Jon's 20# Wiper

[Hawnjigs]

Fish fight of his 67 yr. lifetime,  man was he floating for a day or few.  Caught on an improbably small 2" cut head section of a 5" Gulp "Sinking Minnow" which actually looks more like a worm.   Since then i've been using that same 2" stub bait for chunk catfish up to 12# at night.

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Apex size wipers don't grow longer, just thicker and wider.  Notice how proportionately small the mouth & tail are compared to smaller size fish.

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[Kdog]

Nice and chunky. Good Fillets for baking

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I bet that was a battle, never caught one that size but 5-7 lbers really pull so I can only imagine how one that size pulls.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Found out Lake Mac was first stocked in 1992 so the few 20# brutes might be 25 yrs. old. If one wants to experience big wipers find a spot where they were stocked long ago and has a strong forage base.

I fish 2 spots here for big wipers and they are stressful. Even upsizing line & gear from previous 8# to 14# they still manage to break off frequently. Hold too tight & the line breaks - give em too much play & they dive into rock snags. 5-7# are way funner.

Fishing from shoreline, I've found the ideal jig head for preferred 3" Gulp or Power Bait minnows is 1/4 oz with 1/0 32786 heavy wire wide gap hooks.

 

[Hawnjigs]

JJ1, as you know wipers like the fringes of churning moving water. Yesterday I got a 15# at a different spot in a fast water hold that I may not have fished properly in previous visits. Exceptional moving water wipers obviously got that big by not getting caught, hiding in plain sight in micro holds where most would pass up as being unlikely due to fast current sweeping thru. There may be a bottom structure current break that creates a shelter pocket or turnaround seam allowing them to avoid detection. So, even if the current appears too fast to hold fish, consider this possibility.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Worth mentioning that Jon pounded nice wallys during the Fall nite bite last year, and daytime cats in moving water with his stubby.

Our town Walmart has those 5" Gulp chartreuse Sinking Minnows on the rack right now, and think I'll go get me some.

BTW, Jon's big wiper, and most of our catches are released cept for an occasional mid size wiper or wally for a feed.