JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Wyoming Game and Fish Department verified a new state fish record for a longnose sucker.
On Friday, May 21, angler Christopher Bobo, 33, of Casper, set up his fishing gear to spend the day on the North Platte River in Casper. Instead, his day fishing was cut short.
“We decided to fish the river in town. We were all set up, and I had been fishing for five minutes when the fish took my bait,” Bobo said.
He was targeting trout using a worm, when he felt it bite and he knew he had a fish on.
“I knew when I reeled it in and saw the longnose sucker, it had to be a record,” said Bobo.
Bobo, who was fishing with his brother Austin and friend Robert, decided to head to the Game and Fish office to have it checked out.
“Game and Fish sent me to have the fish weighed on a certified scale. Sure enough, it was a record. It was so exciting,” Bobo said.
Not only was it a record, but Bobo broke a state record that had been in place for 23 years.
The official scale weight of the new longnose sucker record was 2 pounds, 4.5 ounces. The length of the fish was 18 inches with a girth (circumference) of 9.4 inches. This fish breaks the record previously set in 1998 on Little Goose Creek outside of Sheridan.
Bobo spends many days fishing.
“I really enjoy getting outside and fishing, and I really like to teach others to fish,” Bobo said.
He hopes to become a fishing guide to take people fishing every day.
“Congratulations to Christopher on his record catch.” said Alan Osterland, chief of the fisheries division. “Hopefully Christopher’s angling skills can rub off on others for a record-breaking summer of fishing.”
Bobo’s record is the second recently broken in the town of Casper. In 2018, the current state record for green sunfish was caught in Bryan Stock Trail Pond (Lake McKenzie).
