20-minute fight with fish yields world record in Missouri. ‘You’ve got to be kidding’

A fisherman was shocked to learn his “monster” catch broke a state record in Missouri.

But that wasn’t the only record he broke.

George Chance, of Festus, discovered March 19 his 97-pound bighead carp fish he caught from the Mississippi River was not only a state-record catch, but it had also broken a world record.

“They told me it was a state record, and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” he said in an interview with the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Then later they said, ‘It’s not just a state record, it’s a world record!’ and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ I had no idea this would happen (when) I woke up that morning.”

Chance’s fish, described as a “monster” by state officials, broke the previous pole-and-line state record of 80 pounds. The world record had been 90 pounds.

He said he was fishing for catfish when he hooked the carp, which he initially believed to be a flathead. Chance said he fought with the fish for 20 minutes until he was able to bring it to shore.

“The more it fought, I saw its tail and knew it was some type of carp,” he told state officials. “I was able to hook him with a hay hook in order to get him out of the water. It looked to be 50 or 60 pounds at least.”

The fish, of course, proved to be much bigger.

He later found the invasive fish was full of eggs and would have spawned this spring.

“I chopped up the fish and put it in my garden,” Chance said. “I’m going to eat it in the form of tomatoes and cucumbers.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2024 at 12:38 PM with the headline "20-minute fight with fish yields world record in Missouri. ‘You’ve got to be kidding’."