Nick Tassoni set a new walleye state record for Illinois when he boated a 14-pound, 12-ounce fish on the Pecatonica River while fishing with his father, David. Photo by Courtesy of Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

January 11, 2012 • MLF • Archives

Nick Tassoni, a 15-year-old high school freshman, set a new walleye state record for Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 7, when he boated a 14-pound, 12-ounce fish on the Pecatonica River. According to Illinois Wildlife Officer Brian Alt, who verified the catch, Tassoni was fishing with his father, David, and trolling a Rapala No. 7 Minnow (fire-tiger) when the fish hit.

“The Pecatonica River is a small tributary of the Rock River, and in the 18 years I’ve worked this area, I’ve never seen a walleye coming anywhere close to that size,” officer Alt said of Tassoni’s catch. “The state has stocked walleyes in the Pec and other local rivers for a number of years, but typically the fish that local anglers catch run a lot smaller.”

Tassoni, who lives in Rockford, Ill., was using a Falcon rod with an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 reel loaded with 10-pound-test Trilene. The walleye measured 31 inches long with a girth of 20 inches. The previous Illinois record walleye weighed 14 pounds and was caught from the Kankakee River in 1961.