Each season, anglers scour Missouri rivers, lakes, and other freshwater areas in search of trophy class fish. The state is home to monster fish including catfish, paddlefish, buffalo, gar, carp, and others.
This article provides highlights of Missouri state record fish and other notable catches that occurred in the state from 2015 thru 2024.
In 2015, Mathew McConkey set a new Missouri state record for flathead catfish in the alternative fishing category with a 100 pound fish. The monster flathead was caught using a trotline in the Missouri River near the city of Riverside.
On the same day that McConkey caught his record flathead, another angler entered in a rod-and-reel catfish tournament caught a 99-pound blue catfish upstream of Kansas City.
In 2015, a new Missouri alternative methods record was set for blue catfish with a 120-pound monster fish. In 2010, another angler caught a 130-pound blue catfish on pole and line in Missouri, according to Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).
In 2015, Andy Belobraydic III snagged a Missouri state record paddlefish that weighed in at 140 pounds, 9 ounces. The monster paddlefish, which was caught on Table Rock Lake, measured 56 ¾ inches in length and had a girth of 43 ¾ inches.
Belobraydic’s catch broke the old record of 139 pounds, 4 ounces caught in 2002 at Table Rock Lake. It held the state record for paddlefish until 2022.
In 2015, John Overstreet broke a Missouri state record when he shot a giant bigmouth buffalo on Pomme de Terre Lake using a bow and arrow. The alternative method record bigmouth buffalo taken by Overstreet weighed 54 pounds.
The previous Missouri alternative method state record for bigmouth buffalo was a monster fish weighing 53 pounds snagged on the Lake of the Ozarks in 1996.
In March 2016, Travis Cardona set a new Missouri alternative method state record with a 74 pound black buffalo taken by bow and arrow from a lake at Duck Creek Conservation Area. According to the angler, it took a total of four arrows to get the monster buffalo in the boat.
Cardona’s fish broke the previous alternative-method state-record of 59 pounds, 8 ounces taken on the same body of water three days prior by David Burle.
In 2021, Matt Neuling became a Missouri state record holder under alternative methods after shooting a colossal 125 pound, 5 ounce bighead carp. Neuling was bowfishing with a friend in July when he shot the massive fish at Lake Perry. Neuling’s fish outweighed the existing world angling record for the species by more than 25 pounds.
In 2022, Illinois angler Jim Dain set a new Missouri state record for paddlefish. Pittsfield snagged the 140 pound, 10 ounce paddlefish at the Lake of the Ozarks. The previous record paddlefish, weighing 140 pounds, 9 ounces, was caught from Table Rock Lake in 2015.
In 2024, George Chance became the Missouri state record holder after catching a 97 pound bighead carp. Chance was bank fishing along the Mississippi River in march when the monster fish was hooked. Chance’s catch was eventually recognized as a world record for the species.
The previous Missouri pole and line state record for bighead carp was an 80-pound fish caught from the Lake of the Ozarks in 2004.
In 2024, Frank Reynolds overtook the alternative methods state record for grass carp. Reynolds shot the 74 pound, 2 ounce monster carp while bowfishing from a private pond. The previous Missouri record for grass carp under alternative methods was a 71 pound, 4 ounce carp caught from Lake Showme in 1999.
In 2024, Ryan Young landed a new pole and line state record black buffalo. Young was fishing at Stockton Lake in October when he caught a 55-pound, 9-ounce fish using rod and reel gear.
The previous Missouri state record under pole and line was a 53-pound black buffalo caught from Wappapello Lake in 1989.
Missouri recognizes 2 categories of state record fish: pole and line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl.
Related Information
Missouri Alternate Methods Record Highfin Carpsucker
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