An angler’s early-morning catch from Lake Zoar in western Connecticut has set a new state fishing record—and it’s nothing short of legendary.
On June 21, Norbert Samok of Westchester County, N.Y., reeled in a massive common carp weighing 58.05 pounds and measuring 44.8 inches, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced. This “mammoth” fish smashes the previous record of 45.8 pounds, set just weeks earlier at Lake Lillinonah.
“It’s a mammoth of a common carp,” said Mike Beauchene, DEEP’s supervising fisheries biologist.
Samok, 50, hooked the carp at around 3 a.m. using a boilie—a cooked dough bait favored by carp anglers. The location, he said, is only reachable by boat and remains a closely guarded secret. After a challenging battle involving snags and strong resistance, Samok finally landed the fish and was stunned by its size. He released it after weighing.
Carp fishing has gained popularity in Connecticut thanks to the species’ size, strength, and variety. Most carp anglers practice catch-and-release, helping create long-running legends about massive fish being caught—and caught again—over the years.
Introduced to Connecticut in 1871 as a food source, common carp are not to be confused with the invasive Asian species like silver carp found in the Mississippi River. While carp in Connecticut can grow large and tolerate poor water quality, they don’t pose the same ecological threat.
Despite its record-breaking size for Connecticut, Samok’s carp is still dwarfed by global standards. The world record, caught in Hungary in May 2024, tipped the scales at a staggering 105.4 pounds.
As Connecticut’s largest strictly freshwater fish, carp can often be seen leaping from the water at dusk, sparking rumors of bass or trout that are “the size of a child.” But this latest record proves that sometimes, the fish tales are real.
Leave a Reply