Image Credit: Facebook/ @Wired2Fish
A retirement gift turned into the catch of a lifetime for Minnesota angler Dale Hoffman. On the very first fishing trip with his new spinning rod, Hoffman nearly watched it disappear into the water after a powerful fish yanked it from the boat. Instead, he managed to grab the rod in mid-air, reel in the fish and discover he had landed a new Minnesota state-record bluegill weighing 2.21 pounds. According to an exclusive report by Wired2Fish, the remarkable catch came during an early July outing on Big Stone Lake, a fishery that has recently gained national attention for producing unusually large bluegills.
A slow start turned into a record-breaking moment
Hoffman, 59, had recently retired after years of working in construction near Ramsey, Minnesota. With more free time on his hands, he decided to celebrate retirement by purchasing a premium St. Croix spinning rod and taking it on its first fishing trip. He joined his sister, Annie Hess, and fishing companion Mike Rohling on a pontoon boat at Big Stone Lake, which lies along the Minnesota-South Dakota border. However, the outing did not begin as planned.While the others caught quality bluegills, Hoffman kept reeling in freshwater drum, earning the light-hearted nickname “The Sheepshead King” from the group. But the following day, everything changed.Fishing with a slip bobber, a gold jig and redworms, Hoffman briefly left his rod unattended while chatting with his sister. Moments later, he heard a loud clatter and turned around just in time to see his brand-new rod being pulled overboard by a powerful fish. He instinctively grabbed the rod before it disappeared into the lake and began fighting what initially felt like another drum. After several minutes, an enormous bluegill surfaced beside the boat.The fish measured 11.6 inches and weighed 2.21 pounds on certified scales at a nearby grocery store before being verified by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a purebred bluegill and the new Minnesota state record.
