Walter Russell earned Fish of the Week for his personal-best largemouth bass, a sign of the resurgence of fishing during the pandemic.

By Dale Bowman

Walter Russell with his personal-best largemouth bass. Provided photo — Walter Russell with his personal-best largemouth bass.

Walter Russell epitomizes one impact of fishing during the pandemic: Many are catching personal-bests at various levels. For Russell, it was a 25-inch, 6.5-pound largemouth bass caught around noon last Thursday on a night crawler from shore at Lake Zurich.

“I have been fishing my whole life and this was definitely my personal best for a largemouth bass,’’ he emailed. “Our family has been spending most of the days this summer fishing as a way to be outdoors and social distance.”

A lot of that is going around.

FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the Sun-Times. Submit nominations by message on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) and Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com).

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Personal best: Sign of the times with a PB largemouth bass for Fish of the Week

Walter Russell earned Fish of the Week for his personal-best largemouth bass, a sign of the resurgence of fishing during the pandemic.