Seventeen-year-old Riley Isaacs from Bradleyville, Missouri, arrowed a record-book redear sunfish while bowfishing Lake Taneycomo on April 18. Isaac’s panfish, which weighed in at 2 pounds 3 ounces, is Missouri’s first state record fish of 2025.
The teen was initially taking a group who wanted to bowfish for carp, but the trip was interrupted while they waited out incoming storms. After a half hour the weather moved on, and Isaacs was antsy to get back on the water.
“We decided to put the boat back in and play around for an hour or two,” Isaacs told the Missouri Department of Conservation. “The first flat we pulled up on, she was waiting there.”
Isaacs made his shot, and as soon as the fish hit the deck, he knew he had something special.
“I’ve shot three more of these redear sunfish, and I’ve missed the state record either by an ounce or two ounces each time, and now I’ve finally got the record,” he said. “It feels awesome.”
Isaacs’ redear edged out the previous alternative-method record set in June 2022 from the same lake by a single ounce. Glenda Gollaher holds the current Missouri “pole-and-line” record for a 2-pound 7-ounce redear she caught in the Whetstone Creek Conservation Area in 1988.
Missouri recognizes record fish in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods, which include trotline, throw line, bank line, atlatl, spearfishing, snagging, grabbing, gigging, and bowfishing. In other words — anything but a rod and reel. Only nongame species can be targeted using alternative methods, which includes panfish like bluegill and green sunfish. Popular species for bowfishing and other alternative methods include carp, gar, freshwater drum, bowfin, and sunfish.
Read Next: Sunfish vs Bluegill Identification Guide
When you think of record-breaking fish, a little sunfish probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, redear sunfish – also called a “shellcracker” for their preference for hard-shelled critters like snails – are one of the bigger, bolder members of the sunfish family. They are tenacious fighters, especially for a fish rarely reaching the 9-inch mark.
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