Keith Lusher 08.10.26
A Minnesota angler has broken the state bluegill record with a 2-pound, 3-ounce fish caught from Big Stone Lake, continuing an impressive run of giant panfish coming from the lake.
Dale Hoffman, 59, of Ramsey, caught the record bluegill July 7 while fishing the 12,500-acre lake along the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The fish measured 11.6 inches long and officially weighed 2.21 pounds.
The catch broke a record that had lasted only a little more than a month. Chris Mulcahey set the previous Minnesota record May 29 with a 2-pound bluegill, also caught from Big Stone Lake.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials confirmed Hoffman’s fish was a pure bluegill and noted something else unusual about the record catch. It was a male.
Minnesota DNR Assistant Supervisor Kyle Anderson estimated the fish was at least seven years old and said most bluegills reaching that size are females carrying eggs.
For Hoffman, the record came during one of his first fishing trips after retiring from a career in construction.
After years of not having much time to use his boat, Hoffman bought himself a high-end St. Croix spinning rod as a retirement gift and headed to Big Stone Lake with his sister, Annie Hess, and Mike Rohling.
The trip did not start particularly well. While the others caught bluegills, Hoffman kept catching freshwater drum, earning the nickname “The Sheepshead King.”
That changed on the second day.
Hoffman was fishing in about 10 feet of water with a slip bobber, gold jig and red worms when he briefly left his new rod unattended while talking with his sister.
Suddenly, he heard a noise and watched the rod begin flying out of the boat.
“I could see $300 just flying out of the boat,” Hoffman said.
He managed to grab the rod before it disappeared and quickly realized a strong fish was on the other end. After a short fight, a massive bluegill came to the surface.
The fish was taken to a nearby grocery store, where it was weighed on a certified scale, before Hoffman brought it to the Minnesota DNR office in Ortonville for verification.
Big Stone Lake may not be finished producing records. Just one day after Hoffman’s catch, another 2-pound bluegill was reportedly caught from the lake.
