Two Records in One Day
The chances of catching a state-record fish are extremely small. Two
anglers catching two records the same day, from the same boat seems
impossible, but it happened!
On April 15, 1984, William Garvey of Indianapolis caught a 5-pound,
2-ounce white bass on the Arkansas portion of Bull Shoals Lake, which
was a new Arkansas state record.
His new record didn't last long, however. In fact, it didn't even
last a day. That's because
his fishing partner, (also
named William, but with
the last name Wilson)
caught a white bass just
a few hours later that
weighed 5 pounds,
4 ounces. That
became the new
state record!
Spud Plug
Conrad Wood of El Dorado, Arkansas, was well-known as a
creator of fishing lures with names like the Dipsy Doodle and
the Sonic. He once bet some anglers at a fish camp that he
could catch a bass on a sweet potato. True to his word, Mr.
Wood got a potato, cut it in half, put a hook into it and used
it to catch a fat bass.
Believe It or Not!
According to a 1951 "Ripley's Believe It or Not" column,
when James Price of Locust Grove, Arkansas accidentally
dropped his dentures into Bull Shoals Lake, he figured they
were gone forever. But 10 days later, he got them back when
he caught the 20-pound catfish that had swallowed them!
Ancient Monster
While Ashley's catfish was a world record at the time it was caught, it isn't the
biggest catfish known from Arkansas. That honor goes to a fish whose remains
were found in November 1983. It may be, in fact, the largest fish that ever lived
in Arkansas.
The geologist who found the giant catfish's remains was working along
Arkansas 79 near Camden when he saw a piece of bone protruding from the
earth. Pulling out the bone, he discovered an almost 3-foot-long skull with a
huge 9-inch dorsal fin.
Paleontologists later identified the specimen as the remains of a 10-foot-
long, 1,000-pound catfish that swam the seas 40 million years ago!
Sources: gameandfishmag.com, worldfishingnetwork.com
Some wild Arkansas
fish tales
Crazy
Bait
On August 3,
2001, Charles
Ashley Jr. of
Marion, Arkansas,
landed a 116-pound, 12-ounce world-record blue catfish in
the Arkansas portion of the Mississippi River. He caught
it on a rather unusual bait that his father and grandfather
had used for decades—a chunk of Hormel Spam!
Of f icialKidsMag.com • MAY 2020 • 47
