By Amy Theriac, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

WEDINGTON - A northwest Arkansas angler thought he hooked a big catfish while fishing for bass on Lake Wedington. He got more than he bargained for. What he caught broke a state record and may set a world record.

Nathan Taylor of Farmington struggled for 45 minutes to land an 80-pound grass carp he snagged while fishing on the west side of the lake with a watermelon Zoom Trick Worm. “It was a big surprise, the fish fought a lot,” he said. “Before my buddy could net it, it would pull back.”

Taylor said he was amazed that his catch could be a world record. He was especially thankful for the quality equipment he used to bring in the carp. “On 14-pound line, that’s what gets me,” he said. “I can’t believe I got it in on that. It’s unreal.”

Ron Moore, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries biologist, certified the 52-inch carp on June 25. The carp had a 28-inch girth. Clinton Ricker, a seasonal aide with the AGFC, was present when the carp was certified. “It was just huge,” he said. “It looked abnormal, it was interesting to see.”

The previous state record was a 65-pound, 14-ounce grass carp caught by Gary Todd at Horseshoe Lake in 1995. The world record is a 78-pound, 12-ounce carp caught in the Flint River in Georgia according to the International Game Fish Association. Taylor will now have to apply for the world record, but Doug Blodgett, IGFA world record administrator, said as long as the carp was snagged unintentionally it should qualify for both the line-class record and the all-tackle record.

The grass carp is a member of the minnow family and native to Asia. It was introduced to the U.S. in 1963 when 70 carp were brought to the Fish Farming Experiment Station in Stuttgart by the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries. The species is commonly stocked in the state.

Taylor wants to have the carp mounted. “It’s not the prettiest fish,” he said. “But if it is a record, it would be neat to have it mounted.”