MISSOURI, USA — Missouri anglers had a record-breaking year in 2023. The fish caught across the state not only broke multiple state records, but also met or broke world records.
Five times throughout 2023, anglers either cast their line or fired their bow and reeled in a fish for the history books. Unlike those all too common "the fish was this big" tall tales, each of these record-breaking catches was documented by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
MDC agents shared details of each of the catches with 5 On Your Side. Here are details of each:
Jan. 15: Blue sucker
The record-breaking blue sucker was fished out of the Osage River by Travis Uebinger from Auxvasse, Missouri. Uebinger reeled in the 11-pound, five-ounce fish on Jan. 15 using a pole and line.
The previous record was set on April 12, 1997, when a nine-pound, 14-ounce blue sucker was caught on the Missouri River.
The fish Uebinger caught is also larger than the current world record.
March 14: Brown Bullhead
The record-breaking Brown Bullhead was caught by Mitchell Dering on March 14. Dering caught the four-pound fish from Duck Creek Conservation Area using a bow.
Dering's catch also beats the current bowfishing world record, according to MDC.
The previous record was set at Wappapello Lake on May 8, 1994, with a two-pound, seven-ounce catch.
March 26: Flier
Two identical record-breaking fliers were caught on the same day by Tyler Goodale from Doniphan, Missouri. Goodale reeled in the two 11-ounce fish from the Duck Creek Conservation Area on March 26 using a pole and line.
"Tyler caught the two state-record-worthy fliers that day shown in the attached photo," MDC said. "Both exactly the same length and weight."
The previous record for a flier catch was a 10-ounce fish taken from a private pond on March 15, 1991.
This isn't the first fishing record Goodale has broken. He also holds the Missouri state record and world record for spotted sucker. He reeled in that fish from the same conservation area back in 2020.
May 8: Longear Sunfish
This longear sunfish caught by John Goad on May 8 technically isn't a record-breaker, but is instead a record-tie-er.
Goad caught the five-ounce fish using a throwline in Crawford County's Frieda Lake, MDC said. The fish ties the record set at Wappapello Lake on May 8, 1994, the same day and place where the previous record-holding Brown Bullhead was caught.
Dec. 6: Skipjack Herring
Anthony Rozniak was also very close to achieving a state record, but instead tied it with his skipjack herring catch on Dec. 6. Rozniak reeled in the three-pounder from the Missouri River using pole and line.
The catch now creates a three-way tie for the skipjack herring record. The first three-pound skipjack herring was caught from the Missouri River in 2017, MDC said. The second was caught on the Osage River in 2019.
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