INDIANA — A Hoosier angler has claimed the title of big fish record after landing a burbot in Lake Michigan.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Anthony Burke, of Cedar Lake, was fishing for perch in Lake Michigan on Saturday, January 6, when he landed a 37.25-inch long burbot weighing 14 pounds 3.6 ounces.
Burke’s catch beat the previous record held by Phillip Duracz by nearly 3 pounds. Duracz caught a burbot weighing 11.4 pounds on January 10, 2023, while fishing in Lake Michigan.
Burbots typically spend most of their time offshore in deep, cold water in Illinois or Michigan’s jurisdictional waters. They move into shallower Indiana waters during late fall and winter to feed and spawn. According to the Department of Natural Resources, burbots are good to eat. They are in the cod family and have firm, white flesh.
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