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JACKSON WI - Marathon Man Jeff “Kolo” Kolodzinski takes another run at his own Guinness World Record

Makes you throw up in your mouth a little, the thought of the Japanese frankfurter phenom downing dogs like Campbell’s Chicken & Stars soup (that’s the one you can basically drink). Well our guy, Frabill VP of Marketing Jeff “Kolo” Kolodzinski won’t be chugging hotdogs, but he will once again attempt to best his World Record for the most fish caught in a 24 hour period. That would mean hooking and releasing over 1,680 fish.

Again live for spectators to gawk at (and heckle), Kolo will be operating from the pier at Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, Minnesota. His float – or bobber if you will – first touches the water at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 30th, concluding 1,440 minutes later at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 31st.

The purpose of the event isn’t to immortalize Kolo, but rather bring attention to the organization Fishing For Life and their altruistic goals of recruiting youth anglers and sharing the love of the sport. Fishing for Life’s mission is to serve youth, family and community through fishing and outdoor programs.

Speaking of those little rugrats, as an added attraction to this year’s spectacle, Fishing For Life has organized the 10K Kids Challenge. The 10K Kids will fish against one another for an hour before Kolo begins his quest. Kolo has agreed to be present on the docks with each participant during the hour in order to provide tips for the kids to improve their angling skills. The 10K reference, by the way, signifies Fishing For Life’s goal of raising $10,000 through corporate sponsorships, individual donations and partnering with other organizations in the Fish-A-Thon. (That was a not-so-subtle call to action.)

Public donations will be welcomed live during the event as well. Drop by after sipping a beverage at the tiki bar or wrapping up a family dinner overlooking the lake. Kolo will be right there in action and willing to talk smart about fishing and the greater cause.

A little bit on Kolo… He set the standing World Record in 2008, last year falling short chiefly due to lightening storms and downpours that shortened his fishing time. From a credentials standpoint, Kolo fished for Team United States in International Shore Fishing Competitions. His refined, European influenced match fishing techniques are worth the price of admission, which is FREE.

So we haven’t checked Maynard’s current menu to see if it includes Kobayashi Coney Island hotdogs, but Kolo won’t care, because his 24 hour diet will consist of freshwater fish. See you at the dock…

Fishing For Life (FFL) is a non?profit organization dedicated to serving youth through organized fishing programs. In 2010, FFL was selected by the National Parks and Recreation Association to serve as one of 70 TakeMeFishing Agencies in the U.S. dedicated to promote and engage youth in fishing activities.

FFL offers three programs to serve this mission: The “Reel ‘Em In Kids” program collects unwanted rods, reels and tackle and distributes them to underserved youth at lake events and festivals. “Fish Fair” is an indoor winter fishing carnival. During Fish Fair, youth get to make jigs and lures; learn about the fish in our lakes and rivers, as well as timeless fishing techniques; and are taught sportsmanship. The event also gives attendees the opportunity to learn more about clubs, organizations, and camps that offer youth fishing programs. Over 1,500 anglers attended Fish Fair this year, including over 100 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts who earned rank advancements for participating. Lastly, FFL organizes the “Fish?A?Thon,” a philanthropic program to raise money for organizations serving urban youth.

Go to www.fishingforlife.org to learn more about the organization and make a donation.

Mike Suchan, ESPN Outdoors blog entry, Aug. 18:

The Guiness Book of World Records has the most miles run by one man in a 24-hour period at 160, or about six marathons.

More than 1 million pounds is the record weight one man hoisted in a 24-hour, squat-lifting marathon.

The most fish caught in 24 hours? It's an obscene number as well.
Jeff Kolodzinski works with his bait during his record day.
Jeff "Kolo" Kolodzinski, already known as the Marathon Man, sat on the dock at Maynard's on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka last weekend pulling in bluegill after bluegill. At a clip of 1.5 fish per minute — you doing the math? — Kolo rewrote his own record of 1,628 set two years ago.

Using a cane pole, tiny hooks and a competitive fishing chair with easy access to his baits, Kolo hauled in 2,160 fish. After failure last year because storms kept him off the water during prime fishing time, he might finally receive his place in the Guinness Book.

He made sure this time the standards necessary for inclusion in the book were met.

"Let me see ... We had to have two individual fish counters with unique tally sheets. Literally, a trained timekeeper had to be on hand," he said. "There needed to be two minutes of video evidence for each hour during the 24 hours. Sworn affidavits were required. We even brought in a witness from the Minnesota DNR to check my p's and q's."

Adding to the hoopla, the crowd and coverage was way up, and so were donations to Fishing For Life, the event sponsor. With perfect conditions, the vice president of marketing for Frabill couldn't have been happier.

"I'm 40 years old, and today I'm about 2 and half," Kolo said. "I grew up catching bluegill like this with my uncle Jim some 35-odd years ago. I will never, ever outgrow bluegill fishing. It's the way that I started fishing and all these kids up and down the dock the last two days, that's how they're starting fishing."

Kolo's not-so-little stunt — he did land eight muskie — was to benefit the non-profit organization dedicated to serving youth through organized fishing programs.

"Our goal at Fishing for Life is to make sure that kids get a good road to follow, great mentors and the opportunity to go out and enjoy the outdoor resources, and catch fish," he said. "I'm really, really happy about the record but really more blessed to help support a really cool group."

To learn more about Fishing For Life (FFL) or to donate, go to its web site fishingforlife.org