| How Did A 72-Pound Carp End Up In Humboldt Park’s Lagoon? Big Catch Could Be From A Decades-Old Mistake, Experts Say | |
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Credit: Courtesy of Daisy Schultz |
Urban angler Jarrett Knize could break the record for carp in Illinois. The fish may have been accidentally dumped into the lagoon 20 years ago, one expert said.
When urban angler Jarrett Knize cast his line at the Humboldt Park lagoon earlier this month, he was expecting — and hoping — to land a bass or a catfish, one of the game fish the lagoon is stocked with.
Yet Knize’s big catch was anything but typical. He came away with a 72-pound-plus bighead carp, possibly the largest anyone’s ever caught in Illinois. |
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Photos of Knize with the enormous fish — including one of him pushing it across North Avenue in a shopping cart — lit up Twitter last week, bringing back memories of Chicago’s favorite wayward alligator.
But unlike Chance the Snapper, who experts quickly determined was an illegal pet released into the pond, Knize’s catch raises environmental questions: How did an enormous carp — an invasive species — get into the manmade lagoon? And what does its presence mean for the urban pond and vulnerable Lake Michigan?
While Knize waits to see if his record is verified, state environmental officials plan to visit the lagoon this week to ensure the colossal carp is the aberration they suspect it is and not a sign of trouble for local waterways. |
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