'Fateful twist' leads to catch of enormous lake trout

Murray Zelt’s ice-fishing catch last Wednesday of a 27-pound lake trout, at Horse Lake in British Columbia, Canada, was an exceptional feat.

But the lifetime catch will be remembered as much because of the “fateful twist” that enabled the angler to go fishing in the first place.

Zelt, 57, had gotten up early to drive from his home in 100 Mile House to Kamloops for a follow-up appointment with his doctor, a month after undergoing emergency surgery and spending several days in a hospital.

His plan changed, however, when the surgeon’s office telephoned Zelt as he was about to begin his commute and scheduled a mid-morning phone appointment instead, citing tighter restrictions pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Murray Zelt with 27-pound lake trout

“So that fateful twist allowed me to think, ‘Hmm, up early, now what should I do?’ ” Zelt recalled. “And of course I decide to go back to Horse Lake where I’d caught my previous biggest lake trout (14 pounds) just two days earlier.”

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At Horse Lake, wearing a lucky shirt his family had given him the day his grandson was born, Zelt drilled a cluster of 8-inch holes, which would prove fortuitous.

After jigging for an hour with no success, the phone rang and Zelt began the conversation with his surgeon. He was happy to hear the doctor’s  explanation of a “best-case scenario” involving his recovery after the removal of an intestinal obstruction.

Lake trout being released

He was free to resume outdoor activities.

Just as Zelt was telling the doctor that he was sitting atop a frozen lake, fishing, the massive lake trout struck. “I tell him, ‘OMG I just hooked one and it feels BIG!’ and he was cool, not worried about the medical discussion,” Zelt said.

The angler turned on the speakerphone and allowed the surgeon, also a fisherman, to listen for a spell. But the doctor soon ended the call to allow Zelt to focus on the fight.

About 15 minutes later, after Zelt had broken the cluster of holes to create a larger hole, the fish was pulled onto the ice.

“Bigger lake trout do occasionally get caught some years around the Cariboo ,” said Zelt, who hooked the fish with what he described as a Hawg Tube jig. “But I’m willing to bet none with the angler discussing medical updates with their surgeon when the fish strikes and runs hard.”

After weighing the trout and taking photographs, Zelt released the fish and watched it swim toward the icy depths. Among the first to receive photos, via text, was his surgeon.

–Images courtesy of Murray Zelt