MANILLA - During one of his daily fishing outings with his grandfather, a 14-year-old fisherman from Manila, broke the state record for tilapia July 18 at Mallard Lake.
Patrick Green caught the 1.8-pound fish from the shore in shallow water on a conventional rod and reel with a red worm as bait. “It’s not the biggest I’ve ever caught,” Patrick said. “But I didn’t know about the state records. I’ve caught some that were two or three pounds.”
The fish was weighed at Manila Pro Hardware and identified by Sam Barkley, Arkansas Game and Fish district fisheries biologist.
J.C. Green, Patrick’s grandfather, said the pair goes fishing for tilapia everyday when Patrick is not in school. “We catch a bunch of them,” he said. “We’re going to catch a bigger one before the year is up.”
Patrick agreed with his grandfather’s statement. “I’m going to try and break my own record,” the 10th-grader said.
The previous state record for a tilapia was a 1.4-pound fish caught on Lake Hogue on July 28, 2001 by Jimmy Cox of Bono.
reprinted with permission, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
