Boy Catches Huge Fish In Little Evergreen Lake

By Alan Gionet

EVERGREEN, Colo. (CBS4)- It's a monster. That's young angler Bennett Russell with a whale of a fish from diminutive Evergreen Lake. It's a tiger Muskie that measures 40 inches long, according to Ranger Tim Tolnay.

Bennett was fishing Friday while his mom and sisters were up the road at Go Paint.

"And all of a sudden they came running up and said, 'Is it okay if we leave everything? My son just caught this fish!'" repeated Karen Belmont, owner of Go Paint.

Mom Mindy had just gotten the photo from her son. All good with Karen, so off they went.

Bennett yanked the fish out of the lake along the boardwalk on the south side. His friend had to help him carry it out.

There's a 36-inch requirement, but Ranger Tim said it was more than that and good to go.

The state record for a tiger Muskie is not in danger. That was a 53-inch, 40-plus pound whopper caught in Quincy Reservoir back in 1994.

But, Bennett has a story to tell. And they'll be talking about the big one from Evergreen Lake for a long time to come.

Alan Gionet is anchor of CBS4 This Morning and reports on a wide variety of issues and "Good Question" stories. He started at CBS4 in 1994. Follow Alan on Twitter @AlanGTV or on Facebook.