JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A fish caught in the Lake of the Ozarks by a Nebraska man that was thought to be record-sized is not pure, the Missouri Department of Conservation said.
Rich Porter of Omaha, Nebraska was bowfishing on May 16 at the Lake of the Ozarks when he shot a 14-pound, 6-ounce fish.
Porter sent the fish to the Missouri Department of Conservation, where testing came back that the fish was pure shortnose gar, breaking a record in the state of Missouri for the shortnose gar.
The previous state record under alternative methods was a 13-pound, 1-ounce fish that was caught in Mark Twain Lake in 2006.
Monday, MDC said additional genetic testing showed the fish was not 100% pure shortnose gar.
"The genetic testing for this gar was completed by a Missouri university," said MDC Fisheries Programs Specialist Andrew Branson in a news release. "Their initial results showed the fish to be a pure shortnose, however, they are proceeding with additional genetic tests."
Because of the genetic results, the original record for the shortnose gar caught at Mark Twain Lake in 2006, was restored.
Testing has not confirmed what other species of fish the fish Porter caught is mixed with.
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