The Marathon Man

Jeff Kolodzinski

Editor's note: Anglers across the U.S. are buying fishing licenses in record numbers. Following is a story in our new series, Fishing America, representing a slice of American angling pursuits.

Bigger is not always better as far as Jeff Kolodzinski and fishing is concerned. Kolo, as he is known, doesn't target the biggest fish, usually just the most.

Kolodzinski, also known as The Marathon Man, has competed for the U.S. in international competitions, and he used that "European shore fishing" style recently in an attempt to break his Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most fish caught in a 24-hour period.

After catching 1,680 fish last year to set the record, he missed the mark by about a hundred because a storm hit over the Maynard's dock on Lake Minnetonka and knocked out more than two hours of fishing.

The would-be glory was only secondary though as the feat was also attempted to benefit Fishing for Life and the "Armed Forces Family Fishing Celebration," a day where kids of those deployed or recently back from action get a day on the lake. The Frabill vice president of marketing also sought publicity for another reason.

"I really wanted to show people you can have a ton of fun fishing," he said. "You don't have to invest a bunch of money and you can catch a ton of fish."

In his European events, Kolo might use expensive tackle, but for his record try he wanted generally inexpensive gear anyone could purchase over the counter.

"I kinda took a Chevy Nova," he said. "I didn't want to set the record in a Ferrari."

So with a simple 10-foot cane pole, 4-pound Suffix fluorocarbon line and size 12 VMC barbless hooks, he went out with his $25 of tackle to underline that point. He did note that the hooks had to be really sharp. Last year he landed some 970 fish on one hook, not losing time retying.

Many of those were little 2- and 3-inch bluegills, but this year, with lake levels down and a lot more weeds in Minnetonka, he caught more good-sized bluegill.

"I was machining through those last year, but I caught an amazing number of adult bluegill, a third to half of them the size you put in a livewell," said Kolo, who because of the amount of sharp-finned fish wears fingerless gloves. "It's a lot of holes in your hand. I wear gloves but they still come through."

He's also decked out with a special competitive fishing chair with bins to speed baiting hooks. So he sat on the dock at Maynard's fishing and entertaining visitors whose biggest question, amid the fanfare of media coverage, signage and a Frabill donation bucket, was "What are you doing?"