St. Louis man lands state record trout

Excitement turned to disappointment, then elation, followed by uncertainty.

But at the end of the day, Bryan Chapman of St. Louis was the proud owner of the Missouri brown trout fishing record at 27 pounds, 8.8 ounces.

Chapman was fishing with his son, Blake, on July 16 on Lake Taneycomo below Fall Creek when he hooked what felt like a big fish. It made a short run, then stopped.

Straining his 4-pound test line, Chapman pulled up a huge brown trout. Just as the fish came up next to the boat, Chapman's line broke. Quick action with a landing net prevented the fish from escaping.

Chapman said the fish weighed more than 29 pounds on a digital scale. It didn't occur to him that might be a record. He froze the fish and brought it to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield the next day to be mounted.

"They said it weighed 27 pounds on their UPS scales, and that was greater than the state record," Chapman said. "They asked if I wanted to complete the application for a record fish, but said it still had to be weighed on a certified scale."

Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery Manager James Civiello certified the fish's species and weight. Then other questions arose. Was it legal to net the fish after it broke Chapman's line? Did it qualify for a record if net-assisted?

The Conservation Department's Protection Division investigated the circumstances surrounding the catch, and the Fisheries Division mulled the record question. Their answer: Netting a legally-hooked fish close to the boat or shoreline after the line breaks is both legal and allowable under the state record program.

"This had never come up before as far as any of us knew," said Fisheries Division administrator Steve Eder. "We decided that since a landing net is a legitimate aid to catching hooked fish, if an angler gets a fish within netting distance before his or her line breaks it is legitimate to go ahead and net it."