RHINELANDER, Wis. (WJFW) — A 76-year-old fishing record in the state of Wisconsin, set in Sugar Camp, has been broken.
Every fisherman’s lifetime goal is to hold a state record, and for one man from the city of Menasha, made that reality, with a 9-pound, 11 ounce Smallmouth bass, breaking the previous state record of 9 pounds, 1 ounce set in 1950.
Jake Donoho
“Basically, the first time I saw it in the water, was the first time I knew I had something big, but I didn’t know how big until i got it on the scale,” Austin Schiefer said.
On the morning of Oct. 30, Schiefer, of Menasha, and his friend were casting for smallmouth bass in the waters of Green bay. By around 1 p.m., he felt his line tighten, and initially thought he had hooked into a freshwater drum, a powerful bottom feeding fish, from the feeling of it.
“Right away it was rolling, so I thought it was a big drum, and then got it about a quarter of the way back to the boat from there,” Schiefer said. “Then it started peeling drag and head shakes and acting more like a smallmouth. It was at that point that I really knew it was a smallmouth.”
Schiefer’s friend had netted it boatside for him and they both were shocked at the size. Upon weighing the fish, they knew they had something special. They immediately set up a meeting with DNR biologists. By Saturday, Scheifer was officially the new state record smallmouth bass holder with an official weigh-in.
“It’s still sinking in,” said Schiefer. “It really is. It hasn’t hit me still to this point ive been on cloud nine. It’s unreal. I knew it would be broken out of green bay but I never thought it would be me. Not in a million years.”
The previous record was caught in the town of Sugar Camp in 1950 by Leon Stefonek, weighing 9 lbs., 1 oz. Sheifer’s bass outweighed it by 10 oz at 9 lbs., 11 oz. Stefonek’s grandson had reached out to congratulate him.
“He said if his grandpa was still alive, he would love to shake my hand,” Schiefer said. “I said I would love to if he was, sounds like a great guy. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about when he said it was primetime to be beat. I believe there’s more swimming out there like that.”
Jake Donoho
Schiefer is currently planning on having multiple reproductions made for the fish, as he is in contact with area stores to have it on display. He also has reached out to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame In Hayward.
Scheifer also makes custom fishing tackle and has been fishing his entire life. He credits his friend, Ted Johnson, who netted the fish at boatside for him, and his grandfather for getting him into the sport.