A fishing story: Derby leader turns self in

KANKAKEE – There are fishing stories and then there are fishing stories.

Kankakeean James Swisher may have authored the most compelling story regarding fishing and it has nothing to do with the “big one that got away.”

Swisher, 71, a registered participant in the annual Kankakee River Fishing Derby, was working the portion of the river south of Aroma Park near the Sugar Island Bridge last Saturday.

It was at this point he was able to catch an incredible fish – a mammoth 40-pound, 11-ounce flathead catfish.

He quickly measured and weighed the fish. The catch put him at the top of the leaderboard in the flathead catfish division and put him in a strong position for the derby’s Grand Champion prize.

To state the obvious, Swisher was on top of the world.

However, the euphoria brought on by the fish was sinking faster than a boat striking a submerged rock.

Reviewing the derby rules on Sunday, Swisher discovered he did not catch this flathead in the proper fashion – meaning with a fishing rod and reel.

Without stating how he landed this fish, Swisher said it wasn’t with a fishing pole and reel. Asked how he hauled in the fish, Swisher declined to state.

Asked if he speared the fish, he said he did not.

Fish caught ‘outside’ the rules

The snag was that only “me and God” knew how the fish was caught, Swisher said.

His name and the fish had been posted on the derby’s leaderboard and it was unlikely anyone would top his catch.

He, however, knew and that was all that mattered.

After about two or three hours of playing this situation over and over in his mind, he placed a call Tuesday to derby director Ken Munjoy.

The retired electrician told Munjoy he did not catch the fish in the manner required to be considered a legal catch. He did not offer any details beyond that.

He asked that his name and fish be removed from the leaderboard.

The derby concludes at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Swisher said he planned to continue working the river in his quest to get back on the leaderboard, legally.

“The way I caught it was outside the parameters of the rules,” Swisher said this week. “It must be rod and reel only. I just learned it at the moment I looked at the rules. ... I had to have it disqualified.”

Munjoy could hardly believe what he had heard.

“When he called and told the story, I was amazed,” Munjoy said. He was amazed by Swisher’s honesty, his integrity, rather than the fishing story.

Munjoy said Swisher’s integrity matches the vast majority of those participating in the derby.

“I’m very happy he came forward. No one would have known. This was about him,” he said.

Munjoy said Swisher’s example is certainly one that should be followed.

“I thanked him for doing this,” Munjoy said, noting Swisher would have likely won at least a few hundred dollars for his fish.

Swisher, who also serves as treasurer for the Limestone Community Church of the Nazarene, explained it would not have been right for him not to say anything. He said the person in second place would have been cheated. The person in third would have been cheated, and further down the line.

“It would not have been worth dealing with the guilt,” he said.

He said when he went fishing on Sunday, the day after his catch, his situation was wearing on him.

“This was just the right thing to do.”

Swisher said he has grandchildren. He and his wife, Lisa, a retired nurse, are raising them. The couple are raising their grandchildren following the death of their daughter and son-in-law, Kankakee residents Sara and Justin Loring, three years ago in Georgia.

Being good examples for the children is so very important to Swisher.

“I’m trying to be a good role model.”

Unlike most fishing stories, there can be no dispute of that truth.