Discover The Largest Striped Bass Ever Caught in Missouri

The striped bass is one of the United States popular game fish. It spends its adult life in the ocean. However, it can live in fresh and brackish water, swimming upriver to spawn yearly. Given its large size and propensity to fight, it’s no wonder this fish is used to stock fishing lakes, rivers, and reservoirs throughout the U.S., including Missouri. The largest striped bass ever caught in Missouri is a big one!

Overview of the Striped Bass

The striped bass has a sleek, streamlined body with earthy tones (olive green, dark blue, brown, or black) on top with silvery sides with a series of dark stripes running the length of the body. Their jaws are large and reach nearly behind the eye. They also have two dorsal fins.

The average striped bass is 20-35 inches long, weighing 20 to 40 pounds; the females weigh more than the males. Occasionally, a specimen will reach up to 100 pounds, though this is rare. In 1896, someone reported a catch weighing in at 124 pounds. However, this catch was before modern record-keeping and does not count toward world record weights.

Largest Striped Bass Caught in Missouri

The two largest striped basses caught in Missouri were caught at Bull Shoals Lake. In May 2015, Lawrence Dillman landed a striped bass weighing 65 pounds and 9 ounces. This monster of a fish was over 49 inches long and measured 36 inches around. After hooking it from the shore, Dillman wrestled for over three-quarters of an hour to bring the fish into shore and pull it onto the bank. After securing the fish, he had it weighed on a scale certified by the Missouri Department of Conservation in Taney County. Afterward, he said he would have it mounted at his neighborhood Bass Pro Shop.

The previous record was set in 2011 when James Cunningham landed a 60-pound, 9-ounce striper from his boat at Bull Shoals Lake. It was his first time fishing for striped bass.

In future years at Bull Shoals Lake, there may be a reduction in the number of prize striped bass caught. The fish were stocked in the lake by accident. They were meant for another lake in Missouri. However, the Arkansas Fishing and Gaming Commission sent them to Bull Shoals instead of the walleyes they were expecting. However, the fish have reached the end of their expected lifespan and are beginning to die off.

Where was the Largest Striped Bass Caught in Missouri Located on a Map?

The largest striped bass ever caught in Missouri was caught in Bull Shoals Lake, which straddles the Missouri/Arkansas border in the southernmost region of the state. The portion of the lake located in the state of Missouri is close to the city of Branson – which lies just west of Bull Shoals Lake.

World Record Catch

The world record striped bass was caught off the coast of Westport, Connecticut. In 2011, on August 4, Gregory Myerson floated a line with a live eel from his boat off Long Island Sound. He then hooked a fish and struggled with it for 15-20 minutes before getting it into the boat after slipping and falling against the side of the boat. An additional hook in its mouth indicated that he wasn’t the first angler to try to bring this monster in. He finished up his evening of fishing and called it a night. The following day, he took the fish into a local tackle and bait shot. This is where it was discovered that the striped bass weighed 81.88 pounds and measured 54 inches long. After submitting the information to the IGFA, it was confirmed that he was now the world record holder for the largest striped bass catch.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Steve Brigman/Shutterstock.com