Gregory Hamilton (he's behind his grandson, Martise Hardeman) caught what appears to be a bighead carp from Columbus Park lagoon Friday evening. Biologists confirmed it is a bighead (sentence CHANGED).
The 42-inch fish with a 25-inch girth weighed 34 pounds, 11 ounces on the certified scales at Henry's Sports, Bait & Marine.
The tale of the catching by the 51-year-old Southeast Side man is worth hearing. He was fishing a crawler on a No. 2 hook and 10-pound line.
``At first I thought I got snagged on a log. When I saw it jump out of the water, I knew it was a fish and hollered.''
The day was extra memorable because he has his 14-year-old grandson along.
Hamilton, who gets around fishing rivers like the Kankakee and Mississippi, but never had a fish that big.
``I didn't even realize they had a fish that big in Columbus. It took me about 30 minutes. I didn't want to break my rod.''
That's understandable. He had just bought a new Shakespeare rod and reel.
Henry's is holding it in their cooler for the IDNR.
Awesome job by Mr. Hamilton. Maybe someday we can get the carp and undesireable fish out of our lakes.