Cruising to a state record

Some of y’all may remember that choupique(bowfin) I caught on the fly back in April? This one:

Well I just got word on May 25th that it is officially the new state record bowfin taken with a fly rod. Weighing in at a whopping 4.07 lbs. How could that little guy be first place you ask? Turns out there was no fly rod bowfin category prior to my submission. I knew that when I caught it so I figured it was worth a shot to submit it and at least get the category started. Louisiana’s state records are not run by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries but rather the Louisiana Outdoor Writer’s Association.

Instead of having open categories for every fish found in the state, I guess they prefer that you go through the process of asking for consideration of a category prior to putting it into place. Then you can submit your fish, which requires it to be weighed on a certified scale, identified by a state biologist, and multiple hard copy pictures sent in via snail mail. Plus it cost me $25 to make the submission. If you see where I’m going with this you’ll understand that the process is a PITA. It is no wonder that more people don’t submit their fish for state record consideration in Louisiana. All this leaves me wondering why it has to be so hard?

At any rate you’re looking at the state record holder for choupique on the fly, for whatever that’s worth($25). Follow this link to take a look at Louisiana’s state records.