Indiana's record fish and how to enter a record fish

This list includes all official state records as of December 1, 2004.

SPECIES	WEIGHT	WHERE	ANGLER	YEAR
Atlantic Salmon	14 lb. 4 oz.	Lake Michigan, Lake County	Gene Tarrant	1979
Bighead Carp	53 lb. 8 oz.	White River, Pike County	Duane Stafford	2000
Blue Catfish	104 lb.	Ohio River	Bruce Midkiff	1999
Bluegill	3 lb. 4 oz.	Pond, Greene County	Harold L. Catey	1972
Bowfin (dogfish)	16 lb.	Pine Lake, La Porte County	Barry Biederstadt	1988
Brook Trout	3 lb. 15 1/2 oz.	Lake Gage, Steuben County	Sonny Bashore	1973
Brown Trout	25.08 lbs.	Lake Michigan	Mitchell Boilek	2001
Buffalo	53.9 oz.	Oak Hill Pond, Gibson County	Kenneth R. Houchin	2002
Bullhead	4.9 lbs.	Potato Creek State Park St. Joseph County	Darren Robertson	1994
Burbot	7 lb. 11 oz.	Lake Michigan	Larry Malicki	1990
Carp	43 lb. 4 oz.	Pine Lake, Kosciusko County	Russell Long	1989
Channel Catfish	37 lb. 8 oz.	Lake, Vanderburgh County	Randy E. Jones	1980
Chinook Salmon	38 lb.	Trail Creek, La Porte County	Rich Baker	1980
Cisco	3 lb. 12 oz.	Big Cedar Lake, Whitley County	Phillip Wisniewski	1980
Coho Salmon	20 lb. 12 oz.	Lake Michigan, La Porte County	John Beutner	1972
Crappie	4 lb. 11 oz.	Private lake, Jennings County	Willis Halcomb	1994
Flathead Catfish	79 lb. 8 oz.	White River, Lawrence County	Glen T. Simpson	1966
Flier	3 1/2 oz.	Stream, Jackson County	Harold H. Otte	1983
Freshwater Drum (white perch)	30 lb.	White River, Martin County	Garland Fellers	1963
Goldeye	1.88 lb.	West Fork White River, Owen County	James Harris	2004
Grass Carp	65.2 oz.	Private lake, Morgan County	David Hughes	2002
Green Sunfish	1 lb. 10 oz.	Pit, Fountain County	Terry Keller	1987
Hybrid Striped Bass	19 lb. 3 oz.	Tippecanoe River, Tippecanoe County	Sam Tracy	2002
Hybrid Walleye (Saugeye)	8 lb. 8 oz.	Scottsburg Reservoir, Scott County	Doug Young	1999
Lake Trout	29 lb. 4 oz.	Lake Michigan	Harold Rodriquez	1993
Largemouth Bass	14 lb. 12 oz.	Lake, Harrison County	Jenifer Schultz	1991
Longnose Gar	19.4 lb.	Wabash River, Posey County	Kevin Huber	2007
Muskellunge	42 lb. 8 oz.	James Lake, Kosciusko County	Darrin Conley	2002
Northern Pike	30 lb. 2 oz.	Clear Lake, Steuben County	Jack Barnes	1992
Paddlefish	106 lb. 4 oz.	Sand Pit, Knox County	John Kotter	1996
Pink Salmon	2 lb. 12 1/2 oz.	Lake Michigan, Lake County	Richard J. Lisac	1985
Rainbow Trout	18 lb. 8 oz.	Clear Lake, Steuben County	Bill Bigger	1988
Redear Sunfish	3 lb. 10 oz.	Lake, Brown County	R. Peckman	1974
Rock Bass	3 lb.	Sugar Creek, Hancock County	David Thomas	1969
Sauger	6 lb. 1 oz.	Tippecanoe River, Carroll County	Mark Bigger	1983
Shovelnose Sturgeon	14 lb. 8 oz.	Wabash River, Fountain County	Mike Latoz	1999
Silver Carp	15.5 lb.	White River, Greene County	Daniel Keller	2003
Smallmouth Bass	7 lb. 4 oz.	Twin Lake, Lagrange County	Dana Yoder	1992
Spotted Bass	5 lb. 1 1/2 oz.	Lake, Howard County	John William Pio	1975
Steelhead Trout	26.62 lb.	Trail Creek, LaPorte County	Evan Nicholson	1999
Striped Bass	35.395 lb.	Ohio River	Tony Campisano	1993
Sucker	12 lb. 3.3 oz.	White River, Bartholemew County	John Britton	1991
Tiger Muskellunge	24 lb.	Wolf Lake, Lake County	Michael Senics	1995
Tiger Trout	3 lb.	Lake Michigan, Lake County	Mike Ratter	1978
Walleye	14 lb. 4 oz.	Kankakee River, Lake County	Leon Richart	1974
Walleye	14 lb. 4 oz.	Tippecanoe River, Pulaski County	Donald Tedford	1977
Warmouth	1.4 lb.	North Dugger Pit Sullivan County	Jack Tolbert	2002
White Bass	4 lb. 3 oz.	Lake Freeman, Carroll County	James Wagner	1965
White Catfish	9.72 lb.	Pond, Wabash County	Melissa Grimes	1985
Yellow Bass *	2 lb. 15 oz.	Morse Reservoir, Hamilton County	Jim Raymer	2000
Yellow Perch	2 lb. 8 oz.	Gravel Pit, Vigo County	Roy W. Burkel Jr.	1981

