John used to live in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. He and his father would often go fishing on the pier at Pratt Beach, on the south end of Loyola Park. (Click photos to see larger images.)Today, John lives in Elmwood Park. Today, John caught a huge fish when he came to enjoy a beautiful day in his old stomping grounds. I watched John and two fishing buddies walk out on the pier.
The water has been unusually clear recently, and they only got halfway out when they spotted a huge carp.We all guessed it weighed between 45-50 pounds. Within a few minutes, John had the behemoth fish on a hook.
He pulled it along the pier and eventually got it to the edge of the water, where he proudly showed it off for photos by the crowd that had gathered.
Then, he released the big carp, which swam calmly off to safer waters.
