Don’t Do It, Montanans! State Record Fish Cheating Shenanigans

Don't worry, we did not contact the physicians of you fishing fanatics and obtain your disturbing ex-ray images.

Nope, this is about how a cheater was busted. When you claim you have caught a state-record fish, and your vehement to the point of criticizing law enforcement about its legitimacy, well, you might regret forcing their hand into doing a deeper dive into the matter. So goes the saga of an angler who ended up having a very crappie fishing day.

Dac Collins of Outdoor Life shared with montanaoutdoor.com the results of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks investigation into a state-record crappie that was seized and stricken from their record books. Dac tells us that Bobby Parkhurst appears to have tried to cheat his way to the new state record.

HIS FIRST MISTAKE

It all began last year when Mr. Parkhurst caught  what appeared to be a hog of a white crappie from a small public reservoir. Parkhurst allegedly first weighed his fish at one bait shop where it fell short of breaking the state record.

He then apparently stuffed the fish with ball bearings before visiting another certified scale to obtain a heavier weight - 4.07 pounds, which would have been a new state record. As word got around about the record catch, the owner of the bait shop where the first weigh-in took place notified authorities about the fish falling short of a record on his certified scale, showing a weight of 3.73 pounds.

FISH FORENSICS

Investigators seized the crappie from the Parkhurst home. proved this by X-raying the crappie after seizing it from Parkhurst’s home and used a handheld metal detector to scan the fish. When metal was detected, wardens then took the fish to the Topeka Zoo for x-ray examination where it was revealed that two steel ball bearings were inside the crappie.

Mr. Parkhurst claims that authorities came to his house “unlawfully,” and that the seizure of his fish amounted to “slander.” He also demanded that officials return his fish to him. Kansas DWP denies that the search was unlawful, saying “he willingly let officials inside of his home to view and obtain the fish and voluntarily presented it for re-examination.”

Unlike the cheating scandal that occurred last year during a walleye fishing tournament in Ohio, where the winning anglers were caught stuffing weights and even small fish into their entries and had the book thrown at them, this was just a guy out fishing who decided to try to gain some undeserved recognition. We could not find any indication that he was fined or had restrictions placed on his fishing licenses.

MONTANA RECORD FISH

Fun fact: Montana's state white crappie record is 3..68 pounds. Want to see all of Montana's state record fish? You can check Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks record-holders here. There's also instructions on what to do if you think you might have caught a state record.

Spoiler alert: Do not stuff your catch with ball bearings!