U of M president donating near-record walleye

Outgoing University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks is giving up one of his prized possessions - the second-largest walleye caught in Minnesota history.

He's donating the 17 pound, 6 ounce lunker to the university's Bell Museum of Natural History at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Bruininks landed the trophy July 4, 1989, on Loon Lake along the Gunflint Trail in northeastern Minnesota. It's just two ounces short of the state record. Bruininks has claimed that the fish would have broken the record had he gotten it to a scale sooner.

The walleye will go on display in late July in a high-traffic location in the museum. Longer-term plans are to incorporate the fish into the aquatics exhibit, where it will help staff educate visitors about fish and the habitat they need.

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