Three generations of fishermen land 15-pound catches

    On the morning of June 25 while fishing alone on Sebec Lake, 80-year-old Howard Altermatt, of Tim’s Cove Road, Sebec Shores in Willimantic, netted a 17-pound, 37-inch togue after a 70-minute battle. The catch made him the third generation of the Altermatt family to boat a togue of 15 pounds or better from Sebec Lake.

Photo courtesy of Howard Altermatt

REELY BIG FISH — Howard Altermatt of Willimantic poses with a 17-pound, 37-inch togue he caught in Sebec Lake on June 25, in front of Mountain’s Market in Dover-Foxcroft. Howard’s father and son have also caught togue from Sebec Lake weighing 15 pounds or more.

    Howard Altermatt’s father Doug Altermatt caught his 16.5-pounder in June 1956, also while fishing alone. His son Patrick caught a 15-pounder while fishing with his father in June of 2008
    Altermatt’s comment after catching the family record was, “The biologists say that there are togue of 30 pounds or better in Sebec, but my feeling is that they sure didn’t get to be that big by being stupid. On that lake you have to put in some long hard hours for every big fish that you catch. They don’t come easy.”