NEW MILFORD, CT — Just after 9 a.m. on May 25, Rafal Wlazlo stood lakeside at Lake Lillinonah locked in a 15-minute struggle.
What emerged from the water—measured, weighed, and witnessed—was a 45-pound, 8-ounce Common Carp, the heaviest freshwater fish ever recorded in Connecticut.
“The fight was absolutely epic,” Wlazlo said. “It was a complete tug of war with the fish.”
According to the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), the catch breaks the previous state record by three ounces and now sits atop Connecticut’s freshwater weight records.
The previous record-holder also came from the same lake, underscoring Lake Lillinonah’s reputation among serious anglers.
Wlazlo, a resident of West Babylon, Long Island, rents a property on Lake Lillinonah and has been singularly focused on this pursuit.
“It’s a difficult lake to fish, but we know it holds some very big carp,” he said.
Carp fishing, while niche in the U.S., is deeply rooted in European sport fishing culture. Wlazlo operates Carp Angler, a business that promotes the pastime stateside.
He began targeting the record early last season and committed most of April and May to this lake, aiming for a trophy-class carp.
Once the fish was netted, Wlazlo contacted nearby friends to document the catch according to DEEP’s verification rules. The fish was released shortly after the weight was certified.
“This allows us to harvest the fish, release it, so it lives,” he added, crediting Lake Lillinonah’s catch-and-release rules for enabling state record pursuits without harming the population.
Wlazlo now has his eyes set on a larger benchmark: “My next goal is to find the first 50-pounder in Connecticut.”
