Bryant Rackers, of Bonnots Mill, tied the current state record for catching a skipjack herring, the Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed.
Rackers was fishing on the Osage River on Oct. 27 when he caught the 3-pound fish using the pole-and-line method, according to an MDC news release.
The catch ties with the previous record fish, which was caught on the Missouri River Nov. 12, 2017.
Rackers is now one of four people who currently hold multiple state records. He's also the current record holder under "alternative methods" for the blue sucker snagged in 2018.
"Well, I do hold a reputation on the Osage River," Rackers said in the news release. "I do well on catching fish, and with the flooding the Osage experienced this year, it made for perfect spawning conditions."
Rackers and his girlfriend were fishing from their boat Oct. 27 and actually targeting a different species.
"At first we were down there for hybrid striper, but after a while I said, 'Well, let's try for skipjack for some catfish bait,'" Rackers said. "We were about done, and it was the last cast of the day. I thought it was a hybrid bass that hit my lure, but as I was fighting it, I knew it was a monster skipjack."
The fish was weighed on a certified MDC scale in Cole County.
Like his blue sucker, Rackers plans to mount his state-record skipjack.
Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl.
Rackers' skipjack herring is the 11th state-record fish caught in 2019. For more information on state-record fish, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/Z3t.