Unexpected Fish is World Record-Sized Catch

The first state fishing record of the year in Missouri is also worthy of a world record.

It may not be the most sought-after record, but Travis Uebinger's 11-pound, 5-ounce blue sucker caught on Jan. 15 on the Osage River not only shattered the state record, it weighed more than the International Game Fish Association-recognized world record of 2 pounds, 12 ounces, established April 12, 2022 by Steven Wozniak on the White River in Indiana.

It's clear many blue suckers eclipsing that size have been caught over the years, including the previous Missouri record of 9 pounds, 14 ounces caught in 1997.

"That would be amazing to have a world record," Uebinger said in a Missouri Department of Conservation news release. "Especially on a fish you weren't targeting."

Uebinger and a friend were fishing for white bass and walleye when the record struck. "We were really targeting a whole bag – anything that would bite," he said. "We were on my friend's new boat, trying it out, when I reeled it in. I didn't know what it was, a sucker or a carp. It was my friend who said it could be a state record."

Uebinger is having the fish mounted. Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, gig, bow, crossbow, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or atlatl. Click here for more information on Missouri record fish.

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