MassWildlife fisheries biologists certified a new state record for a carp caught on April 8, 2012. Shane Felch of Shrewsbury took a 46-pound 5-ounce carp from Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury.   Boating late at night on the lake, Shane took his fish with a cross bow (which requires a special permit for hunting and fishing). Carp are one of the few freshwater fish in Massachusetts which can be taken either by a hook and line, or by using bow and arrow. The others are suckers and eels.  A line on the crossbow bolt is connected to a reel, which is attached to the bow. When the bolt is released, the angler can then use the bow to reel in the fish.

This catch was a team effort between Shane and his buddy Devon Dubois who operated the boat. “This fish dragged us all over the place – it’s only a little 14-foot john boat,” Shane said.

He brought the fish to MassWildlife’s Field Headquarters in Westborough to have it weighed and certified by fisheries biologists. Shane’s fish breaks the record set in 1993 by Roger Pyzocha of a carp weighing 44 pounds, 2 ounces caught in the Connecticut River.

Shane says he’s going to be back at the office with another fish.  “This isn’t the biggest fish. I’ve seen another one that looks twice as big as this one,” he said. “I promise you, I’ll be back.”

The picture and some of the information was derived from the Great Outdoors Blog at http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/.  Check it out.