Angler Sets New Oklahoma Record for River Carpsucker

Angler Josh Brooks has set the new state-record for a river carpsucker in the unrestricted division. His fish weighed 9 pounds, 6.4 ounces and was 25 3/4 inches long and 17 3/4 inches in girth.

The Ringwood resident harvested the fish while bowfishing early May 10 near the mouth of the North Canadian River at Canton Lake. The fish was later weighed on a certified scale in Cherokee and verified by Chas Patterson, northwest region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The unrestricted division recognizes fish that tie or exceed the current state record for rod and reel, but are taken by legal means other than rod and reel, such as bow and arrow, gig, spear, trotline and jugline.

Brooks' new unrestricted state-record river carpsucker replaces the previous record of 8 pounds, 11.8 ounces, taken with bow and arrow in April 2010 by Jeffrey Ray at Fort Cobb Lake. The current rod and reel state-record river carpsucker is 7 pounds, 11 ounces, caught in April 1990 by W.C. "Bill" Kenyon in a Canadian County pond.

Anglers who believe they might have hooked a state-record fish must weigh the fish on an Oklahoma Department of Agriculture-certified scale in the presence of three witnesses, and a Wildlife Department employee must verify the weight. The Wildlife Department also recognizes anglers with its Lake Record Fish Program.

For a complete list of state-record fish and the procedures for certifying a state record, and for details about the Lake Record Fish Program, check the "Oklahoma Fishing" guide or go online to wildlifedepartment.com.

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