By Daryl Bauer
Have not posted a state record update for a long time. There has been a good reason for that–nothing to update.
Actually, I have had one new state record application since this spring. I waited though because I was hoping there would be more. Heard nothing about any other new state records for weeks. That all changed recently. Now there is more to tell you about. . . .
Might as well take them in order. . . .
Rod and Reel
The new state record that was caught this past spring was a goldfish. Dylan Frye of Hyannis caught a whopping 6 pound 12 ounce goldfish from Avocet WMA on April 3.
Dylan’s fish was 17 inches long and ate a spinnerbait. It shattered our old rod and reel goldfish record by more than two pounds. That record had stood since 2011.
A 6-pound+ goldfish is HUGE–world record class. The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum lists only an all-tackle record for goldfish. That record stands at 3 pounds 2 ounces.
Fast forward to Monday a week ago. I shuffled into the office that morning and started slogging through e-mails and other routine chores that I do every Monday. A message from Scott Buss caught my eye.
Scott and I have communicated online about several fishy topics over the years. He is an avid angler who likes to micro-fish just to see how many different fish he can catch. Anglers who micro-fish encounter a lot of different species and have to be familiar with their identification. Scott had caught something unique. His message caught my attention and my day really brightened when I looked at the attached photo!
The fish was a longear sunfish. Longear sunfish had not been documented in Nebraska before.
As you can see, longears are BEAUTIFUL!
Scott pulled his longear from the Little Blue River. Monday morning, he still had the fish in an aerated bait cooler, and he was gracious enough to swing by the office so I could see it.
Because of the uniqueness of the catch, I told Scott that we were going to document it. One way to do that would be by filling out a state record application. So, Scott’s 5 1/4-inch, 2 ounce longear sunfish will be recognized as the first state record for the species in Nebraska. If you are wondering, the fish was caught on a nightcrawler.
The Fishes of Nebraska is THE text on Nebraska fish. I notified the lead author of that book, Bob Hrabik, about the longear sunfish. Bob and I went to the university together and we continue to communicate about Nebraska fish and fishing. To his knowledge, there had been one other capture of a longear sunfish from Nebraska waters, but that fish was released without any photo or further documentation. In The Fishes of Nebraska Bob and his co-authors noted that the discovery of longear sunfish in Nebraska was a possibility as they are found in northern Kansas.
Now it has become a reality.
Let me also note I discovered that longear sunfish have been found in several states outside the fish’s native range. Some of those states are north of Nebraska and even farther from Kansas. Since they are purdy, longears are frequently kept as aquarium fish and likely have been illegally released in waters in other states. That could have been the origin of Scott’s fish. However, I believe it is much more likely that during high water his longear swam upstream from Kansas.
Bowfishing
Figured that was going to be all for this update, and then I received one more application. Might as well tell you about it too. . . .
Cody Mahoney from Springfield was bowfishing on the Missouri River last weekend when he arrowed what will be a new bowfishing state record for blue sucker. Cody’s fish weighed 16 pounds 7 ounces and was 36 inches long. It betters the old bowfishing blue sucker record by more than five pounds!
I am waiting for more photos. This is the best one I have:
That is all for now. As always you can see the full list of state record fish HERE. Take some time to review the state record rules and see an application form in any copy of the Fishing Guide. You never know what you might catch!
Dylan, Scott, and Cody, state record certificates will be coming in the mail. Congratulations!