Longtime angler gets the massive catch he hoped for in a CT lake. It wasn’t easy.

Rafal Wlazlo recently got the catch of a lifetime.

The long-time angler from West Babylon, Long Island broke a state record for Common Carp by reeling in a 45-pound, 8-ounce carp out of Lake Lillinonah in Southbury on the morning of May 25. The record has been officially recognized by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

Wlazlo, who turned 44 on June 2, had been renting a Southbury cottage and has been going after this record since April 1.

“This was no accidental catch. I have been targeting a state record since last year,” Wlazlo said during a phone interview on Sunday. “I have a scale certified by the DEEP.”

“There was a run of about a month plus of non-stop fishing day and night,” he said. “Two months later I caught the fish and the fight was epic. It was a moment. Nothing surpasses it…There’s no easy way to land a 45-pound carp.”

He caught the finish after a 15-minute struggle. Carps are a protected species, and the fish was released back into the lake.

Wlazlo said he’s on a regular on Connecticut waters. In addition to Lake Lillinonah, he also frequents Lake Zoar and the Connecticut River.

Wlazlo also is the founder of Carp Angler, a carp-fishing store in Ronkonkoma, New York. He said he’s caught several 40-pound carps before but nothing bigger than the one he caught on May 25.

He said he will be back on the lake in a couple of days in an attempt to top his own record.

“The moment I landed the fish I knew it was going to be close (to the record),” Wlazlo said.

“It was a fight and I didn’t want to lose it. It was amazing,” he said. “I hope the record is going to be beaten because we want to bring more attention to carp fishing.”