Cody Sparkman, of Perryville, now holds the state record for black bullhead catfish, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced in a news release this week.
Sparkman caught a 2-pound, 13-ounce fish on a farm pond in Perry County on July 21 using a jug line and chicken liver as bait.
The previous record was a 2-pound, 4-ounce fish caught in 2010 in Cass County.
"I was out that day hoping to catch catfish and turtles," Sparkman said in the MDC news release. "It's definitely something to now hold the state record."
The fish's weight was verified on an MDC scale in Perry County.
Bullhead, such as black, brown and yellow, are nongame fish and may be caught and kept. For more information on bullhead catfish, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/bullhead.
This makes the eighth state-record fish caught in 2019.
Though Sparkman now holds a state record, he has some reservations about mounting his award-winning catch.
"I got to admit, it's a pretty ugly fish," Sparkman laughed. "We call them mudcats around here. But it's a record, so I'll take it. I'm still debating on whether or not to mount it."
Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include throwlines, trotlines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery and atlatl. To learn more about state-record fish, visit the MDC website at short.mdc.mo.gov/Zxr.