New State Record Smallmouth Bass Landed
On September 11, Bruce Kraemer of Treasure Island, Florida, was dunking worms off of the seawall behind his cottage on Indian River in northern Michigan. When he felt a tug at the line, he thought a gobie (invasive fish species) had taken his bait into the weeds. After some additional tugs followed by a strong run of line, he knew he had a much bigger problem.....or was it a problem?
Kramer, originally from Cincinnati, has been fishing Michigan waters since 1965. His cottage, located on Indian river, has been the site of many a day with his neighbor Ron Krieg, fishing and enjoying conversation for years. This time, the conversation would turn into a battle with a new State record smallmouth bass.
The previous record was broken in October of 2015 by Greg Gasiciel of Rhodes, MI. A record that had stood for over 106 years prior.
In an interview with Kraemer, he told me that he was just using night crawlers on a number 4 hook when the monster attacked! Several long runs of line flying off of the spool, a fifteen minute fight ensued with the fight ending in the capable net of Bruce's friend Ron Krieg. The official weigh in measures the behemoth at 23.10 inches and a whopping 9.98 pounds!
The fish is now at the taxidermists and the new record is ready to be broken!