Teenager
Jim Lucas of O'Fallon, MO, has had his September catch of
a skipjack herring fish certified as a Missouri state record.
And he's on the lookout for other record-setting catches.
Jim was fishing on the Sandy Slough off the Mississippi
River in Lincoln County last September when he snagged an
18-inch skipjack herring that weighed in at 1 lb., 8 oz.
Jim
Lucas |
He had the catch certified as a state record by Marvin
Boyer, a fisheries management biologist at the Busch Conservation
Area in St. Charles County.
Jim said, "I had caught a pretty nice-sized herring earlier
in the year but I didn't get it weighed. Because this one
was bigger, I had it weighed and checked to see if it might
be a record."
Boyer certified the catch as a state record for skipjack
herring caught by "alternative" methods. In Jim's case,
he was snagging fish with a bare treble hook that day rather
than using a baited hook and line.
His herring just missed the state record for skipjack
herring caught on a baited hook and line. That record was
set in 2005 with a fish weighing 1 lb., 11 oz.
The senior at Fort Zumwalt High School is pretty serious
about his fishing.
For instance, that day last September, he caught a total
of 46 fish.
Jim
receiving his state record plaque |
Jim said he fishes about three or four times a week. And
he's prepared if he ever runs into a large fish of any species.
He said, "I carry with me a list of the state records for
all species of fish in Missouri."
(If you'd like to know about Missouri fishing records,
you can visit www.MissouriConservation.org.
Then, click on keywords "Fishing" and "Browse Fishing by
Subject.")
Jim said the largest fish he's ever caught was a 40-lb.
spoonbill paddlefish. But, he said that's a long ways from
the state record for that breed of fish.
"I think the spoonbill record is something over 100 pounds,"
he said.
But, he's satisfied with his skipjack herring record.
He said, "The skipjack is a member of the minnow family
and that was a pretty big minnow."
Jim participates in a number of other outdoor activities.
That includes hunting with both gun and bow-and-arrow.
He said this season he's already shot two deer with a
bow-and-arrow and another deer with his .243 rifle.
"I love to hunt and fish," he said. "I've got trophies
all over the house."
Also, he's an avid taxidermist.
His favorite taxidermy project was his "competition brown
trout." His preservation effort with that fish netted him
a third place ribbon in a taxidermy competition.
Among the trophies at home are a deer head, "lots of fish,"
a duck, two foxes and "a whole bunch of rugs, mostly deer
hides," he said.
He was asked how he establishes the shape of a stuffed
animal or fish after taking out the insides.
With the brown trout, Jim said, "I carved out the fish's
shape from foam insulation and then stretched the skin over
that."
Asked about the first time he went fishing or hunting,
Jim said, "I can't remember because I was so young."
"As soon as I could hold a pole, my dad took me fishing,"
he said.
He said it was the same thing with hunting. He termed
himself a "big-time bow hunter."
One of the deer he shot with a bow and arrow this year
was a 5-point buck, he said. The other was a doe that dressed
out at 85 pounds.
Jim said he buck was the easiest of the kills this year.
"I sat down for only three minutes before the buck showed
up," he said.
The doe he bagged with his rifle this year weighed in
at 150 pounds, he said.
He said he parceled out the deer meat to family and relatives.
He said his hunting and fishing is a year-round activity.
That includes winter trout fishing at the Busch Conservation
Area in St. Charles County. The Missouri Department of Conservation
has an urban trout stocking program for the winter months.
Under that program, as soon as water in the local lakes
gets cold enough, the MDC stocks the lakes with hatchery-raised
trout. That gives residents in urban areas a chance to fish
for trout close to home.
Trout populations can't be sustained in shallow lakes
and streams year-round because the water is too warm in
summer months. But, the MDC stocks trout in urban areas
from November until spring comes.
Jim said he does most of his fishing fairly close to home.
However, he said the family has been as far away as Colorado
on a fishing trip.
But, most of the time he goes fishing and hunting with
relatives and friends close to home.
But, if he doesn't have any buddies who want to go, he
said he oftentimes goes alone. That's easy now that he has
his own car and driver's license.
