Catching a first muskie late in life carries special meaning and this one earns Fish of the Week

Some first muskies just take a bit longer to catch. Take Fred Runge, an 81-year-old from Aurora.

For many years he has taken trips to the Chippewa Flowage in northern Wisconsin with family. The latest one was extra special on a couple levels.

“After missing the last two years so he could take care of his wife, we got him back up there for a week over Father’s Day with his son, grandkids and great grandkids,” his son Pete emailed.

Then, on June 23, Fred caught his first muskie, a 40-incher.

“[He] said he wished his wife could have been there to see it,” Pete emailed.

FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times. The online posting here at chicago.suntimes.com/outdoorsgoes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on the wide world of the outdoors.

To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).