Connecticut’s freshwater report books had been rewritten final week when Norbert “Norbie” Samok, a match angler from Westchester County, NY, landed a huge 58.05-pound, 44.8-inch frequent carp from Lake Zoar. The catch, formally confirmed by the Connecticut Division of Power and Environmental Safety (DEEP), now stands as the most important freshwater fish ever documented within the state.
Samok hooked the fish round 3 a.m. on June 21 whereas fishing a distant, boat-only part of Lake Zoar. He was utilizing a specifically flavored boilie bait when the record-breaker took the hook. After a tense struggle that included navigating underwater snags, he efficiently introduced the carp aboard to be weighed and measured.
“It’s a mammoth of a standard carp,” mentioned Mike Beauchene, DEEP’s Supervising Fisheries Biologist, in an announcement to CT Insider.
The brand new report surpasses the earlier Connecticut carp report, a 45-pound, 8-ounce fish caught simply three weeks earlier by Rafal Wlazlo in Lake Lillinonah. Remarkably, Wlazlo was available to witness Samok’s catch and supplied his congratulations, reportedly saying, “From one champ to a different.”
This isn’t the primary time Lake Zoar has produced spectacular fish, however Samok’s catch has firmly established it as a trophy carp vacation spot. The lake, which spans elements of Monroe, Newtown, Oxford, and Southbury, is a 10-mile stretch of the Housatonic River recognized for its deep waters and restricted shore entry.
Samok’s fish was formally weighed at 58.05 kilos and measured at 44.8 inches earlier than being safely launched again into the lake, following greatest practices for catch-and-release fishing.
“Congrats to Norbert Samok who landed this 58.05 pound 44.8 inch Widespread Carp on June 21 from Lake Zoar,” Connecticut Fish & Wildlife shared in a Fb submit. “This fish smashes all earlier CT state data and is the most important freshwater fish ever recorded in our Trophy Fish Award Program.”
A part of a Carp Fishing Increase in Connecticut
Widespread carp, lengthy neglected by conventional sport fishermen, at the moment are gaining reputation within the Northeast for his or her measurement, energy, and the problem they provide. Connecticut DEEP has acknowledged this development, encouraging catch-and-release carp fishing and managing these fisheries to permit extra anglers to pursue trophy fish.
Again in early June, On The Water reported on the now-surpassed state report carp caught by Rafal Wlazlo in Lake Lillinonah. You’ll be able to learn that story right here.
One for the Document Books
Samok’s accomplishment is not only a private milestone—it’s a high-water mark for Connecticut anglers and a testomony to the standard of the state’s carp fisheries. With two record-breaking fish caught inside weeks of one another, there’s little question that Connecticut has turn into a hotbed for severe carp anglers.
As Samok himself put it in interviews: he was in shock when he noticed the fish, and he’s proud to see carp fishing gaining the popularity it deserves.
