GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Austin Schiefer, 29, caught a 9.7-pound smallmouth bass near Green Bay over the weekend, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has certified the fish as the new state record.
A lifetime of fishing
Schiefer has spent nearly his entire life on the water.
“I’m 29. Pretty much as soon as I could walk, I was fishing,” Schiefer said.
The catch
While fishing near Green Bay, Schiefer saw something unusual beneath the surface.
“When I saw it in the water down 10 feet, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a giant. It’s the biggest fish I’ve ever seen. It was massive,’” Schiefer said.
An average smallmouth bass is typically 12 to 18 inches long and weighs 2 to 4 pounds. Schiefer’s fish weighed 9.7 pounds and measured about 24 inches long.
Breaking the previous record
After weighing the fish, Schiefer realized he may have set a state record.
“It wasn’t close on the boat compared to the old record. I knew I had it right away because the old record was 9 pounds, 1 ounce,” Schiefer said.
What’s next
Schiefer said he is still processing the record.
“I just never thought it would be me. I always knew it would come out of somewhere on Lake Michigan or Green Bay, but I never in a million years thought it would be me,” Schiefer said.
The Wisconsin DNR has certified the catch as the new state record for smallmouth bass. Schiefer said he is exploring options to create replicas and possibly display the fish for others to see.
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