JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulates Ryan Young of Buffalo for swiping the latest state record for black buffalo. Young was fishing at Stockton Lake Oct. 13 when he caught a 55-pound, 9-ounce fish with his rod-and-reel. The previous state record under pole-and-line was a 53-pound black buffalo caught from Wappapello Lake in 1989.

“I’m just in shock,” Young said about his record. “It just shows you never know what you’ll catch when you head out.”

Young was crappie fishing with guide Kris Nelson over the weekend on Stockton Lake. Nelson said the group had nicknamed Young “The Trashman” because he was catching everything except crappie.

“I told him on Sunday he either needed to catch a carp or a buffalo and he’d have caught every species in the lake,” laughed Nelson. “And the next time he drops his line, he hooks into something big.”

It took about 30 minutes and three men to get the monster into the boat. The group contacted their local conservation agent suspecting it could be a state record.

Black buffalo is one of Missouri’s largest species of suckers. Sucker fish live on the bottom of lakes, rivers, and streams, feeding by sucking up mainly invertebrates and plants. Suckers are one of the dominant groups of large fishes in Missouri waters. In many streams, their total poundage may exceed that of all other fishes combined.

Young’s black buffalo is the 5th state record fish recorded in 2024.

Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, gig, bow, crossbow, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or atlatl. For more information on state record fish, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZCp.