It really is a big one: 11-year-old Missouri boy catches apparent world record fish

An 11-year-old Dixon boy broke the Missouri record — and, it appears, the world record — for a river redhorse fish, hooking the 10-pound, 3-ounce giant with worms on March 4.

Maverick Yoakum was using a rod and reel when he hooked the big redhorse on Tavern Creek.

According to a Missouri Department of Conservation news release, Yoakum's fish beats the current Missouri and world record river redhorse, a 9-pound-13-ounce fish caught by pole and line in the same creek in 2016.

MDC staff verified the record-weight fish using a certified scale in Brinktown.

“I fought the fish for about two to three minutes before I got it to the bank,” Yoakum told the MDC. “I thought I caught a pretty big fish, but I didn’t know it was a state record until my dad told me to look it up online. I’m super excited to hold a state record!”

More: Missouri fish records

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According to the conservation department, river redhorse fish are part of the sucker family. They are a moderately chubby, coarse-scaled fish with a dorsal fin containing 12 or 13 rays. These fish can be found mostly throughout the Ozarks.

The youngster's fish beats the current world record, pending verification by the International Game Fish Association (IFGA). While the river redhorse does get much larger, IFGA only recognizes fish taken by pole and line.

“Larger river redhorses are usually taken by gigging and do not qualify for the IGFA world record,” MDC Fisheries Programs Specialist Andrew Branson said. “Conservation makes Missouri a great place to fish and this new unique record clearly shows why. This fish could possibly be the largest river redhorse ever taken with a pole and line.”

Yoakum added it’s hard to believe he may be a world record holder.

“I just can’t believe it! I have never thought about holding a record, and now I may be a world record holder. I can’t believe it!” he said. “I want to thank my dad for always taking me fishing, because if it wasn’t for him taking me fishing I wouldn’t have caught a fish like I did.”

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 http://bit.ly/2efq1vl

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