Wyoming Anglers Break One Record and Set New Species Record
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.29.12
Two anglers in Wyoming put their names in the record books as of Memorial Day: one for a grass carp, the other for a quillback sucker for which there was no record ever entered. This year has been an amazing year for record fish in Wyoming, as records have been broken six times so far in 2012.
Grass Carp
Luck was on William Dale of Cheyenne’s side as he caught the record-setting 35.6 pound grass carp in Sloan’s Lake in Lions Park on May 7 – just as he got the carp onto the bank he was fishing from, his line broke from the strain of the lengthy fight.
It was definitely an effort worthy of a record. Dale’s fish was the second largest fish of any species ever submitted for a record in Wyoming and it beat the current carp record by 10 pounds. The previous grass carp record set in 2009 weighed 25.8 pounds and was also caught in Sloan’s Lake.
Dale’s 35 pound grass carp is the second largest species for which a record has been submitted in Wyoming. The only other record fish that is bigger is a 50 pound lake trout, one caught in 1983 and the other in 1995 (there are two equal size records).
Quillback Sucker
On April 22, Jeff Kirk, 53 of Douglas, was fishing for walleye when he unexpectedly reeled in a state record. At first, he didn’t know the species of fish, nor did his fishing buddies at the lake that day. At home with the help of the Internet, Kirk figured out that his catch was a quillback sucker and looked up state records to see if it was listed. He found no record so he submitted an application.
“I never expected anything like this,” Kirk said to Wyoming Game and Fish. “It was a total shock. I’ve caught a lot of carp and it acted like a carp. It had large scales, not like you think of a sucker.”
Kirk’s fish was a dainty 1.57 pounds and 14.5 inches long. The species is known to grow up to 26 inches. There’s definitely room for more records to be set this year, so fish on Wyoming anglers!
