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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri state record for brown trout lasted less than seven months.

In late February, a southwest Missouri man set the record after hooking a massive brown trout in Lake Taneycomo with a standard rod and reel.

Fast forward to Wednesday, September 4.

Bill Babler, a resident of Blue Eye, Missouri, located near the Arkansas border, said he’d only been out on the water at Lake Taneycomo for a few minutes when he hooked the fish on a rod and reel.

Babler said he attempted to keep the fish alive in an aerated tank but the trout died before it could be released.

The Missouri Department of Conservation verified Babler’s catch on a certified scale in Branson – 40-pounds, 6-ounces. A wildlife and fisheries biologist estimated the fish was between eight and nine years old.

The previous record was 34-pounds, 10-ounces.

Fish caught in Missouri are measured and weighed in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Such methods include, but are not limited to: archery, atlatl, bank lines, grabbing, jug lines, snaring, spearfishing, and throwlines.