‘Marathon’ Angler Who Broke 24-Hour Fishing Record on 9/11 Didn’t Stop Until He’d Caught 2,977 Sunfish

Jeff Kolodzinski, also known as the “Marathon Man,” set another 24-hour fishing record Thursday in Spring Lake, Illinois. His final tally of just over 2,700 fish, landed back-to-back during the daylong marathon, easily replaced his previous record of 2,143 fish.

But Kolodzinski wasn’t about to quit there. He’d set out to break the record on a specific day, Sept. 11, to honor the victims who died in the terror attacks. So he kept on fishing until he’d caught exactly 2,977 fish — one for each life that was lost in the 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and those aboard Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

Kolodzinski had some help with the final 277, according to 25 News. Some kids and others who helped host the event grabbed a rod and caught some fish after the 24-hour clock had expired. The intent was the same.

“Everybody had a role,” Kolodzinksi told the local news outlet, referencing the rest of the team that made the marathon happen. “I can’t be more proud of them, especially how it ended.” 

Although the timing of this year’s event on the 24th anniversary of 9/11 made it even more meaningful, Kolodzinksi used the marathon as a fundraiser for Camp Dallas. The outdoor camp was founded by the parents of Dallas Atherton, who died by suicide at the age of 19, and its mission is to “embrace the outdoors as a catalyst for mental wellness.” Kolodzinski asked for donations during a live-stream of the fishing marathon, and he thinks they raised around $25,000 in total, according to 25 News.

Fittingly, Kolodzinski held the event on the camp’s small private pond, which is located just off Upper Peoria Lake. Sitting on a dock covered with sponsor logos, the marathon fisherman used a modern cane-pole setup to pluck thousands of small sunfish out of the pond. He fished non-stop and through the night, using small hooks baited with bread crumbs and small grubs. He also threw these into the water as chum. 

“The art of what I do is actually [drawing] fish from another bank, from another area, over to me,” Kolodzinski explained to the cameras. “And I do that by feeding them little breadcrumbs or little insect larvae.”

In order to hit his goal, Kolodzinski said he would have to catch and release around three fish per minute. He came pretty close to that, averaging almost two sunfish per minute (or roughly 112.5 fish an hour) over the course of 24 hours.

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Kolodzinski told reporters that due to a dispute with the folks at Guinness, he’s unsure if they’ll validate his most recent record in the Guiness Book of World Records. His previous record of 2,143, which he set in 2011 during a similar charity event in Minnesota, was validated by Guinness, so it’s unclear what the source of the dispute might be. Either way, he’ll likely get another opportunity. Kolodzinski said this was his 19th year of 24-hour fishing marathons, and that 2025 won’t be his last marathon endeavor.