Angler about to cook crappie discovers ‘monster’ could be record

Jason Ren caught a bunch of crappie from a private lake in Vancouver, Canada, and was planning to invite a friend over for a cookout until he opened his cooler and re-examined his catch.

One particular crappie stood out from the rest. It was a 17-inch black crappie, and a potential record in British Columbia.

Ren explained to Richmond News: “I landed a bunch of fish and I initially was thinking how to use lemon juice, pepper, and salt to turn them into a delicious meal on my way home. I was also planning to invite my friend Tammy to my home for dinner. But, it wasn’t until I opened the cooler and found this monster-size fish [that I realized it might be a record].

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“I asked my fishing buddies to take a look, and they were all surprised by the size of my fish.”

Since the B.C. record for black crappie is 15 inches (caught by Roger Chen at Hatzic Lake on Sept. 26, 2015), Ren submitted his fish to Record Fish Canada for record consideration. So, his catch is a pending record.

Ren told Richmond News he caught the fish on a lake in the Metro Vancouver area, adding, “It’s a private lake. The fish could grow so big because the lake has never been disturbed by other fishermen.”

Photos courtesy of Jason Ren.