Walleye that topped 16 pounds not a North Dakota record after all

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed an investigation into the 16-pound, 9-ounce walleye taken April 21 from the Heart River, and based on evidence provided, department officials have concluded that the fish was foul-hooked (snagged), and therefore cannot be recognized as a state record. 

To qualify as a state record, a fish must be harvested in accordance with rules for recreational fishing. 

Tom Volk, of Lincoln, pulled in the 32-and-one-half-inch fish from shore along the Heart River in Mandan.  It was verified as a state record by the NDGFD the next day, at the time besting the old record – 15 pounds, 13 ounces – by a whopping three-quarters of a pound. 

So after the investigation, that mark, set last May by Neal Leier, of Bismarck, will remain as the state mark.  Leier’s fish, taken from the Missouri River in Bismarck, also measured 32-1/2 inches and broke a record – by an ounce – that had stood since 1959 (Blair Chapman in Wood Lake). 

For a complete list of North Dakota state fishing records, click here.