Indiana Record Fish Program

Download the entry form - in Adobe Acrobat format

The Division of Fish and Wildlife sponsors two award programs recognizing outstanding catches by sport anglers. The Indiana Record Fish program recognizes new state record catches. The Fish of the Year program recognizes anglers who catch and report the largest fish of each species each year, short of a new state record.

Weight is not required for Fish of the Year entries. A weight measurement is required for Indiana Record Fish entries. Both programs have the same fish divisions and use the same entry blank and rules below.

Rules for submitting an entry:

• Fish must be taken legally by hook and line from Indiana waters. Fish taken from the main stem of the Ohio River between Kentucky and Indiana, or from the Wabash River between Illinois and Indiana will be considered for the Indiana Record Fish Program provided the angler possessed an Indiana fishing license at the time of the catch (a photocopy of the license must accompany entries from these boundary waters).
  
• Fish must be caught in public or private fishing waters where no charge is made for fish taken.
  
• Provide copy of license.
  
• Entry must be postmarked by Dec. 31 of the calendar year.
  
• A good quality photograph of the fish must accompany the entry. Blue catfish must be photographed from the side against a light background. For record fish entries, applicants may wish to consider hiring a photographer.
  
• The weight measurement for the Indiana Record Fish entries must be taken before the fish is frozen and on a scale that has been certified by the State of Indiana to be accurate to one ounce. If you can’t find a certified scale in a grocery, hardware, grain store or propane distributor, call the Indiana Department of Health, Division of Weights and Measures at (317) 356-7078 for the nearest location. No weight is needed for the Fish of the Year entries.
  
• Entry must be accompanied by signatures of two persons (not relatives) who witnessed weighing and measuring. After weighing, the fish may be gutted and iced, but do not fillet or otherwise cut it up. The fish must be available for inspection and identification.
• 
  Fish entries may require verification by a Division of Fish and Wildlife fisheries biologist. It is the responsibility of the angler to schedule a time to have your fish examined by a fisheries biologist to verify identification. Click here for a list of fisheries biologist to verify identification.
  
  

It’s FREE and It’s FUN - SO, ENTER THAT FISH!

Enter Indiana’s record fish programs and become part of Indiana history. Each year the Division of Fish and Wildlife honors anglers for the biggest catch of the season with Indiana’s Fish of the Year Award.

Fifty species categories are open for awards. Entries do not have to be state record size. Even a small fish can win if it is the biggest entered in its category for that year.

Anyone can enter, and enter more than once. Only a few rules apply. The fish must be taken legally by hook and line from Indiana waters. The fish must be caught in public or private fishing waters where there is no fee. Complete the entry form below and send it in with a copy of your fishing license and a good picture of your catch. Even catch-and-release partcipants can enter.

Winners receive a certificate and a colorful jacket patch. Records are kept from year to year to provide biologists a way to monitor fish sizes around the state.