JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa — On Thursday, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that another record for the largest fish caught in Iowa has been broken.

Toby Franks set the record for largest spotted bass caught in the state. Franks’ fish came in at 2.32 lbs. and 16 inches, breaking the previous record set in 2021 of 2 lbs. and 16 inches.

Spotted bass aren’t native to Iowa but were successfully stocked in Lake Macbride in 1969. Today, they can also be found in the Coralville Reservoir and the Iowa River.

While spotted bass don’t typically grow larger than 15 inches, the DNR says that spotted bass weighing over three pounds have been found during regular sampling, meaning another lucky Iowan could break this record in the future.

Last week, the DNR announced that an over 20-year-old record for the largest blue catfish ever caught in Iowa had been broken. The record-breaking fish weighed in at 105 lbs. and was over 60 inches long.

To learn more about state record fish, visit the DNR’s website.