Check Out Huge Record Crappie Caught in Illinois

It seems appropriate that the presumed new state record crappie caught in Illinois earlier this week was taken on a bass lure.

The fish was that big.

https://youtu.be/tLwoanByot4

Internet reports abound about Ryan Povolish's 4 1/2-pound black crappie caught at Kincaid Lake on Tuesday. The fish was caught on a Strike King Pure Poison with a Rage Tail Craw, and bettered the 40-year-old record for the species, according to the Southern Illinoisan newspaper.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has yet to make an official announcement about the pending record, but the Southern Illinoisan reported state fisheries biologist Shawn Hirst weighed the fish on a certified scale and the official weight was 4 pounds, 8.8 ounces.

There doesn't appear to be anything standing in the way of it being the new state record.

The current record, caught in 1976 at Rend Lake, weighed 4-8.

The story of catching the record fish goes something like this, according to the newspaper account:

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• Povolish, of Carbondale, and Josh Jackson, of Cobden, planned on a day of bass fishing at Kincaid Lake.
• They met an angler asking for help find some crappie spots to fish, which led them to a weedy area.

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• They hit a weed bed in about six feet of water and when they didn't get a crappie bite, Polovish picked up a bass rod.
• The big crappie bit moments later.

"I probably took about five casts and thought I had hooked a bass honestly," Polovish told the newspaper. "Josh actually reached down and grabbed it and threw it in the boat. That's something I'll never forget."

Read more about Povolish's catch here