Storyteller has a tale
Listen to Borgert recount how he landed best perch
‘Please don’t come off, PLEASE!’’ Many of us know that plea. Danny ‘‘Taks’’ Borgert is one of the most dedicated and best lakefront anglers. He also is a helluva follow on Instagram because he has an artistic bent and storytelling skills.
On June 23, he had a story to tell from fishing on the North Side.
‘‘My new personal-best perch!’’ he posted. ‘‘Measured at 15.5 inches, which was my previous best. But this has plenty of girth on my previous one!
‘‘When I set the hook, I first thought small sheephead. I saw it coming in and started freaking out. ‘Please don’t come off, PLEASE!’
‘‘I got on my stomach and reached in the water and grabbed it. I screamed, ‘That is the biggest perch I’ve ever seen.’ I was by myself at about 5:45 a.m. Hahaha! I have literally caught thousands of perch over the decades and have two over 15 inches. To give you an idea of how rare any perch over 15 inches is out there. I am getting this big old girl mounted.’’
Tom Wendel, who did ‘‘a great job’’ on a huge pike Borgert caught a few years ago at Diversey, will do the taxidermy.
A true jumbo like that deserves some perspective. In another photo Borgert messaged, he compared a 13.5-inch jumbo and his 15.5-incher. The difference is astonishing.
‘‘No weight, but last 15.5-incher I got was 1.86 pounds,’’ Borgert messaged. ‘‘This had more girth . . . . I wish more people could [have] actually witnessed its size. It was such a giant, and the pictures I got don’t fully do that fish justice. Hoping the mount will.’’
For perspective, the Illinois record for yellow perch remains 2 pounds, 8.75 ounces. Joe Grega caught it
Jan. 5, 1974, from Arrowhead Club Lake in Will County. Tracking down Grega for a column five years ago remains one of my favorite things.
The record I really wish Borgert had broken is unofficial. Ken ‘‘The Lakefront Lip’’ Schneider caught the unofficial — but verified on two certified scales — Chicago-record perch (2 pounds, a halfounce) on May 7, 1995, while boat fishing with Chuck Weis off Chicago Light.
I wish we could say Borgert’s perch topped Schneider’s, just to hold that over ‘‘The Lip.’’
Other bigs
In a crossing of lives, while my wife and I were taking a delayed 25thanniversary break around St. Louis, we might have passed Wade Kaminski. He’s the guy who caught and released a 112-pound blue catfish.
We made a long late-night drive along the Mississippi River the night Kaminski caught his blue, and I remarked to my wife how many boats were out.
Kaminski took a beautiful photo of his blue before release with the Arch in the background. It ran on stltoday.com.
Wild things
It’s not just me. Others report fewer fireflies. Something is going on . . . . On the other hand, many are seeing more rabbits than usual during the pandemic. My theory is that we are outside more.
Stray cast
Saying ‘‘in these unprecedented times’’ when you mean ‘‘during the pandemic’’ is worse than saying ‘‘trash fish’’ for ‘‘non-game fish.’’
Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Taurean Prince won’t take part in the restart of the NBA season, two significant absences in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Beal is out because of a right rotatorcuff injury; Dinwiddie and Prince have the coronavirus. Dinwiddie and Prince are among six Nets players — including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan and Wilson Chandler — who won’t participate in the league’s restart.
The Nuggets promoted Calvin Booth to general manager to succeed Arturas Karnisovas, who left the franchise in April to become the Bulls’ top decision-maker.
NFL Eagles WR Jackson apologizes for post
Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson apologized after posting on social media on Monday an anti-Semitic message that he attributed to Adolf Hitler and admiration for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The Eagles on Tuesday responded by calling Jackson’s posts “offensive, harmful and absolutely appalling” and said the team would take “appropriate action.” Team owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman are Jewish.
Former head coach Mike Shanahan has been elected into the Broncos Ring of Honor, but his induction will be delayed until 2021.
MLB Red Sox ace Rodriguez has virus
Red Sox ace Eduardo Rodriguez has the coronavirus and is “not feeling 100 percent,” according to manager Ron Roenicke.
In his first intrasquad scrimmage with the Yankees, Gerrit Cole threw five innings of one-hit ball, which required only 67 pitches (43 for strikes), with six strikeouts and two walks.
Shohei Ohtani struggled with his control in the Angels’ intrasquad game, walking eight batters on about 50 pitches in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Clayton Kershaw will make his franchise-record ninth Opening Day start for the Dodgers.
MISCELLANEOUS Report: Ryder Cup postponed until 2021
The Ryder Cup, scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, reportedly will be postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic. The U.S. and Europe reportedly will meet at the same location Sept. 30-Oct. 3, the dates for the 2021 Presidents Cup, which will move to 2022.
The Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, Scotland, is set to be played, as scheduled, on Aug. 20-23 but without fans.
Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian underwent heart surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery.