The Berkshire Eagle Reported. The fish was so big that it wouldn’t fit through the 8-inch hole drilled into the ice in the Housatonic River. A period of pushing, pulling and maneuvering ensued. Finally, the big carp relaxed enough so that it could be lifted through the ice. “The battle lasted about half an hour,” said Paul Tawczynski of Great Barrington, who owns Charter the Berkshires, a fishing guide company. “I knew it was a potential giant fish.”
It might also be a world record fish.
Andrew Plumridge, of Sharon, landed a 35 3/4 inch, 32 pound, 2 ounce common carp on the Housatonic Jan. 31 that could set an ice fishing world record in the catch-and-release category — pending verification from the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wis. That organization has been the recognized qualifier of freshwater sportfishing records since 1974.
“It takes about two to four weeks to verify the application,” said Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame business manager Kathy Polich. “If everything checks out, he will have a world record.”
The world record for largest common carp caught in non-ice fishing is 100 pounds, 8 ounces, according to the International Game Fish Association. The state record of 46 pounds, 5 ounces, was set in 2012 at Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury, according to the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.
The largest common carp caught in the all-tackle (any means) category is 43 inches, according to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. The national record for largest carp caught in the kept category– 57 pounds, 13 ounces — was landed in Maryland in 1983. The kept category is for catch-and-kill. Continue reading….
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