(Illinois DNR image)
June 21, 2017
By Scott Bernarde
It's been a stellar fishing year so far in Illinois, where a 21-plus-pound record hybrid striped bass was recently caught.
Seven new state fishing records have been recorded in Illinois this year, and the latest one might be the most impressive.
Robert Vericella set a new Illinois record for hybrid striped bass on June 12.(Illinois DNR image)
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Fisheries reported on Facebook the newest record was set by Robert Vericella of Bloomington, who caught a 21 pound, 7.2-ounce hybrid striped bass June 12 on Lake Bloomington. The catch was certified by state fisheries biologist Mike Garthaus.
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The catch beat the old record by more than a pound.
The previous record, caught on Lake of Egypt in 1993, weighed 20 pounds, .32 ounces.
Vericella's record is the second record broken this year for popular gamefish species.
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In March, Ryan Povolish set a new record for hybrid crappie , a behemoth that weighed 4 pounds, 8.8 ounces, and bested a 40-year-old record for the species.
Povolish reportedly caught the crappie on a Strike King Pure Poison with a Rage Tail  Craw while he was fishing for bass. The Illinois DNR said Povolish's record crappie is currently on display at the Bass Pro Shops store in East Peoria.
Vericella's hybrid striped bass is the latest big catch in what has been a record year in Illinois.
Among the other records certified included lake whitefish, which has been broken three times in 2017, the latest a 7-pound, 8-ounce fish caught by Ken Maggiore on Lake Michigan on March 22, according to the DNR.
On that same day, Maggiore also broke the state burbot record with a 9-pound, 4.8-ounce catch out of Lake Michigan.
On May 8, Dan Norris set a new record for brown bullhead, which was caught in Emiquon Lake and weighed 3 pounds, 4.8 ounces.
For more information on fishing opportunities in Illinois, check out www.ifishillinois.org .
