Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Tyler Ciurej is the proud owner of the Nebraska state record for goldfish.
That's right — goldfish.
Using a hot dog for bait, the 12-year-old from Bellevue pulled the 4.19-pound fish from the pond at Halleck Park in Papillion. It was certified by Tony Korth, the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium director.
“Everybody was really surprised because I was so young, and nobody really gets a chance to catch a state record, and I'm so young and I did,” Ciurej said.
Ciurej said his eyes got big and his jaw dropped when he got the fish to shore. He showed it to several youngsters at the park, who thought maybe it was a big carp like they've seen at the zoo. It is a member of the carp family.
Ciurej thought right away it was a record. His sister, Nikki Wulff, isn't surprised. She said Tyler has been a fanatical angler since he was a toddler and reads the state record book from cover to cover.
“The fact that he caught a goldfish just cracks us all up,” she said. “It's just something kind of goofy, but it's cool, too, because he's addicted to fishing.”
Korth said the 17-inch fish was likely a pet released by its owner. It had no problem surviving the cold Nebraska winters.
“They are cool water fish. They get along just fine in our water,” he said. “The problem is they are orange; predators can see them pretty easily.”
The previous record was 3.7 pounds and 15 inches.
Ciurej said he's learned everything he knows about fishing from dad Brian Ciurej and mom Debbie Jones. He's out nearly every day, either at Halleck, Papio Creek or Lake Waconda.
He likes to hunt, too, and plays football and basketball. But nothing beats fishing for the seventh grader-to-be at Logan Middle School.
“Catching the big fish, that's my favorite part,” he said.
Tyler said the fish weighed 5 pounds when he first pulled it out of the water, but he had to wait until his mom was done with a hair appointment until it could be weighed on the certified scale at the aquarium.
“It's amazing,” Ciurej said. “I never thought I'd be the state record holder of a goldfish.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com
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