Fisherman sets state record by reeling in ‘catch of a lifetime,’ Iowa officials say

An Iowa fisherman’s record catch has caught the attention of officials who said they are now testing to see if it’s a natural hybrid.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, John Foster set a new state black crappie record on Sept. 23.

The crappie, caught with a soft plastic lure in Sundown Lake in Appanoose County, weighed 4.08 pounds and measured 18 inches long, officials said.

“This fish is such a catch of a lifetime that we’re actually looking into if it may be a natural hybrid crappie,” the department said in a Sept. 25 Facebook post.

Officials said they took a fin sample to test if it’s a cross between a black crappie and a white crappie.

“Regardless, what a catch, John!” officials said.

According to the state record fish database, the crappie was released.

Enthusiasts shared their envy and excitement alike over Foster’s record-setting fish on Facebook.

“Fish of 1,000 lifetimes ! A huge congratulations,” one person commented under the Iowa DNR’s announcement.

“What a monster of a fish !” said another. “I bet it was fun to reel in! Crappies have moxie!”

Sundown Lake is about an 85-mile drive southeast from Des Moines.

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