By Louie Stout

Leo Economakos with 15 lb. walleye

Leo Economakos is an avid walleye angler.

But like most Michiana fishermen, he just loves to fish. That’s why he was fishing off the St. Joseph, Mich. pier on Lake Michigan two weeks ago. He had time to kill, so he decided to grab his gear, some spawn, and go after winter steelhead.

“I heard some guys were getting some steelhead, so I figured I’d go give it a try,” said the St. Joe retiree.

Economakos is quite familiar with the St. Joseph. He spent a lot of time this summer fishing for walleyes, his first love.

“I have a Lund set up for walleye fishing and I can fish for everything out of that boat,” he said. “The St. Joe is good for walleyes until late summer and the boat really helps.”

But come winter the boat is put away so it’s all about steelhead fishing, which is why he was on the pier that day.

“I fished the lake side of the pier for about two hours then decided to toss a bait into the river side,” he said. “All of a sudden, the rod began to move so I grabbed it and set the hook.”

Economakos knew it was a big fish.

“Probably a lake trout,” he thought.

He was patient, playing the fish until it tired. And then he saw the flash of white on the tail.

It was a walleye! And a darn big one.

He has fished several of the Midwest’s top walleye fisheries, including Erie, the St. Clair River, many northern Michigan lakes and even Lake Michigan. He’s caught his share of 10-pound-plus trophies, including an 11.2 pound walleye from the St. Joe last summer.

This fish was bigger than any walleye he’d ever hooked.

He played the fish until it tired slipped his long handled net beneath the fish, and gingerly hoisted it up the wall and over the railing.

He hauled the fish to the car and raced to Charlie’s Fishing Hole, a St. Joseph, Mich. tackle shop, and had it weighed.

The fish pushed the scale to 15.05 pounds. If it were caught in Indiana waters of Lake Michigan, it would have been a state record, which currently is 14 pounds, 4 ounces, caught from Kankakee River in 1974. It was tied with a fish caught in Tippecanoe River in 1979.

However, the Michigan record is 17.19 pounds caught in 1951 from the Pine River.

“If I would have caught this one in the spring when it would be full of eggs, it probably would have weighed 17 pounds as well,” he noted.

Economakos couldn’t help but chuckle to himself about the unexpected catch.

“I spend a lot of time studying about walleyes, presentations and tactics that catch them,” he said. “So I go out steelhead fishing and catch a giant on a steelhead lure.”

That’s not the first time he’s caught fish he wasn’t targeting.

“A couple years ago I was perch fishing with ultra-light tackle and caught a 16-pound steelhead,” he recalled. “One time I caught two big catfish in 80 feet of water while perch fishing, and last summer I caught a 4-foot sturgeon while perch fishing.”

Economakos’ big fish exploits are getting expensive. The 11.2-pound walleye he caught last summer was sent to a taxidermist to be mounted.

“So now I have to get this one mounted, too,” he said with a grin.

He’ll have a hard time getting any sympathy from most anglers who spend a lifetime trying to catch a 10 pounder to hang on the wall.

“Sometimes,” he said with a chuckle, “it’s better to be lucky than good.”