2004 not a banner year for fishing records

Missouri anglers set five records last year.

JEFFERSON CITY--Compared to some years, 2004 was a slow one for state fishing records in Missouri. For those lucky few anglers who hit the jackpot, however, it was a year to remember.

The Missouri Department of Conservation logged just five new fishing records last year. By comparison, 1996 saw 18 record fish caught, and six of those records still stand. In 2002, anglers set nine records, and all those remain on the books.

The Conservation Department maintains records in two categories. Pole-and-line records have to be taken with a hand-held fishing pole. Alternative-method records can be taken by trotlines, throw lines, bank lines, jug lines, limb lines, snaring, spearing, gigging, "grabbing," archery or snagging.

Mark Fann of Nixa was the first angler to catch a pole-and-line record last year. He hooked a 5-pound, 10-ounce black bass hybrid at Table Rock Lake in March. The fish was a cross between a smallmouth bass and a spotted bass.

Local anglers call this cross a "meanmouth bass." The new breed seems to be turning up frequently at Table Rock. Fann's record catch just edged out a 5-pound, 9-ounce black bass hybrid taken from Table Rock in December, 2003. Regional Fisheries Supervisor Chris Vitello said his staff weighed another big "meanmouth" in December 2004 that fell just barely short of a record.

The next record to fall was the pole-and-line record for rainbow trout. Jason Harper of Neosho caught the 18-pound, 1-ounce fish at Roaring River State Park.

One of Missouri's least welcome fish, the exotic bighead carp, accounted for two records last year. Keith R. Lowry of Paola, Kansas, caught an 80-pound bighead at Lake of the Ozarks on a jug line baited with a goldfish. Kyle A. Schneider, Ballwin, caught an identical fish from the same lake with a fishing pole and a wad of night crawlers.
The bighead carp is an Asian species that has taken up residence in Missouri's big rivers and multiplied enormously in recent years. Only time will tell what effect they have on numbers of native fish and what other ecological changes they may cause.

Boaters are learning to be wary of bighead carp, which often jump out of the water near passing motor boats. This behavior, plus their size, creates a hazard for boaters.

The last record of the year came Nov. 16, when Tom Statler of Kimberling City landed a 1-pound, 2.56-ounce yellow perch with pole and line at Bull Shoals Lake.

To qualify as a state record, a fish must be taken by legal methods and be a species that is included on the state record fish list. If no record has been entered for a particular species and method, the first record must meet the minimum weight set for that species in the Conservation Department's Master Angler program.

Record fish must be weighed on certified scales in the presence of Conservation Department personnel, and their species must be verified by a Conservation Department fisheries biologist. Finally, a color photo of the fish is required.

A complete list of Missouri state fishing records is available online at www.missouriconservation.org. Rules and entry forms also are available online, along with details of the Master Angler program.

-Jim Low-
 

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