MDC congratulates Richard Bradshaw on breaking the state record by gigging a 2-pound, 12-ounce northern hog sucker on the Current River.

Carter County, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports Richard Bradshaw of Winona became the most recent state-record-fish breaker in Missouri when he gigged a northern hog sucker on the Current River in Carter County. The new “alternative method” record fish caught by Bradshaw on Jan. 27 weighed 2 pounds, 12 ounces with a length of 18.6 inches. Bradshaw’s recent catch broke the previous state record by 4 ounces.

MDC staff verified the northern hog sucker’s weight on a certified scale in West Plains. This is the first state-record fish of 2018.

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.