Illinois Fisherman Catches Two State Record Fish in Under an Hour

Two state records broken in just under an hour!

Breaking a state record is something most fishermen can only dream of doing. But 19-year-old Ken Maggiore realized that accomplishment not once, but twice in the span of an hour! The Chicago Sun-Times reports the two new records are a whitefish and a burbot.

Maggiore's unbelievable day came while fishing Chicago's Montrose Harbor on Wednesday. Despite a 3:30 a.m. start with his fishing buddy Tommy Krysciak, things were slow to begin that morning. In fact, he was watching everyone around him catch fish while he caught nothing.

Then, around 11 a.m. something big finally took the shrimp Maggiore was fishing on the bottom. "I thought it was a laker," Maggiore told the Chicago Sun Times. "Saw a little yellow. It was a big burbot. The scale read a little over nine pounds. But it's an analog, so I was nervous."

But Krysciak realized what Maggiore had just caught and told him he had to take the fish to be weighed. Still, Maggiore decided he'd go back to fishing anyway. Still using shrimp as bait, it wasn't long before he had another big bite.

"My rod got these little taps kinda like the whitefish bite," Maggiore told the paper. "Next thing you know, I pull it up, a big silver fish, thought maybe a steelhead. But it was a big whitefish and we were in awe. It was a little over eight pounds."

This time, both Krysciak and Maggiore realized the magnitude of the catch. Especially since a new state record had been set just five days prior. That fish was 6.55 pounds. Still, Maggiore kept fishing and caught some cohos before Maggiore was finally persuaded to take the two fish in to be weighed.

They took the fish to Henry's Sports and Bait Shop where there is a set of certified scales. The 32-inch burbot weighed in at 9.3 pounds and the 27 ¾ whitefish tipped the scales at 7.5 pounds.

Paperwork to certify both records has already been sent out and both fish were also later verified by fisheries biologist Steve Robillard. The catch was the fulfillment of a goal since Maggiore had been actively pursuing the whitefish record.

No doubt the burbot was a pleasant additional surprise though.

"I am still in shock," Maggiore told the Chicago-Sun Times. "All of my buddies are calling me who left early."

2017 looks to be off for a great start with several state records falling already.

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