Man breaks state and world records by catching 97-pound carp in Mississippi River

Belleville News-Democrat
·2 min read

Three people have broken Missouri state fish records this year, including a man who caught a 97-pound bighead carp from the Mississippi River on Tuesday that also broke a world record.

Missouri Department of Conservation officials confirmed Friday that George Chance, who lives in Festus, Missouri, about 30 miles south of St. Louis, caught the massive fish.

Chance was bank-fishing for catfish with a bottom-bouncing crankbait when he hooked into the fish, according to a news release from the agency. The previous pole-and-line state record was an 80-pound fish caught from the Lake of the Ozarks in 2004.

“You kind of know what a fish is once you hook into it based on how it fights,” Chance was quoted as saying. “It was moving pretty slow, and I originally thought it could be a flathead.”

Chance told officials that he wrestled with the fish about 20 minutes before he was able to get it onto the shore.

“The more it fought, I saw its tail and knew it was some type of carp,” he said. “I was able to hook him with a hay hook in order to get him out of the water. It looked to be 50 or 60 pounds at least.”

Chance went to a nearby recycling center and used its scale to weigh the fish before contacting a local conservation agent.

“They told me it was a state record, and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’” Chance said. “Then later they said, ‘It’s not just a state record, it’s a world record!’ And I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ I had no idea this would happen (when) I woke up that morning.”

The fish beat the world record of 90 pounds for a bighead carp caught with a pole and line, the news release stated.

Chance reported that the fish was full of eggs and likely would have spawned this spring. Bighead carp are considered an invasive fish species from Asia. Conservation officials encourage people to harvest them to help remove them from Missouri waters.

“I chopped up the fish and put it in my garden,” Chance said. “I’m going to eat it in the form of tomatoes and cucumbers.”

Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: Pole-and-line and alternative methods.

Alternative methods include trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, gig, bow, crossbow, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing and atlatl. For more information on state record fish, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZCp.

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