Been a while since I gave an update on state record fish. We usually do not see a lot of state record activity during the fall, but we have seen some this year. Let’s go back to late August for the first one I want to tell you about:
Surface Spearing
Matthew Wiederholt of Phillips speared a silver carp on the Platte River in Hamilton County on August 29th. His fish weighed 10 pounds 7 ounces, and was 31 1/4 inches long. It beat the old surface spearing record for silver carp by almost four pounds.
Several fisheries biologists looked at Matthew’s fish to verify its identity. Sometimes when fish are frozen, body shapes and parts get a little distorted, so several of us examined this fish to confirm it was a silver carp.
Rod & Reel
In October, on the eleventh, Tanner Brock from Elkhorn was tossing a Beetle Spin around a private pond in Pawnee County. He pulled in a new state record green sunfish. Tanner’s fish beat the old state record by three ounces; it weighed 1 pound 11 ounces and was 11 3/4 inches long.
Lastly, you all know that our rod & reel tiger trout state record has been creeping larger and larger. I had expected that record would be again broken this year, but until November, no tiger trout state record applications had crossed my desk.
That all changed on November 8 when Sean Richter of Sidney caught a 5 pound 7 ounce tiger trout from Sutherland Reservoir. Sean’s fish was 22 1/2 inches long. It ate a jig.
Sean’s tiger trout was over a half-pound larger than the last rod & reel record caught in April of 2019. I do not believe we have seen tiger trout reach their ultimate size in Nebraska waters. I hope we see bigger fish yet to come, and I hope one of those fish is on the end of my line!
Congratulations, Matthew, Tanner, and Sean! Your state record certificates should be coming in the mail soon.
2020 is about done. For many reasons many of us will NOT be sad to see this year go. However, it has been a productive year for state record fish. Sometime after the first of the year, I will write up a summary of all of the state records in 2020. We probably will not see any more before the end of the year. Just in case, as I always say, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the state record rules. You can see them in any copy of the Fishing Guide. You never know!
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