It is official. I just received my 100th State Record Certificate from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, making me the first angler to reach the triple digit official state record mark. I started the goal a couple of decades ago to show the amazing diversity of fish species we have in Texas and to demonstrate to other anglers that there are many great species of fish in Texas besides largemouth bass.

My 100th official state record fish was a walleye. I drove over six hours to Lake Meredith to catch it while Plnor fishing. It was not a huge fish, but it took me 2 days to catch one without a reel.

An analysis of my 100 state records provided some interesting data. A record fish was caught in every month of the year, but over 60% of the fish were caught in October (29%), August (18%), and June (13%). The records were achieved evenly between saltwater (51%) and freshwater (49%).

Records were achieved with rod and reel, fly rod, Plnor (pole and line), handline, and bow. Both weight records and length (catch and release records) were documented. Forty-nine different species were caught. The average weight of the fish is 9 pounds (largest was 102 pounds) and the average length is 25 inches. Bow fishing represented 7% of the records. Rod and reel represented 13%, fly fishing 28%, and other method categories represented 52%. Fish were caught with bait 59% of the time, lures 10% and 31% with a fly.

On to the next goal of 100 world records.

Whoa! What an accomplishment! Great job Barry! Looking forward to the next 100

Well done, that took perseverance and patience. Something to be very, very proud of.

Totally Awesome!




Congratulations Barry!

+1 WTG Barry

Good job. Congrats!

Well you are just toooo cool!! Big congratulations to you sir!

Awesome job sir!

Great job, what an accomplishment!

Dumb question, why do you think Walleye didn't take in more southern parts of the state? I have a feeling they would like Medina lake, though I admit I know very little about Walleye.

Temperature is a big issue for walleye, but other factors like water quality and forage species play a big factor in establishing walleye. Texas has heavily stocked Wheeler Branch Reservoir with walleye. It is located SW of DFW and the only lake that has done ok outside of the panhandle. I fished it for years trying to catch a walleye. It was my white whale. I saw many anglers catch one right next to me, fishing the same way I was, but I was never able to catch one. Walleye are currently present in the lake, but rarely caught. I do not know if TPWD plans to try them in other lakes.

Wow. Congratulations! To have stuck with it for 20 years is an amazing feat. Well done.

What a great feat! Congrats for sure! Way to go!

Wow! Congrats Barry!

So cool!! I am just a dumb hick from East TN and don't have a clue of all the species available there. Do you keep some kind of a spreadsheet that you can post to show all of those 49? I find it very interesting.