GREAT OUTDOORS: State record fish catches can be happy accidents

The Outdoor Writers of Ohio, with assistance from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, maintains the list of Ohio's state record fish. There are strict rules for anglers to follow to ensure that records are legitimate, most importantly having the fish formally identified by an Ohio Division of Wildlife fisheries biologist and weighed on a certified scale. Other rules and a list of state records can be viewed at outdoorwritersofohio.org. According to the chairman of the Ohio Record Fish Committee, retired Ohio Sea Grant Fisheries Extension Specialist Fred Snyder, some people expect him to just take their word that they caught a new record fish. But he recently had an angler call to report that he caught a monster white bass in the Sandusky River, but the picture was clearly a freshwater drum. Another ate a prized catch that would have shattered the old record, but it was not properly documented. New opportunities to own a record opened last year when, in addition to the bow fishing division, the Record Fish Committee created separate rod & reel and trotline/bankline/floatline divisions for eligible fish species. This followed the awarding of the new state record blue catfish caught by Jaylynn Parker on April 7, 2024. It weighed 101.11 pounds on a bank line, which prompted complaints from anglers opposed to setting bank lines, a legal method of fishing. Other opportunities previously opened when sunfish species were individually listed, or new species get stocked into or invade Ohio waters. Sometimes, people who know what the state record fish is deliberately try to break a record. For example, bow fishermen targeting carp, suckers, gar, and other rough fish must locate, aim, successfully hit and retrieve them with a line attached to an arrow fitted with a fish tip. Other anglers usually reel in an undetermined catch before knowing its identity or how large it is. Thus, several state record fish were happy surprises. On Nov. 23, 1999, when Tom Haberman was fishing for yellow perch in Lake Erie, he caught a 33-inch walleye weighing 16.19 pounds. While fishing for smallmouth (or anything that would bite), David Berg caught the state record yellow perch. It was 15¾ inches and weighed 2.86 pounds and was caught from the shoreline near the mouth of the Grand River on April 18, 2016. I have seen perch longer than 16 inches caught in other months when they are lighter and suggested for years that the record could be broken by targeting them in spring when egg-laden females are heaviest. When trolling in Lake Erie, welcomed non-target state record catches include Robert Campbell's 27¼-inch brown trout landed near Geneva on July 14, 2012, weighing 14.675 pounds, and Jason Beres' 38-inch lake trout weighing 26.63 pounds caught Dec. 1, 2017, in Lorain County. The latest update to Ohio's record fish list came September 29, when George Bruggeman of New Carlisle was fishing with his son for bluegills and yellow perch using nightcrawlers behind split shots on Kiser Lake. After catching a half-dozen bluegills, a yellow perch, some channel catfish and a large carp, he thought that he had hooked another carp until he saw it surface. The fish made several runs, but his spinning rod combo spooled with 8-pound Trilene line held fast until the fish was led into his overloaded landing net. He released his bluegills and perch to concentrate on following all of the correct procedures to successfully certify his state record 41.81-inch striped bass that weighed 37.375 pounds.