A walleye record was first broken on the Missouri River between Campbell and Walworth counties after the former angler had the record for about 22 years.
Two weeks later, the record was broken again on Swan Creek in Potter County.
October record
An avid fisherman his whole life with a goal of just catching a fish that weighs “in the teens,” set a new state record with a recent walleye catch.
Aaron Schuck, of Bismarck, North Dakota, caught a 16.5-pound, 33-inch walleye at the end of October on the Missouri River between Campbell and Walworth counties.
Schuck had been an angler for past 15 years and called himself “passionate” about the sport. He said he has had a goal of catching a walleye weighing in the teens for awhile and that was the mission he set out on two weeks ago fishing down the Missouri River.
“It’s a funny story,” Schuck said, laughing about how the catch played out. “I went there to get a 14-pounder.”
Throughout his life, he has always heard about the “monsters” pulled from the area river and he was on a mission to find one. He thought for sure he hit his goal as he reeled his catch into his boat.
“When I got it in the boat, I thought I had it – it had to be 14 pounds,” Schuck recalled.
But he was pleasantly surprised when his scale, which was out on the boat in the cold weather, measured the catch at just more than 15 pounds.
“The plan was to go home and mount it,” he said, proudly.
It was when he got home and he decided to weigh it with a warmer, better scale that he realized his catch of the day could possibly be a record.
“The scale measured 16.5 pounds – I was like, ‘what – what just happened?”” he said in disbelief. “I got the state record laying on my table.”
He spent the next day, which was a Sunday, trying to figure out how to get it officially weighed, which is when he made contact with Lisa Moser at Oahe Sunset Lodge and Steakhouse in Pollock.
Moser, who posts local catches on her business’s social media pages, said she keeps an official scale at her business for moments like this.
According to outdoorlife.com, South Dakota’s state record was 16.2 pounds set in 2002 by Georgine Chytka, then 73, by Fort Randall. South Dakota Game and Fish Parks Department confirmed the previous 21-year-old record, along with Schuck’s new record.
Schuck has since gained national attention, being featured in Yahoo!, Outdoor Life and more.
For anglers with the same goal as Schuck – ones who just want to catch their biggest fish – Schuck said to hit the Missouri River with pull-crankbait and don’t give up.
“It’s unreal the fishing down there right now,” Schuck said.
November record
Just two weeks later, a new record walleye was caught out of Swan Creek in Potter County.
Keith Pazour of Pierre caught a 17-pound, 13.92-ounce walleye – coming in at 33 inches in length Nov. 11.
“It was probably a fish I tried to catch with my grandfather years ago that got away,’” Pazour said.
Pazour grew up fishing with his grandfather Lenard and Lenard’s brothers, stating as soon as he was old enough for his parents to trust him out on the boat, he would go fishing with his grandfather all the time. Unfortunately, Lenard passed away in 1997 – but Pazour knows he is always out fishing with him.
One of his favorite memories of being out on that boat was a particular weekend he went to Pike Haven with his grandfather in the mid-90s and the crew was pulling 4- to 5-pound walleye out of the water “one right after another.”
“We spent the whole weekend there,” Pazour said reminiscing on the time. “It was one big ordeal – one big contest.”
He laughed saying his grandfather always let him win that contest.
“I really enjoyed that weekend – I will never forget it,”
Pazour said, choking up just slightly. “I know my grandma and grandpa was right there in that boat with me.”
On that Veterans Day, Pazour was fishing off his boat just like he had many times, for many years, before. As he was reeling the catch in, he said he knew it was big – but never thought it was the record.
“I didn’t think it was over 12 pounds,” he said at first, going through the moment of when he got the fish in the boat. “I tried to lift it by myself and I knew it was heavier than any other one I had caught before.”
He said as he got his phone ready and put the monster on his scale – he knew he just scored the record walleye in South Dakota.
“It was bouncing right around that 18 mark,” he said with excitement. “I knew I had to be smart and get it certified right away.”
He took it to South Whitlock Resort in Gettysburg, where the weight and size were certified.
The Prairie Pioneer tried to reach out to the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, but did not receive a response prior to deadline to confirm the new record. However, officials posted to their social media acknowledging the new record.
“State record alert,” the post reads. “There’s a brand-new state record walleye in the ‘hook and line,’ category.”
