Not only did Dennis Stein catch a “brute king, a 33-pounder,” but he did it by himself, as his buddy Capt. Larry Emerson emailed last week.
“And he used no net!” Emerson added. “Instead he wore him out in a one-hour tussle and grabbed him by the gill.”
Stein was fishing on Nimue (nim-a-way) due east of North Point Marina in 135 to 160 feet. The big Chinook came down 119 feet on a white plastic flasher and a green crinkle fly.
Marge Landeen caught the Illinois-record Chinook (37 pounds) on Aug. 7, 1976 in Lake County waters.
FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the Sun-Times. Submit nominations by message on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) and Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com).
