Another record reeled in

Scott Sandusky, of Arnold, holds a state record brown trout he caught Friday at Lake Taneycomo in Branson.
Phil Surratt | Branson Tri-Lakes News

By Phil Surratt
Staff Writer
Originally published Nov. 25, 2009

A new state record brown trout was caught at Lake Taneycomo on Friday, eclipsing the previous record by more than a pound.

Scott Sandusky, of Arnold, was the lucky angler who landed the lunker near Cooper Creek.

The record male brown trout weighed in at 28.8 pounds, was 37 inches long and had a girth of more than 24 inches.

The previous state record was 27.10 pounds set in 2005, and also caught on Lake Taneycomo.

“This is the biggest fish I have ever caught in my life,” Sandusky said after the catch. “My knees are still shaking. When I hooked the big one, the fight was on. It took about 10-15 minutes for me to get it in and I was getting a little worried because we didn’t have a very big net.”

Sandusky’s fishing buddy, Craig Thomas, of Fenton, said he got a little nervous when he couldn’t keep the monster brown in the net.

“He kept getting out,” Thomas said. “Scott finally got him in there good and when we lifted it out of the water, the net started to bend. I thought it was easily a 30-35 pound fish. It’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen.”

Thomas said they had to pull the divider out of the live well on their boat so the fish would fit.

Sandusky caught the trout on a spinning rod with 4-pound test line drifting Powerbait.

The fish was weighed on certified scales at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery, which is operated by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Hatchery Manager Clint Hale said having another state record come out of Lake Taneycomo speaks well for the fishery and the hatchery program.

“This is what it is all about,” Hale said. “When we see record fish like this one come back, it makes me believe there’s one even bigger out there.”

Hale estimated the fish to be about 20 years old.