Shoreline Angler Sets Smallmouth Record

A night-time angler fishing from the Lake Michigan shore in downtown Chicago now holds the state’s smallmouth bass record.

The 7-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass caught by Joseph Capilupo, of LaGrange, Ill., beat the previous record (caught in 1985) by 12 ounces, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources reported on Facebook.

See more photos and info on Capilupo’s record smallmouth bass.

The fish was caught around 10:50 p.m. on Oct. 14, the agency said. It measured 22 ¼ inches long and had a girth of 16 ½ inches.

The record was released back into Lake Michigan. See the release video here.

Capilupo’s record was the first Illinois record reported so far in 2019. Click to see Illinois state records.

Read more Game & Fish articles about record catches.

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