Illinois Angler Fails at World Record Attempt, Hooks 2,011 Fish in 24 Hours
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.08.13
The day after America celebrated its independence, Chicago angler Johnny Wilkins, 46, took up his cane pole and a massive cooler filled with bait and headed out to Lake View Nature Center to try to break the world record for most fish caught in a 24-hour period.
Sitting at the edge of the Center’s large pond, he brought up bass, carp, and his target fish, bluegill, by the thousands. The current record is held by extreme angler Jeff Kolodzinzki, at a mind-boggling 2,649 caught in a single day. Wilkins failed to match that number, but still clocked in with 2,011 fish.
“I am all pruney-hand and carved up from catching fish. Two thousand fish is kind of a lot for one day,” Wilkins told CBS Chicago.
In order to beat the previous record, Wilkins would have had to catch 1.8 fish per minute. Astounding as it may sound, the Chicago resident had exceeded that ratio before. In fact, Wilkins, the founder of the Chicago Fishing School and a world championship angler, had a personal best of catching 203 fish over a period of 30 minutes. That amounts to more than six fish per minute. It was not surprising then that Wilkins approached the challenge with optimism.
Unfortunately, the conditions at the pond were less than ideal. The first thing Wilkins noticed was that carp were keeping the smaller bluegills away. In order to reach his target goal, Wilkins had planned to hook as many bluegills as possible. The physical toll of the attempt also began to wear on him. The angler was careful not to harm any of the fish, but inevitably the barbs on some of his catches–as well as the water–took a toll on his hands. By early morning on June 6, Wilkins was exhausted.
“I ended up with 2,011 fish. I was kind of heartbroken about 4 a.m. when I was doing the math in my head and I am really tired and I just thought, ‘There is no way,’” he said.
Wilkins spent the weekend resting, but will be hitting the water again soon to fish with the volunteers who helped him keep his long vigil. You can read more about his attempt here.
