Few Minnesotans respect the burbot, that snaky, slimy, eel-like codfish that lurks in the depths of the state’s big lakes.
Most say it’s downright ugly. Some say it’s the “ish” of fish. Many won’t touch one because of their tendency to wrap snake-like around an arm.
But not Aaron Guthrie.
The 35-year-old angler from Bemidji loves catching and eating burbot, also called eelpout. So he was all smiles Friday after hooking a 19.5-pound burbot while fishing in his ice house on Lake of the Woods. If certified by the Department of Natural Resources, it will be a state record, edging out a 19.3-pounder caught in Lake of the Woods in 2001.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime ‘pout,” Guthrie said. “It’s going on the wall. It’s a state record. I’m not going to eat it.”
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