So You Think You Caught a Record Fish?

If you catch what you think is a state record fish it will be an easy matter to prove it, right?

Not so fast...

The MDC has a set of criteria that must be met for this to happen. If you think there's a chance you will ever catch a record fish and try to get it in the state record books, you might want to know this stuff now...it'll kind of dictate what you do after catching your monster fish.

There are 7 criteria listed on the State Record Form published by the MDC. Most are pretty straight forward, like you have to have caught the fish in Missouri waters. The one that I think you should know up front is that the fish will have to be weighed on certified scales in the presence of a Conservation Agent. That means that after you have made your catch you will have to be able to get to a certified scale AND get a Conservation Agent there before the fish goes below the record weight. If you didn't know this, fish begin to lose weight after they are caught.

It is clear, at least it seems that way to me, that all the rules serve a vital purpose, but not knowing them ahead of time could result in not getting a deserving fish listed.