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Just as Missouri saw a proverbial changing-of-the-guard with its yellow perch state records in early 2020, West Virginia now follows suits.
The Mountain State, however, isn’t producing new state record yellow perch. Instead, the “go-to” species for new records is the grass carp.
We previously shared the story of the first new grass carp state record of 2020 being caught in West Virginia. That record fish was hauled in on January 3rd by Zach Adkins of Cabins, WV while fishing Hardy County’s Warden Lake.
Adkins’ record carp, which measured 53.1 inches and weighed 59 pounds, was caught on a swim bait. It also held the distinction as being West Virginia’s new state record (length) for less than two months.
On February 18, John Miller of Lost City etched his name in the records books… for now.
While also fishing on Warden Lake, Miller pulled in a mammoth grass carp that measured a whopping 54.75 inches and weighed a stout 67.4 pounds.
While grass carp may not be considered a “significant” state record, nor a highly desirable “trophy” species, it is hard to deny how impressive these catches are.
Readers should keep in mind, however, that West Virginia state fishing records are recorded for both length and weight. Some catches hold both records.
Zach Adkins’ catch in early 2020 split the West Virginia record for grass carp, however. Miller’s catch continued the split. Unless there is a truly gargantuan grass carp swimming around, it’s likely the records will remain divided for the time being.
The record for weight, it should be noted, still belongs to William Tucker. Unsurprisingly, Tucker also pulled his monstrous catch from Warden Lake. His 2005 catch weighed in at 71.69 pounds.
Know of any other state records catches we may have missed? Let us know in the comments below.
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