Fish shot with bow escapes — but angler returns next day and breaks Missouri record

A bow fisherman in Missouri set a new state record after reeling in a massive carp he’d been pursuing for years, wildlife officials say.

Frank Reynolds, of Linn, was on the hunt for the monster grass carp in a private pond at an unspecified location near Jefferson City in early August, according to a Sept. 4 news release by the state Department of Conservation.

Reynolds didn’t know he was about to break a state record that had stood for 25 years, eclipsing a 71-pound grass carp caught in 1999, according to officials. The slippery behemoth in the pond easily outweighed it.

“I’ve been trying to get this thing for years now,” Reynolds told officials. “But it’s just been so skittish. It’s hard to get close enough without him getting away or going underwater.”

He’d gotten close before. One Sunday before the big catch, he shot an arrow into the carp and struggled and strained to pull it in, only for it to slip away.

“I probably messed around for 10 or 15 minutes trying to get him to shore, but he had so much fight in him, and the arrow ended up pulling out and he took off across the pond,” he said.

But Reynolds came back, officials said. He took aim, let loose another arrow, and this time he won the battle – and soon realized the fish was bigger, much bigger, than he’d thought.

“I was able to shoot it and wound up getting him in,” he recalled. “I didn’t have a scale that went that big – mine only went up to 50 pounds and I knew right off the bat he was way over that.”

A friend came by with a 300-pound scale, officials said. They weighed Reynold’s prize and the scale read 74 pounds and 2 ounces, a new Missouri record.

“I had no idea it was going to be a state record,” Reynolds laughed. “So, I’m shocked! People are congratulating me, and it seems to be a hot topic these days.”

Previously, the largest grass carp caught in the state weighed 71 pounds, 4 ounces, reeled in June 1999 on Lake Showme. It was also taken with a bow.

It’s been an impressive year for Missouri anglers, as Reynolds’ catch is the fourth state record set in 2024 so far, according to officials.

Reynolds says he’s going to have a replica made of the grass carp.

Two categories of fishing are recognized by the Department of Conservation: pole-and-line and alternative methods, which includes bow fishing, plus with a dozen other techniques including trot line, jug line and underwater spearfishing.

This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Fish shot with bow escapes — but angler returns next day and breaks Missouri record."