21 Pound, 11 Ounce Striped Bass Landed in Missouri

A Carthage, Mo., man broke the state record for hybrid striped bass, after catching a 21-pound, 11-ounce fish May 19 at Lake of the Ozarks. The Missouri Department of Conservation said Cesar Rodriguez used the pole-and-line method to catch the record-breaking fish. Missouri’s previous hybrid-striped-bass record was a 20-pound, 8-ounce fish, caught in 1986 at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Rodriguez said he wasn’t surprised when he reeled in the bass.

“It was just a normal day out fishing,” Rodriguez said. “Last year I caught a 24-pound hybrid in Oklahoma, but I couldn’t find a game warden to confirm it. So, this catch didn’t come as a surprise that it was a record-breaker.”

The fish’s weight was verified on a certified scale at MDC’s Roaring River Hatchery in Cassville, Mo. The hybrid striped bass is the sixth record fish caught in the state this year.

Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include throwlines, trotlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery and atlatl.

(story and photo from KMBC 9)