May is big-fish month in Illinois. It has by far the most hook-and-line fish records with 17.
So it wasn’t a surprise when Clyde Swan tied into a big northern pike Friday in late April while fishing alone near La Rabida Children’s Hospital by Jackson Park. He was using a Panther Martin spinner.
Swan contacted Wayne Hankins, who texted, ‘‘Hey, Dale, what’s the northern pike record?’’ Walter Klenzak caught the Illinois record of 26 pounds, 15 ounces on Nov. 9, 1989, from a strip pit in Kankakee County (now Monster Lake at Mazonia South).
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources updates fish records at ifishillinois.org/awards/record_fish_hookline.pdf.
Hankins and Swan thought Swan’s pike might challenge that record, so they put the fish in a cooler to keep it alive, then headed to Bridgeport Bait and Tackle at 3549 S. Halsted. Dan Edwards has the certified scale that used to be at Henry’s Sports and Bait.
The first step on the path to a state record is weighing the fish on a certified scale with two witnesses. That should be done quickly. Fish lose weight very fast. (Fish records are kept by weight.)
With the closures of the Salmon Stop in Waukegan and Henry’s, there are fewer places to weigh fish on certified scales. Places that keep certified scales include Park Bait at Montrose Harbor, Lake Michigan Angler in Winthrop Harbor and Kankakee River Trading Post in Altorf. In the old days, grocers and butchers were more apt to weigh a fish.
The IDNR eventually will have certified scales with all their fisheries biologists. Right now, both fisheries biologists who serve Cook County — Andy Plauck and Seth Love — have certified scales. The Indiana DNR has a certified scale at its Michigan City office.
Kevin Irons, assistant fisheries chief for the IDNR, messaged that photos should be taken when weighing the fish, then ‘‘biologists contacted ASAP afterwards. They will need to verify/validate species/weight, etc.’’ The list of fisheries biologists is at ifishillinois.org/FAQS/biologists.html.
Swan is no stranger to catching big fish. He won the fourth Slamming Salmon Nightmares Tournament in September. He has won the Silver Bass Tournament, an event that Hankins of Nightmare Fishing holds in the summer, four times.
When they got to Bridgeport Bait, the pike measured 41 inches long (they did not get a girth) and weighed 21 pounds, 6 ounces. That’s big, but it was well short of the record.
Records will fall. Indiana has a pending record for yellow perch. I think the Illinois perch record will fall eventually, but I’ve thought that for years.
Wild things
Roy Wick had Baltimore orioles show up over the weekend in the south suburbs. Dan Davies emailed photos Sunday from Griffith, Indiana, of orioles at his feeder. I hung my oriole feeder Monday.
Dog
Rocco, Art Costa’s yellow Lab, earned his third Grand Championship last Wednesday from the Hunting Retriever Club in Omaha, Georgia.
Stray cast
Putting billions into sports stadiums before the lakefront has year-round bathrooms is like buying a Shimano Stella FK reel before learning to cast.