Clearwater West lake, northwest of Atikokan, Ont., is known to be home of giant trout
Originally Published by CBC News, March 2, 2017
A lake trout of near record proportions got a very lucky break on February 19, 2017.
That’s because the angler that caught the giant trout, Lee Olson, from Minnesota, decided to let it go.
Olson was ice-fishing with with a group on Clearwater West lake, north of Atikokan, Ont., when he hooked up with the lake trout.
Olson’s friend, Lance Sage, from Warroad, Minnesota, said the group wanted to have lunch but noticed Olson wasn’t moving from his spot.
A member of the group decided to run over and discovered Olson was fighting a fish.
“Apparently, at that point, he’d already had the fish on for about 20 minutes,” said Sage,who recounted the story to CBC News.
“So they hollered to me ‘you have to come over with the BogaGrip’,” he said.
‘A heck of a battle’
Sage says the BogaGrip is a tool that securely grabs fish by the lower lip and makes it easier for them to land.
Another 25 minutes of fighting passed before Olson could get the trout near the hole in the ice.
“He had a heck of a battle on his hands,” said Sage. Then, the fish was in the hole and Sage went for the grab.
“It really did not want to fit very well into the hole,” said Sage of the trout. “So I had to reach my hand down in there to get the grip underneath the water.
To read more visit CBC News.
Photo courtesy of Lee Olson.
