SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A North Dakota man has set a new walleye state record in South Dakota. 

Oahe Sunset Lodge and Steakhouse posted photos of Aaron Schuck, who caught a massive walleye that weighed 16.8 pounds. Schuck caught the fish on Friday on Lake Oahe while pulling crank bait.

According to the Game, Fish and Parks Department, the old state record for a walleye caught by hook and line in South Dakota is 16 pounds, 2 ounces set in 2002. On Tuesday, the GFP confirmed Schuck’s walleye was the new state record.

According to the GFP, the walleye was caught Friday, Oct. 27 on Lake Oahe near Akaska. The fish officially was 16 pounds, 8 ounces, 33 inches long and 21 inch girth.

Schuck said it was a cold day on the Missouri River fishing and he initially didn’t think his fish would be a state record because a scale on the boat wasn’t showing the fish over 16 pounds. It wasn’t until he was back home in North Dakota and a scale he had showed it weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces. The GFP said the official weight was 16 pounds, 8 ounces.

“It took a while to get in,” Schuck told KELOLAND News. “I had like 187 feet a line out there. So it took quite a while and then when I got close to the boat, it was pretty much straight down.”

Lisa Moser, owner of the Oahe Sunset Lodge and Steakhouse, told KELOLAND News the fish was caught closer to Akaska than Pollock but Schuck came to the Oahe Sunset Lodge to use the certified scale to weigh the fish. 

Moser said the Game, Fish and Parks Department came and recorded the information with the fish, which would set the state record.

Schuck says he fishes all the time, early in the spring and late in the fall, as well as ice fishes. He said he plans to mount this walleye. He said he was one other 10-pound walleye mounted but doesn’t plan to mount any other fish.

“Instead of killing the fish, I just take a picture let them go but I always wanted a big, big one,” Schuck said.

State fish records are now categorized in three methods — hook and line records, bowfishing records and unrestricted (any other legal means other than hook and line or bowfishing). 

The GFP told KELOLAND News about the process to apply for a state fish record. A state record fish application needs to be filled out and signed by owners of the certified scale, witness information and other details. Two witnesses other than the angler must be present during the weighing process or one GFP or law enforcement employee must be present.

When the paperwork is verified through GFP, a certificate is printed and given to the angler of the record fish.