JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who shot a massive bighead carp last month while bowfishing has set a new state record, the Missouri Department of Conservation said Thursday.
Matt Neuling, of Perryville, shot the 125-pound, 5-ounce fish on July 24 at Lake Perry, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
“I was out with my buddy early that morning when we both shot what we thought was a 30-pound grass carp,” Neuling told the department. “My buddy’s arrow pulled out, but mine shot straight through and stayed in there.”
Neuling said his friend sent another arrow into the fish.
“If my buddy wasn’t with me, there was no way I could have pulled it out of the water,” he said.
The department estimated the fish was 10 years old. It also noted that bighead carp are invasive.
Missouri separates fishing records by pole-and-line and alternative methods, such as bowfishing.