The sight of Paul Pezalla prayerfully releasing a carp halted world-renowned wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg as we walked in 1998 along the Chicago River in 1998,
Pezalla had that effect.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Mr. Pezalla, 76, died at home in Port Barrington after a short battle with cancer.
“The level of talent and skill he applied to his endeavors was unmatched: Carp fisherman, family man, inventor, computer wizard, builder, photographer, stoic scientist, gardener, marketer, master woodworker, businessman, environmental activist, sports car enthusiast and music lover,” emailed Todd Carlander, long-time friend and fellow angler.
Mr. Pezalla was the steadying force behind the Chicago Carp Classic, which drew top international anglers in the 1990s. He also held the record for a long time on the Chicago River with a 38-pound, 2-ounce carp.
When he started his 17th consecutive years of catching a carp every month, I did a column.
Paul Pezalla with a 27-pound carp from the Chicago River in 2010.
Provided
He understood the oddity, saying, ““It is crazy, no question about that. My daughters are amused by it. But one of them runs marathons and one is taking up boxing.”
Different fit Mr. Pezalla.
As Carlander described it, “Last summer I went to visit him, and he was casually designing and building a houseboat on the Fox River backwater where he lived. Chickens were running around the yard while he worked.”
Mr. Pezalla earned his undergrad degree and doctorate from the University of Minnesota, then did his post doctorate at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal before becoming a biology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, according to his son-in-law Ronnie Martin.
Mr. Pezalla switched to crafting covers for home radiators at his Prairie Woodworking shop.
“His CCC pre-fishing gatherings at the Prairie Woodworking shop in Oak Park are the stuff of legend today,” Carlander said.
My favorite memory of Mr. Pezalla was at one of those gatherings, a communal effort to make boilies (a carp bait).
He eventually founded Wacker Bait & Tackle LLC, an international carp-fishing business based in the Chicago area.
“In summary, I think it’s safe to say that Paul brought a new intellectualism to the sport of carp fishing in America,” Carlander emailed. “People were naturally drawn to it and the sport’s popularity today is his legacy.”
No public services are planned.
File photo of the Chicago Carp Classic on the Chicago River.
Chicago Sun-Times files