 lbs.
 
azhunter21 said:
I am not trying to knock anyones awesome catch but that walleye does not look 11lbs... Maybe I am the only one thinking out loud? Attached is a photo of a 30" 11lb walleye. Just saying before the record books are re-written maybe their digital scale could be verified with a 10lb weight hanging on it? Still a really nice fish she caught.
Click to expand...


How much do you estimate this fish weighs? Sometimes pictures do not capture the total perspective of a fish. It depends on how far the fish is from the camera compared to the angler holding the fish.
 

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I’ll play! That’s a 15lb striper. Ive caught lots of 11 lb walleyes in Lake Erie and the pic doesn’t do it any justice if it was really that big
 
Guesses range from 8-17 pounds. This fish weighs 14.85 pounds on certified scales. This just proves that it is really hard to tell fish weight from a picture. The final outcome of the big walleye weight is that it really does not matter since it was a released shortly after capture.

UT has a separate category for Catch and Release Record fish. This walleye caught by Olga will be the new catch and release record for Lake Powell and will be listed as: Length: 31 and 1/8 inches long, Girth: of 17 and 5/8 inches.

Weight is not included in a catch and release record.
 
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