By Daryl Bauer
There has not been a lot of activity on the state record fish front. However, I do have a couple of new state records to tell you about. . . .
Rod & Reel
Chronologically, the first to mention would be a silver carp caught on June 17. Keith Bader from Bellevue caught this 37 pound 6 ounce silver carp from a private sandpit in Cass county. The fish was about 41 inches long and was caught on a spinner.
OK, I know what some of you are thinking, “Silver carp are filter feeders and do not take artificial baits like spinners!?” That may be true, but weird things happen. If they swim around with their mouths open, who knows what will end up in them. Let me add that the catch was verified by a conservation officer and a fisheries biologist. No signs of foul-hooking or snagging were found.
Keith’s fish bettered the old rod & reel silver carp record by more than 16 pounds! I certainly will not say that this record cannot be broken, but I will say it raised the bar significantly higher!
Underwater Spearfishing
Underwater spearfishing for game fish opens on a few waters in Nebraska July 1 every year. This year Brian Lee from North Platte wasted no time spearing a 14 pound 10 ounce walleye below the surface of Lake McConaughy. Brian’s fish was 31.5 inches long.
That walleye was larger than the old underwater spearfishing record, also taken from McConaughy, by almost a pound.
I know the news of this big walleye taken by spearing made the rounds on social media as soon as it was taken. That is social media for you. Officially, the paperwork will get signed, certificates will be printed and mailed here soon. “Congratulations” to both Keith and Brian.
Always mention this when I blog about state record fish: You can see the complete list of Nebraska state records HERE. Also, you really should take a minute to read the state record rules. You can find them in any copy of the Fishing Guide. You never really know what is going to be on the end of your line when you get that next bite!
P.S. I wrote this blog post a few days before publishing it. In that amount of time I received word of another state record fish that was caught. I am not going to rush and include the details here. You know what I am going to say, “Stay tuned”, look for another state record update in the coming weeks.