Illinois DNR Salutes Rockford Teen Angler for Catch of New State-Record Walleye
OutdoorHub 01.11.12
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Division of Fisheries salutes 15 year old Nick Tassoni of Rockford for catching a new state-record walleye. The fish was caught on Jan. 7, 2012 on the Pecatonica River between Rockton and Harrison in Winnebago County. Nick Tassoni caught the fish while fishing the river with his father, David Tassoni.
IDNR Division of Fisheries Regional Administrator Dan Sallee reports the fish weighed in at 14 pounds, 12 ounces and was 31 inches in length with a girth of 20.25 inches. Nick Tassoni’s fish topped the previous state-record walleye, a 14 pounder caught on the Kankakee River in 1961.
Nick Tassoni, a freshman at Rockford Auburn High School, reported catching the fish with a Rapala Minnow Rap lure on Berkley Trilene Big Game 10 lb. line, using a Falcon Carolina Lizzard Dragger rod and Ambassadeur 5000 reel.
“We congratulate Nick Tassoni on catching a beautiful fish and commend this young man and his father for being alert to the fact that they had a big one that might be a record-setter,” said Sallee. “Nick’s fish easily erased a more than 50-year-old state record for walleye, and this catch speaks to the fun families can have while fishing in Illinois.”
For more information on catching fish, state-record fish and fishing opportunities in Illinois, go to the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov/fishing or check out www.ifishillinois.org.
