The smile on Louis Martinez, 19, of Ortonville, Michigan, is about as wide as the state-record chinook salmon he is holding. He reeled in the 47.86-pound salmon off the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, about halfway between Chicago and the Canadian border. The boat captain, Bobby Sullivan, of Icebreaker Charters (top left, wearing the hat), shares in the moment as they weighed the 4-foot-long salmon.
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) - Louis Martinez will never have to embellish the proverbial fish story after confirmation that he set a new state record for the largest chinook salmon ever caught in Michigan.
The teenager from Ortonville, Michigan, reeled in the 47.86-pound salmon on Aug. 7, while fishing on a charter boat in Lake Michigan with his mom, sister and stepdad.
The previous record - a Chinook salmon of just over 46 pounds - had stood for 43 years.
The 19-year-old Martinez, on his first fishing expedition for salmon, battled to pull the record-setting fish in for some 30 minutes off the lake's Big Sable Point, near Ludington.
"The first 10 minutes were quite a fight," said Martinez, adding that his arms began to feel sore toward the end of his struggle with the big fish.
Martinez described the captain of the boat, Bobby Sullivan, and his family members screaming with excitement as they finally got the fish on deck.
"They were all screaming, and I was like: "What did I do?" Martinez said.
As word of a possible record spread, a crowd gathered to behold the massive salmon in Ludington and take pictures of Martinez holding it in his arms, beaming.
Jay Wesley, the Lake Michigan basin coordinator, an official for the Department of Natural Resources, jumped in a car and drove to Ludington to review the paperwork. He certified the new state record.
"I was working in my garage and told my wife, I'm heading to Ludington. I've got to see this thing," he said.
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