Indiana fishing record broken for 3rd time after another angler breaks record twice on same day
Phillip Duracz of Chesterton, Indiana, broke the state’s burbot fishing record 11 days after a new record was established
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The burbot fishing record in Indiana has been broken for a third time in less than a month.
Phillip Duracz of Chesterton, a town in Porter County, caught an 11.4-pound burbot from Lake Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 10, according to a press release issued by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The record-breaking catch was reeled in from the same body of water where Scott Skafar, an angler from Valparaiso, Indiana, caught two burbots (10.2 pounds and nearly 9.7 pounds) on Dec. 30, 2022, that broke the state’s 32-year-old record.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}INDIANA MAN BREAKS STATE FISHING RECORD TWICE IN 1 DAY ON LAKE MICHIGAN
Records from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources show the state’s record-setting burbot from 1990 weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces.
"The recent warm weather coupled with light winds has provided excellent opportunities for anglers to fish Lake Michigan at a time they are usually unable to safely access the lake," Ben Dickinson, a fisheries research biologist at Lake Michigan, said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phillip Duracz (left) caught an 11.4-pound burbot from Lake Michigan on Jan. 10, 2023, that broke Indiana's burbot fishing record. Scott Skafar (right) previously broke the record on Dec. 30, 2022, with two burbots he caught from Lake Michigan, which weighed approximately 10.2 and 9.7 pounds, respectively. (Phillip Duracz and Scott Skafar via Indiana Department of Natural Resources)
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Fox News Digital previously reported that burbots are bottom-dwelling fish that swim up to Lake Michigan’s surface between the months of November and April when temperatures are cold.
Burbots are ray-finned freshwater fish. (iStock)
Burbots are safe to eat and have "firm, white flesh and a large liver, similar to cod," according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
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The 11.4-pound burbot isn’t the only state fishing record Duracz has achieved, the wildlife agency reported.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Duracz also holds the Indiana state fishing record for lake whitefish, which he achieved on Lake Michigan in March 2021. The fish weighed 9.34 pounds, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.