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By Louie Stout

Big Orange Fish Surprises Edwardsburg AnglerBig Orange Fish Surprises Edwardsburg Angler

Bo Thomas launched his boat early one misty morning with hopes of catching a few largemouth bass on Harwood Lake near Jones, Mich.

His buddy Jaxon Disher and girlfriend Emily Lopez, both of Edwardsburg, accompanied the 19-year old Edwardsburg angler that dreary Wednesday.

Thomas is an avid bass angler and a member of the Western Michigan University Bass Fishing team. He has aspirations of pursing a pro fishing career, something his father, Mickey, dabbled in years ago.

Around 10 a.m., Bo made a cast with a drop-shot rig far off the drop-off on which his boat was sitting as they worked the edge of a flat.

A drop-shot rig consists of a 1/0 Gamakatsu G Finesse hook tied onto the line a few inches above a sinker. He had a Jackall Flick soft plastic finesse worm fashioned on the hook. It’s a popular technique for catching summertime bass hovering near the bottom in deep water.

When the bait stopped falling, Thomas closed his spinning reel bail, lifted on the rod tip and immediately felt weight.

He set the hook and a tremendous battle ensued for the next five minutes or more.

“The fish ran my drag so much I was afraid he was going to peel off all my line,” said Thomas.

Thomas had to play the fish carefully – he hooked it on a 6-8 medium light Shimano Crucial spinning rod with a Model 1000 Shimano Stradic spinning reel spooled with 15-pound PowerPro line. However, he only had a 7-pound Gamma Fluorocarbon leader attached to the braided main line. The 7-pound dainty leader is ideal for imparting natural lure action and fine for fighting Michiana bass, but overmatched by a fish this size.

“I really had to take my time and let the equipment absorb the hard runs from the fish,” he said.

Thomas wasn’t sure what kind of fish was since it didn’t act like a bass. But when the fish got close to the boat, he was shocked at what he saw.

“I looked at Jack, and said, ‘man, is that fish really orange?’” Thomas said.

It was, and a strange looking fish indeed. This fish was bright orange with bold, black blotches scattered over its body.

It was an 11.50-pound Koi (coy) fish.

Yes, the kind of fish that some people keep in their aquariums or ponds.

Now, Koi fish aren’t native to Michigan or Indiana’s freshwater lakes. They are a member of the amur carp family. This critter was undoubtedly one that outgrew, or escaped someone’s pond, and likely released into Harwood Lake.

And in case you’re wondering, that’s against the law.

Anyway, the fish was netted and placed in the livewell. After careful study, Thomas recognized it as a Koi fish, having seen some in people’s ponds.

After reviewing the photo, Michigan biologist Brian Gunderman confirmed it was likely a Koi fish and a big one at that.

“However, depending upon the sub species, they can grow to 90 pounds, and varieties of Koi grow to 36 inches and weigh over 45 pounds,” Gunderman explained.

Koi are basically vegetarians and will feed along the bottom. Perhaps Thomas’ lure resembled a piece of vegetation floating off the bottom.

Thomas made a few phone calls and decided to keep the fish in his livewell and take it home when a friend told him he’d take it for his private pond.

One thing is for certain – the experience was invaluable in how to play big fish and one he’ll not forget.