Joe Capilupo of LaGrange, Ill. with record smallmouth bass

The 33-year-old Illinois smallmouth bass record has been broken on Lake Michigan.

The 7-pound, 3-ounce bass was caught Monday night from Monroe Harbor in Chicago by Joe Capilupo of LaGrange, Ill. It was caught on a Z-man Ned Rig in California Craw color.

The fish measured 22¼ inches long and had a girth of 16½ inches.

The former state record smallmouth was caught in March, 1985 from a Fulton County strip pit. It weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, the fish was kept overnight in a special tank at Henry’s Tackle in Chicago and was released safely back into Lake Michigan the next morning.