Douglas Angler Catches Wyoming State Record Gizzard Shad
OutdoorHub 11.18.12
For the second time this year, Wyoming’s gizzard shad state record has been broken. As with previous gizzard shad records, the new record shad was caught out of Glendo Reservoir.
Douglas angler Jeff Kirk set the new record with a fish that weighed in at an even two pounds. Kirk’s fish was 17 inches long with a girth of 11.5 inches. When gizzard shad are small, they serve as an excellent forage fish. They have been stocked in Glendo periodically to provide an additional food supply, primarily for the walleye in the reservoir.
Kirk was fishing for anything that would bite and was jigging a Kastmaster lure when the fish took his offering. At first he thought it was a freshwater drum. Upon arriving at home, identifying the fish, and checking the state record listing, he thought his fish may have a chance of breaking the existing record. After getting the fish weighed and verified, Kirk became the new record holder. The previous state record gizzard shad was caught in August out of Glendo Reservoir by Casper angler Brad Carpenter. The world record gizzard shad weighed 4 lbs. 12 oz. and was caught out of Lake Oahein South Dakota in 2006.
To qualify for a new fish record, anglers need to have the fish weighed on a certified scale and have it verified by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. A listing of state record fish is at wgfd.wyo.gov.
