My 11 y/o grandson has been keeping me sane during the pandemic by letting me take him fishing once a week. A couple weeks ago we ran up to the Elkhorn and were having a great time catching some nice cats - blues and channels. He drifted a chubb under a beaver felled tree right off the bank and something hit it and took off. A minute later a big silver fish shot out of the water and put up quite a fight jumping and making some impressive runs. He brought it into the shallows and landed it. He thought he'd caught some alien species. Nope, just a really big goldeye. I've always viewed them as a trash fish and usually either toss them back or chop them up for bait. This was the biggest one I'd ever seen and for kicks and giggles did a quick weight and measure with the Wally World fish scale. It was about 23" long and almost 7" deep and pulled the scale to just under the 5# mark. Took a quick hero picture with him holding it and tossed it back.

Now the rest of the story. I had sometime this week because of the rain and storms to play on the computer and just for kicks looked up the state record fish. The state record goldeye is just under 4# and was less than 21" long.

I am pretty sure I tossed my grandson's state record fish back into the river. I think that may drag down my "Who's the better grandpa' " poll numbers for quite a while.

Damn. He coulda been famous.

that really sucks.so wheres the picture of this monster?

You know where the fish lives, go back and let him get it again!!!!!!

You fellas' aren't being real helpful here...I need excuses damn it!

I used his phone to take all of the hero pics that day so he could text them to his friends.

He can still get a Master Angler award. But I bet when you show them the picture it will not be a Goldeye. Probably a hybrid.

So, uh, what bait?

Don't tell him!

Swifty, I thought of the Master Angler award right away, but since he's not 16 y/o he isn't eligible for one. What kind of hybrid are you thinking of?

jaguartx, I call them chubs or just minnows. There is a small lake just off the river that a creek feeds into. Right off the road is a shallow pool which is usually full of minnows of all kinds. We bait a minnow trap with bread balls and toss it in there and let it set for about an hour and usually get 10-12 nice size minnows. The ones I like are shorter and stockier than some but they are hardy and seem to work. The little sliver ones are flashy but the small channel cats grab them and swallow them whole so I have to replace the whole leader assembly. Even circle hooks don't help. He even caught a carp and I caught a walleye using the silver minnows?

That's been my strategy thus far, but I feel like a real CS for not letting him know.
I like Swifty's approach...it wasn't really a state record...just some freak hybrid that happened along...not worth worrying about.

Congrats...anyway.

Honestly, get your hands on those pics. If there are enough and they can verify the date then take measurements of the boy's hands, they might be able to verify the length and girth to at least establish a "catch and release" record.

Ha Ha! Just bumped up my rating! 😁👍🏻

I help them catch panfish and they give me hero status..

Not acceptable. Challenge him to catch it again. The time spent together, trying for a record, will become family folklore. Good luck.

Yup, especially if you took a pic of the weight. Could still get a writeup somewhere. Story that Grandson will remember his entire life.

Truth, almost always is best. Catch and reel ease is aok.

That blankety blank Wally World fish scale is in centimeters, not inches!!! And it doesn't weigh right!!

I'm taking it back!

(That's the excuse part. But the truth will come out and that storm will be worse).

Du bist einer Dummkopf.

This is a really good idea! I hadn’t thought of that...I even know someone at the NGPC that might be able to help me. Thank You!

Ja, ich weiß, dass!!!

This reminds me of my brother. When we were kids and fishing at a Michigan resort he caught a huge crappie. We had that for dinner that evening.

A few days later we were back in town getting more bait and my dad told the owner of the shop about the size and weight of the crappie. Turns out that the local chamber of commerce had a contest for the biggest crappie, and his would have won as the contest was almost done. The prize was a boat, motor, trailer.

OUCH!

What is a goldeye?

Oh man. I would be sick.

What are the GPS co-ords of the spot where he caught it?

You are misreading the rule book. The only age restriction is 16 or older have to have a fishing license, under 16 don’t but are still eligible.

