Angler Sets New Missouri Flathead Record

Catching big fish is fun. Catching record size catfish is even better.  For one Kansas angler and his best friends, that is exactly what happened.

The new "alternative method" for a Missouri flathead record catfish was broken by Matthew McConkey on Sept. 19th,  weighing in at 100 pounds and was 57-inches long.  McConkey caught the fish around 10:30 a.m. using a four-inch goldfish for bait on a trotline. This record flathead catfish surpassed the previous state record by 1 pound and it outweighs the pole-and-line record by more than 20.

"Once I grabbed the line I knew right away that I had big one," McConkey said. "The giant moved my 17-foot Lowe boat around like it was nothing." McConkey told Missouri Department of Conservation.

The giant Missouri flathead record catfish broke the previous alternative-method state-record flathead catfish of 99 pounds caught on the Missouri River in 2010.

McConkey was able to get ahold of  The Missouri Department of Conservation, and they met him in Liberty, MO., at a local post office where there was a certifiable scale they could use to weigh the giant Missouri flathead record catfish.

"I've caught several big fish in the Missouri River, but this one is by far the biggest and most memorable," McConkey said.

The diehard angler said the fish was not put back in, but skinned and is going to make for excellent table fare. Taking several good measurements and tons of high quality pictures, McConkey plans to have a replica made of his record catch.

"I still can't believe I caught this giant of a fish and broke the state record. My goal now is to catch an even bigger fish and break the world-record," McConkey told Missouri Department of Conservation.

This massive Missouri flathead record is one fish tale defiantly worth bragging about.

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