This fish story ends with a man who says he was cheated being publicly branded as a cheater.
According to KSNT-TV in Topeka, Kansas, it all began last March when Bobby Parkhurst broke a 1964 record for the largest crappie caught in the state.
In early April, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks declared the fish a state record.
But not for long. On April 20, state officials came and seized the fish from the freezer where it had been stored. Parkhurst claimed no one gave him a good explanation.
“I did it the whole way they wanted me to do it,” he said. “I went through the procedures, I wrote down what I caught it on. I did everything they wanted me to do by the book. I did everything I was supposed to do. Their biologists looked at it more than once.”
Kansas man talks record-breaking crappie catch https://t.co/bexgSqFViW
— KSNT 27 News (@KSNTNews) April 8, 2023
In November, the state said the record Parkhurst thought was broken still stood. KDWP spokeswoman Nadia Marji said there was an issue with the application he filled out.
“There was not an error in the verification process,” Marji said, according to KSNT. “Rather, information supplied to the Department by the angler via his written application form was not ‘true and correct.’”
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And then on Feb. 3, after months of radio silence, Parkhurst denounced the state in a post on Facebook.
“I caught that fish legally and honestly,” he posted. “These officers are bully’s and don’t need to be game wardens. They are dishonest. I went through all the bells and whistles as I was supposed to do. They certified and gave me the master angler award.
“I waited the 30 days that they by law have to wait for all this investigation to be done. These officers came to my house unlawfully and took my fish after the kdwp announced me State record holder. They have now slandered my name. The officers are dishonest and should be held accountable.”
That led the state to fire off its official response, saying it had been given a tip that the fish gained weight after it had been caught.
“To preserve the integrity of KDWP’s state record program, KDWP Game Wardens met with the angler who voluntarily presented his fish for re-examination,” Marji of the KDWP said in a news release, according to KSNT.
“When staff used a handheld metal detector to scan the fish, the device detected the presence of metal,” she said.
The next stop was the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center, where an X-ray found two steel ball bearings in the fish.
Marji said the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office was looped in to see if it wanted to prosecute Parkhurst for allegedly sharing false information.
Katie Garceran of the DA’s office said an investigation found there was not enough information to prosecute.
Outdoor Life took the case a step further and interviewed the bait shop owner who initially weighed the fish.
“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” said the owner, whose name was withheld.
“If it was a state record, I would have taken a picture of it. Typically when that happens, I have to fill out paperwork, measure the fish and check the weight, and I actually have to give the [angler] the serial number off my scale,” he said. “That was not done on this fish.”
The bait shop owner said he grew curious when he found the fish he weighed at 3.73 pounds was cited as a record weighing 4.07 pounds.
“Now, that’s a discrepancy,” he said.
“Wildlife and Parks brought the Department of Ag in, and they actually checked my scale. It came up perfect,” the owner said.
“I weigh a lot of people’s fish, so when they bring them here, I do my part, But I don’t lie for nobody,” he said.
Marji said Parkhurst is now able to reclaim his fish.