MASTER ANGLER RULES
• A fish need not be harvested or verified by a Game and Parks employee to receive a Master Angler. • All fish must be taken from Nebraska waters.
• Ifafishiscaughtfromprivatewaters,avalidfishingpermitisrequiredtoreceivetheaward.
• Fish must be taken by hook-and-line, not bank lines or set lines.
• Fish must be legally hooked, played and landed by the applicant.
• The catch must be verified by a Game and Parks employee, a permit vendor, a witness, or a photograph.
• Anglers 16 years of age or older must possess a valid Nebraska fishing permit and enter the permit number
on the application.
• Only fish immediately released are eligible for an award based on length. Any fish kept in a livewell or on a
stringer must meet the minimum weight requirement.
• Anglers may receive only one award based on weight per year for each species. Catch-and-release awards
are unlimited.
• Anglers who release a Master Angler fish will receive a Catch and Release Master Angler pin in addition to
the Master Angler certificate.

Forgot to add. Go to NEFGA.org it’s the Nebraska Fish and Game site. It is affiliated with Nebraska Game and Parks. In the fishing section there is a fisheries specialist that goes by Whitetips. He works for G&P and those folks can identify the fish and explain better than I on the rules.

Master angler award sounds good, but if he gets wind of what happened, take him plinking and present him with his own 22LR. Kids can always be bought. Instant "Best Grandaddy" status...

I hadn’t a clue what a goldeneye was. So I googled it. Looks like a big dang minnow.

That happened to me in Nebraska this year also. Only it was only a master angler bass. My 8 year old grandson caught a bigger largemouth than I had ever seen. I estimated it at 6 to 7 lbs. No scale or tape measure with us. Got to looking at the requirements for master angler later. We had already agreed to catch and release at the pond, but could have got him a certificate. A couple months later, he caught a very impressive northern pike. We did measure him at 9 lbs and 34 inches. 1 lb short of master angler. Kid doesn't even realize these were very nice fish.

I can appreciate the quest for the best Granddad honor. I have a similar situation with my two grandsons and the dock catfish record at my lake house. I can tell you some grandsons are highly competitive and don't take well to having their record smashed by the other Grandson. My 5 year old smashed the 8 year old's 14 lb record with a 20 lb blue cat. The 8 year old is not happy. I actually look at it as creating a love for fishing and the outdoors. I'm working hard to encourage that and I get to experience all the activity that that includes. I learned the hard way you don't get caught without bait or a set of scales that work. That will get you on the list in a hurry.

Ha, same here.
Are they for eating, or just catching?

Only one thing Grandpa can do, Spend the rest of your days fishin' with that kid trying to find that fish again.

We still need to see a picture!

Don't know if your state had it, but Colorado had a master angler program where they credit you for big fish that you release. You could check on it.

https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/MasterAngler.aspx

He’s actually now a part of a very small and elite group of anglers who have released WR fish. Lots of guys can kill near record, and even record fish, but few release them, especially if the fish is likely to be a record. Doing a lot of WR attempt observations for the IGFA, I’ve personally seen at least 50 fish that exceeded WR weight released, and sadly quite a lot of almost WR fish killed. That’s why the IGFA has release categories now which include measurements along with weight.

If you have a pic with measurements showing (like the fish next to a measuring tape) send it in to the IGFA and they will likely send you a certificate for him if that’s a species they keep records for (I’m not familiar with the fish species). Also make sure to contact your local Fish & Game Dept, newspaper, and local fishing magazines to tell them the story, which they may put into print.

I can honestly tell you, after a lifetime of catching saltwater fish, likely tens of thousands of them, my best trophies are the articles my Mom & Dad cut out of the local paper after they called in and told them about the catch I made as a kid.

Whatever you choose to do, please congratulate him from me for the awesome catch (and release).

When I was a teenager, I caught a white sucker that I thought was close to 10 pounds (the WR is 6 1/2). Trash fish, I left it on the bank for the birds. At the time, I figured it would be a embarrassment to hold that record.