Bass-Sized Crappie, 'Tank' Smallmouth Set State Marks

Catches of bass-sized crappie always draw attention, and sometimes it means a state record has been caught.

Add a recent catch in New York to the list of four-pound (or more) crappie records.

Angler Roy Isaac, of Albany, turned in the catch, a 4-pound, 7-ounce white crappie caught at Sleepy Hollow Lake in Greene County.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation reported Isaac caught the fish on Aug. 21 on a live minnow after having already caught several large crappie. The record white crappie measured 19 inches long.

Isaac's catch beat the previous record by 10 ounces, the agency said.

It was the second state record broken this summer in New York. The bowfin record (13 pounds, 8 ounces; caught on cut bait) was broken June 13 by angler Chase Soptelean on Yanty Creek in Monroe County.

There was some confusion at first whether the Isaac's fish was a white or black crappie due to its coloration, but it was identified as a white crappie by a state fisheries manager based on number of dorsal spines and other characteristics, the NY DEC said in a statement. "DEC identified this fish as a white crappie and the New York State Museum confirmed this identification," concluded the statement.

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Considering the New York fishing record for black crappie is 4 pounds, 1 ounce, Isaac had a state record either way.

Isaac told NYup.com his catch created quite a scene at Sleepy Hollow Lake, inside a private community where a friend lives and allows him to fish.

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"There was quite a crowd around me and everyone went ecstatic," he said. "Everyone was saying, 'Look at the size of that fish!' I just knew it had to be a state record."

New York’s Angler Achievement Awards Program recognizes anglers who catch sizable sport fish in three categories – Catch & Release, Annual Award (kept fish), and State records. For more information visit DEC's website.

Huge Dakota Smallmouth Record

A South Dakota angler turned in a state-record smallmouth bass earlier this summer, according to the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks agency.

Troy Diede of Sioux Falls caught the record 7-pound, 4.7-ounce smallie July 16 on Lake Oahe, the agency said on social media. The fish was 20.75 inches long and had a 19.25-inch girth.

The catch as verified as a state record by a state fisheries biologist.

Diede told the Argus Leader that on the day before the big catch, he had caught a 6-plus pound smallmouth while pre-fishing for a South Dakota Bass Federation tournament. Ten casts into the next day, the bigger fish struck.

Diede's catch broke the previous record of 7-3, caught in April 2016 at Horseshoe Lake by Lyal Held.

"Gosh, that is an absolute tank," Diede told the Leader, recalling what he was thinking right after the catch.

It was the third state record set this year in South Dakota: Burbot, 3-6, Lake Sharpe, Dennis Stout, May 28; and Walleye (spearing), 14-15, Lake Oahe, Derek Stahlman.