The trip from Comstock, Wis., to Lake Powell was enough of a haul, and the tussle to land the 3-pound, 5-ounce crappie that doubtlessly will be certified as the Utah state and Lake Powell record for the species was battle enough.
But neither of these quite measures up to Tim Maack’s frantic 70-mile boat trip to make the catch official. Camped with friends from Wisconsin and Colorado in the Escalante Arm, the group found a school of very large fish and managed to catch two in excess of 3 pounds using Road Runner crappie jigs.
Maack got an official weight from a tackle box scale and, using the Internet, was able to gauge that it probably would be a record.
The race was on to find an official scale.
Their long journey took them back to Bullfrog Marina, where they found the post office closed and no official scales at any convenience stores.
Luckily, a bass tournament was in progress, and the tournament scales recently had been certified. The crappie measured 18.5 inches long and had a girth of 15.125 inches.
