A call to anglers for help controlling a nuisance bighead carp population led to one experienced fishing guide’s reeling in a state record fish, with a hefty specimen weighing in at 118 pounds, 3 ounces.
Answering the invitation made by Oklahoma state authorities was Bryan Baker, a fishing guide for Spoonbill Wreckers. His huge fish was caught from Grand Lake o' the Cherokees in northeastern Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, in May.
Spoonbill Wreckers shared a few extra facts in the comments section, telling ODWC that the big fish had “32 pounds total gonad weight” and roughly 8 to 11 million eggs inside its huge, distended belly. Comments from wowed netizens included, “Thanks for removing it!” and, “He’s been in Grand a long long long long time.”
The species was first introduced to the United States in 1973 to improve water quality and increase fish production in aquaculture ponds. In 2011, it was listed as an “injurious species” under the federal Lacey Act, and some states began employing commercial fishing to reduce numbers.
Bighead carp are considered a nuisance species for their feeding habits—they consume large quantities of zooplankton and aquatic insect larvae and adults—making them compete for resources with native species such as paddlefish, bigmouth buffalo, mussels, and “all larval and juvenile fishes,” according to ODWC, who advise anglers who catch them: “Do not return it to the water.”
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