JEFFERSON CITY (KMOX) - For the ninth time this year, a new fishing record has been set in the state of Missouri. But this latest catch is the rarest yet.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced Carlin Allison of Doniphan, Missouri caught a state record American eel in the Current River on July 26. His 6-pound, 15-ounce eel surpassed the previous record of 4-pound, 8-ounces caught on the Meramec River in 1993.
Allison says he was fishing around 3 a.m. with a friend and thought he just hooked a big catfish. But then just before cutting the line and giving up, they saw the massive eel.
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“I knew we had eel in Missouri, but never that big,” Allison said. “I really don’t know how to feel about holding this state record. I guess I’ve got bragging rights!”
The American eel is listed as a Species of Conservation Concern in Missouri and is an uncommon catch, but probably occurs occasionally in every large stream in the state. It is catadromous, which means it migrates down rivers and into the sea to spawn.
All eels in Missouri are female because they travel up and down rivers, while males only stay in coastal waters. It is assumed adult eels breed once, then die. Missouri’s eel population lives mainly in deep pools around cover, such as logs and boulders, in moderate-to-large Missouri streams and rivers. The state’s eel population has been reduced by large dams, which restrict its ability to migrate.
There have been eight other record fish caught in Missouri this year, including carp, sunfish, carpsucker, longnose gar and sucker fish. For more information on state-record fish, go to MDC.Mo.gov/fishing/trophies.
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