Lunker walleye was ‘foul-hooked,’ does not qualify as North Dakota state record

BISMARCK — Tom Volk caught a lunker walleye on Easter Sunday, April 21, a 16-pound, 9-ounce fish that appeared to be a new state record for North Dakota.

A few weeks later, it’s been ruled he’s not the state record holder.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department announced Monday, May 13, the walleye won’t be recognized as the state record as department officials ruled the fish was “foul-hooked.”

That means the fish was ruled to be hooked behind the gill plates, North Dakota Chief Game Warden Bob Timian said. To qualify as a state record, a fish must be harvested in accordance with rules for recreational fishing, according to the Game and Fish Department.

“That led to the conclusion that it was foul-hooked so we couldn’t recognize it as a state record,” Timian said.

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