Angler sets state record, then fishing buddy breaks it an hour later in West Virginia

An angler’s new state record lasted less than two hours before his fishing buddy broke it in West Virginia.

The morning of Aug. 8, Lindell Marker and Dwight Priestley headed to Woodrum Lake with some live minnows to fish for black crappies, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources said in an Aug. 22 news release.

At 7:30 a.m., Marker hauled in a record-breaking fish, not knowing that his record would be surpassed only an hour later. His black crappie was 17.36 inches, tying the record for weight but beating the length record that had been set two months earlier also at Woodrum Lake, officials said.

But at 8:45 a.m., Priestley broke both the length and weight record with his 17.76-inch, 3.15-pound black crappie, a state biologist confirmed.

“We love records—But we really love two records in one day,” Gov. Jim Justice said in an Aug. 23 news release.

Justice called it an “unprecedented fishing achievement.”

The state’s Department of Natural Resources added black crappie as a new state record category in 2024. The freshwater species is known to form schools and stick to the cover of vegetation, according to wildlife experts.

West Virginia has recorded eight new fishing records this year so far, state officials said.

The Woodrum Lake Wildlife Management area is about a 30-mile drive north from Charleston.

This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Angler sets state record, then fishing buddy breaks it an hour later in West Virginia."