ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn. — Fish stories? Not this guy. He's a reel legend.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has officially certified angler David Cichosz as the new state record holder for largest coho salmon, a fish he caught in September from Lake Superior.
Weighing in at 10 pounds, 14 ounces, David's coho broke the previous record of 10 pounds, 6.5 ounces, which has been in the books since 1970.
The DNR said Cichosz had nearly caught his limit of trout on the Sept. 4 charter fishing trip before switching to a salmon rig and landing the state-record lunker.
“I quickly grabbed it and was off on the fight. I kept thinking to myself, ‘am I gaining any line on this fish?’” Cichosz told DNR officials. “Once the fish broke the surface, I could tell by our captain’s response that we had a big fish.”
The DNR said in a news release that Cichosz took photos of his coho before going to a Duluth grocery store and weighing it on a DNR-certified scale. The next day, Cichosz filed his paperwork for consideration of a new record with the agency. On Thursday, the DNR announced Cichosz and his salmon would officially go down in the record books.
“I am thankful for the record but at the end of the day, I am happy to just share the joy of fishing with new friends and fellow [anglers] and to be on the lake with my wife,” Cichosz said.
According to the DNR, a handful of salmon species have been introduced to Lake Superior over the last several decades. The Chinook — or King — salmon is the largest among them. The record for Kings was set in 1989 by two anglers — one on Lake Superior, and the other in the tributary Poplar River — who both caught fish weighing in at exactly 33 pounds, 4 ounces.
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