Photos: Best Catches of 2016
Feb 7, 2017
When you arrive in early May to open camp and the very first evening a staff member catches a 41-inch Master Angler pike for the first fish of the year, you get a funny feeling it’s going to be a good year.
That’s how 2016 started for us. Good vibes continued when our first guests of the year arrived on May 25th and on their first full day Greg Kozlowski, from Lake Oswego, Oregon, proceeded to catch a 42-inch trophy pike.
If you joined us last year you know, the magic continued all year long. Even on the last day of the season, in the final hour of fishing, the Aikens charm continued as Mr. Philippe Defoy caught a 37-inch lake trout to wrap things up.
In doing so, Philippe accomplished a remarkable feat that hadn’t occurred in over a decade. He became only the second person in Aikens’ history to achieve the triple crown on a single trip––catching a Master Angler in each of our “Big 3” species of walleye, pike and lake trout.
Check back soon to read a future blog interview with Philippe about his impressive accomplishment (Philippe said he’d never caught a fish of any considerable size before arriving at Aikens this fall).
When all was said and done, Aikens’ guests combined for 208 Century Club and Master Angler catches. Congratulations to all! And congratulations to everyone who caught a fish that was equally exciting but didn’t land in either classification. We love seeing the smile on a person’s face when she or he catches a new personal best or their first-ever of a particular species.
Without further ado, we’d like to congratulate these individuals who caught the biggest fish of the 2016 season. Click on each person’s name if you want to see where, when and how they caught their trophy.
And remember, next year it could be YOU!
WALLEYE – 30 inches (3-way tie)
Ms. Sidney Reid
Mr. Guillaume Dore
Mr. Philippe Defoy
Note: This walleye bit both Mr. Dore and Mr. Defoy’s lines and was caught simultaneously by both anglers, who assumed they were fighting two different fish until the moment the trophy was landed.
NORTHERN PIKE – 45 inches
LAKE TROUT – 40 inches (2-way tie)
WHITEFISH – 23 inches
Mr. Barden McCullough
SUCKER – 22.5 inches
Mr. Garry Bonkowski
PERCH – 13 inches
