Hey guys. Just started fishing this year and this past Saturday I decided to do some fishing for sunfish right before sunset. I caught a few sunfish and as I was about to wrap up I moved toward a dock and caught a few more. Suddenly I looked down and right next to the dock there was this monster fish feeding. I figured there was no way I could catch it with a small hook used for sunfish and a red worm cut in half, but I tried anyway and dropped the bait in front of the fish. It instantly attacked and I hooked it. I was in shock. After a few minutes of fighting and tiring out the fish, I noticed another fisherman nearby and yelled to ask if he had a net. He said no, but came right over to help me. I told him I was new and this fish was way bigger than anything I had caught before. He helped me land it by grabbing some fish grippers and working with me to finally get it. It was about 30” in length. I was in shock that I had just caught this monster Bowfin on only my second solo fishing trip, especially since I hadn’t even caught ten fish in my lifetime before this.
Funny thing is, I had bought an Ugly Stik earlier this summer, but I decided to use my $12 Walmart medium light rod since it was already set up for sunfish. That little rod somehow held up against this beast.
I normally catch and cook, and I was able to get a lot of meat off the fish and ended up making some amazing fish nuggets after checking out a bunch of different recipes online.
A buddy from another state was saying that his state gives out pins or awards for catching fish over a certain size. Does Illinois offer anything like this to commemorate this catch? What’s the best way to commemorate it, and does anyone think I might have broken a record with this fish since it was so huge? I also kind of regret not attempting to preserve the skull as a trophy, but I don’t think digging through my trash after it’s been sitting there for a few days would be the best idea haha.
TLDR: Caught a 30” bowfin on my second solo trip with a $12 Walmart rod. Biggest fish of my life, cooked it into nuggets, wondering if Illinois offers any awards or if this could be a record catch.
Posted by thetruefrozn