Paul Pezalla keeps 12-year run alive because he loves it

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Paul Pezalla holds the fish, caught from the Chicago River on Jan. 8, that made it 12 consecutive years he has caught a carp from Chicago-area waters every month of the year — a 12 x 12. | Courtesy of Todd Carlander

Updated: February 19, 2012 8:21AM

A small carp caught near the graffiti wall on the Chicago River downtown at about 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 8 kept Paul Pezalla’s big streak alive.

The 7-pound, 6-ounce carp marked the 144th consecutive month that Pezalla has caught a carp from Chicago-area waters — a 12 x 12 to start 2012.

“None was more distant than Joliet,’’ Pezalla said. “Getting the winter fish in California or some other warm climate would be a ‘meh’ sort of accomplishment.’’

Pezalla, 64, of Oak Park, is one of the pre-eminent carp fishermen in the country. Love of carp led the former biology professor and furniture maker/woodworker to develop Wacker Bait & Tackle, LLC, now in Broadview.

The biggest carp in his streak is bittersweet for me. Pezalla caught the 38-2 carp, the biggest documented from the Chicago River, in late November 2008.

“I was fishing alone; you had planned to join me but had to cancel, but fortunately my friend Mirek Malej stopped by to say hello and was able to help me,’’ Pezalla said. “It was clear from the outset that I had hooked a large fish, but the first sight of it was breathtaking. Mirek got the fish in the net, tried to lift it from the water but thought the net had snagged. It wasn’t snagged, just very, very heavy.’’

The “tensest’’ in the streak were the last two. Pezalla was scheduled for rotator-cuff surgery Dec. 9. He had one weekend in December and tried a favored spot on the Chicago River.

“Like most places on this public waterway, it was not angler-friendly,’’ Pezalla said. “I was conspicuous and, not surprisingly, was spotted by the private security guard. Fortunately, he was a reasonable man and let me stay.’’

Pezalla blanked the first Saturday of December. He came back the next day, and the guard let him stay to catch a few carp to keep the streak going.

After his surgery, his right arm was useless through December and into January. He rushed to get out Jan. 8.

“I had arranged to meet Todd Carlander on the bank, so I did not anticipate having to net the fish myself,’’ Pezalla said. “I got to the river before Todd and, unwisely, started fishing without him. I had three rods set up on the rod pod and soon had a fish on the center rod. My limited strength and mobility made playing the fish a challenge, and it did tangle in the line of another rod. I solved that problem but still faced the issue of netting the fish and getting it on the bank.

“Once the fish tired a bit and was near the surface, I set the rod on the rod pod and grabbed the landing net. The fish took the opportunity to swim into a snag in the undercut of the bank. So it was back to the rod to coax the fish out of the snag and then back to the net to bank it. As soon as the fish was on the unhooking mat, Todd arrived, just in time to do the photos and the release.’’

“This was probably one of the few occasions where Paul was glad that it wasn’t a 30-pound whopper,’’ Carlander said.

I asked Pezalla why he did it.

“I have never had to ask myself why I’m doing this,’’ he said. “I guess for the same reasons I snuggle with my wife, buy my grandchildren ice cream and smoke pork ribs. I like to. The weather sometimes makes it a little difficult to step out the back door on a Sunday morning, but I don’t think I’ve ever regretted it once I get to the river. Regardless of the weather, watching the river flow by and waiting for the unknown is always a deeply satisfying experience.’’

Hunting notes

Geese finally arrived, just in time for the last two weeks of Illinois’ reconfigured central zone. Braidwood Lake and surrounding clubs are the epicenter. Braidwood reported 34 geese shot on Saturday, 25 on Sunday.

School scoop

Dan Palmer expects to have a walleye tournament for high schoolers set for this spring.

The veteran tournament organizer hopes to center it near where Rockford Auburn freshman Nick Tassoni, 15, caught his Illinois-record walleye (14-12) on Jan. 7 from the Pecatonica River.

Stray cast

The Twitter pop-up on too-long tweets saying to be “more clever’’ instead of “more succinct’’ is like seeing walleye pike signs in the fish market.