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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces that Cesar Rodriguez of Carthage is now the state record-holder for hybrid striped bass after catching a 21-pound, 11-ounce fish at Lake of the Ozarks May 19. Rodriguez used the pole-and-line method.
Though the fish breaks Missouri’s previous hybrid striped bass record of a 20-pound, 8-ounce fish, set in 1986 at the Lake of the Ozarks, Rodriguez wasn’t that surprised when he reeled in the bass.
“It was just a normal day out fishing,” Rodriguez said. “Last year I caught a 24-pound hybrid in Oklahoma, but I couldn’t find a game warden to confirm it. So, this catch didn’t come as a surprise that it was a record-breaker.”
The fish’s weight was verified on a certified scale at MDC’s Roaring River Hatchery in Cassville. The hybrid striped bass is the sixth state-record fish caught this year.
Rodriguez mounted his prize fish, and said he is planning to catch another that will top his even-larger Oklahoma catch.
Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, trotlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl. For more information on state-record fish, visit the MDC website at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zxr.
