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A New York man has reeled in a monster-sized fish in Connecticut smashing the previous state record set just weeks ago, officials said.
Norbert Samok, 50, of Westchester County, caught a 58.05-pound, 44.8-inch common carp on June 21 that blew past the previous Connecticut state record by more than 13 pounds, officials said. Samok’s common carp record has now been officially recognized as the largest ever caught in the state by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
Samok said he caught the fish in his favorite spot at Lake Zoar in the Monroe area on June 21.
“I realized right away this was something big,” Samok said. “I was fishing in about 30 feet of water. Usually the fish never come up to the surface. But this fish somehow came up right to the surface and then went back to the bottom and the line got snagged twice. It had a very slow movement and wasn’t running like crazy. It felt really, really heavy.”
The fish was hauled in around 3 a.m. and took Samok about 20 minutes to bring it ashore. He said that is was a “very scary” situation because twice he thought he would lose the fish on his line. The fisherman said that he used a boat to get out to his favorite spot and then fished on shore.
“It didn’t fight that hard because it was dark out. Fish are less aggresive at night. My guess is if that was during the day, that fish might have been much tougher to reel in. It was more the snags and my line kept getting caught that made it hard. That area has a lot of tree limbs and rocks on the bottom.”
Connecticut Fish and Wildlife posted about Samok’s accomplishment on Wednesday and said the new record may stand for long time.
“Holy CARP (or is it a baby Hippo?)! Congrats to Norbert Samok who landed this 58.05 pound 44.8 inch Common Carp on June 21 from Lake Zoar. This fish smashes all previous CT state record common carp by 13 + pounds!!!!,” according to a Facebook post.
Samok’s catch marks the second time this month a state-record fish has been certified caught. On June 1, a 45.8 pound carp caught by Rafal Wlazo set the state record before being broken by Samok. Wlazo, a longtime angler from West Babylon, Long Island, caught his carp out of Lake Lillinonah in Southbury on the morning of May 25.
Samok said Wlazo was present for his catch and is the one who took the pictures and video.
“He’s a very nice guy,” Samok said. “He was the one that made me get the fish officially weighed and measured. I’ve never fished with him before but I knew he was fishing close by. So I reached out to him asking if he can help me certify the fish and he graciously agreed. I’ve caught some huge fish before but this is the first that is officially on the books.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected]
Continue reading...
Norbert Samok, 50, of Westchester County, caught a 58.05-pound, 44.8-inch common carp on June 21 that blew past the previous Connecticut state record by more than 13 pounds, officials said. Samok’s common carp record has now been officially recognized as the largest ever caught in the state by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
Samok said he caught the fish in his favorite spot at Lake Zoar in the Monroe area on June 21.
“I realized right away this was something big,” Samok said. “I was fishing in about 30 feet of water. Usually the fish never come up to the surface. But this fish somehow came up right to the surface and then went back to the bottom and the line got snagged twice. It had a very slow movement and wasn’t running like crazy. It felt really, really heavy.”
The fish was hauled in around 3 a.m. and took Samok about 20 minutes to bring it ashore. He said that is was a “very scary” situation because twice he thought he would lose the fish on his line. The fisherman said that he used a boat to get out to his favorite spot and then fished on shore.
“It didn’t fight that hard because it was dark out. Fish are less aggresive at night. My guess is if that was during the day, that fish might have been much tougher to reel in. It was more the snags and my line kept getting caught that made it hard. That area has a lot of tree limbs and rocks on the bottom.”
Connecticut Fish and Wildlife posted about Samok’s accomplishment on Wednesday and said the new record may stand for long time.
“Holy CARP (or is it a baby Hippo?)! Congrats to Norbert Samok who landed this 58.05 pound 44.8 inch Common Carp on June 21 from Lake Zoar. This fish smashes all previous CT state record common carp by 13 + pounds!!!!,” according to a Facebook post.
Samok’s catch marks the second time this month a state-record fish has been certified caught. On June 1, a 45.8 pound carp caught by Rafal Wlazo set the state record before being broken by Samok. Wlazo, a longtime angler from West Babylon, Long Island, caught his carp out of Lake Lillinonah in Southbury on the morning of May 25.
Samok said Wlazo was present for his catch and is the one who took the pictures and video.
“He’s a very nice guy,” Samok said. “He was the one that made me get the fish officially weighed and measured. I’ve never fished with him before but I knew he was fishing close by. So I reached out to him asking if he can help me certify the fish and he graciously agreed. I’ve caught some huge fish before but this is the first that is officially on the books.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected]
Continue reading...
