Kansas law enforcement and state wildlife officials have released new information in a state record fishing controversy. Last year angler Bobby Parkhurst caught a big crappie, big enough he thought it might be a state record…it was, weighing in at 4.07 pounds, 18 inches long and a 14 inch girth. It was declared a state record last April, but… that record was removed in November due to some heavy circumstances.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks says the fish was take off the state record list because x-ray’s revealed that it was stuffed full of lead weights. Wildlife and Parks says they received a tip from an eyewitness to the catch saying that the fish only weighed 3.73 pounds. Game wardens reexamined the fish and used a metal detector that detected metal, then took the fish to the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center for further study. There, they used an x-ray to examine the supposed trophy catch and found that it contained two steel ball bearings. That is a prosecutable offense, but the Shawnee County Attorney says there is insufficient evidence to prosecute.
