Fishing on the Island of Rügen Dieter lured the 125cm giant with a Rhino Xtra Mag Spoon in the ‘Rügen Special’ pattern and weighed the specimen in at an incredible 24.3kg (53lb 8oz).
Dieter tells the story in his own words:
“On May 9th a promising trolling day began with light wind and clouds and by midday although we had already been successful we decided to keep at it for one more hour.
After 15 minutes we got a strike on one of the downrigger rods; the first run was not particularly spectacular and we estimated it to be only a medium-sized salmon.
Then it stopped moving and when it took off again it started to fight in all directions and depths and we knew it was a good fish.
When we finally saw the tail and dorsal fin for the first time close to the surface we knew this was not ‘just’ another big fish. All rods and the downrigger were taken in and the engine put in neutral and after approximately 45 minutes of intense fighting we realized that with a fish of this length we would only have one chance to net it, however my friend Stephan managed perfectly and it was a relief to finally have this fine specimen in the boat!”
The Salmon was donated to the local community where the mayor is having it prepared to be displayed in a local restaurant, so that many anglers will have the opportunity to admire it.
