K-Zoo Man Lands Record-Breaking Sucker

LANSING (WWJ) - A Kalamazoo angler took the state record hook, line and sinker when he reeled in a massive black buffalo fish weighing over 37 pounds.

DeGoede told WWJ Newsradio 950's Zahra Huber he was bow fishing in Kalamazoo River in Allegan County when he made the catch. He said when he and his friends were quite surprised when they reeled it in.

"We just kept looking at it and thinking and saying, like wow, that's a big fish," DeGoede said. "We probably shot like 50 fish that night and we kept on just comparing to that and it was just like, wow, this thing's big."

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed the fish, which is a member of the sucker family, weighed 37.4 pounds and measured 39.3 inches.

"It makes me wanna go out and break others records," DeGoede added.

The previous state-record black buffalo was caught by Brad Nietering of Nunica on the Grand River in Ottawa County on May 19, 2004. That fish weighed 33.25 pounds and measured 36.5 inches.

DeGoede's was the second state-record fish caught in southwest Michigan this year. On May 22, Rodney Akey of Niles caught a 49.8-pound, 45.7-inch flathead catfish in the St. Joseph River.

State records are recognized by weight only, and are verified by a DNR official.