The record has been broken.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said Ryan Young of Buffalo, Missouri, caught a 55-pound, 9 ounce fish at Stockton Lake on Oct. 13.

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 Nelsonon Stockton Lake when the record was broken.

“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,” Nelson said. “And the next time he drops his line, he hooks into something big.”

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.