OutdoorMissouri.com

In your opinion, is there a world record walleye--over 22 lbs. 11 oz.--swimming in the state of Missouri (to include the border waters)? If so, where and why?

Definitely yes....it lives in Arkansas, but comes up with it's big sisters in February to hang out in the holes above K Dock. And 2Bills are gonna bust a gut trying to hook one of those big girls. Somebody from the ShowMe state should bring the record back here from Greer's Ferry Lake. I would hope that somebody from this forum would be in the right place at the right time, and everything falls into place.
Stockton has some nice walleyes, but I don't believe there are any true monsters left, if there ever were any. For the sake of this discussion, CW will not bring in the possibility of water quality problems at upper Bull Shoals. I believe the lakes holds several world record class walleyes, and they gotta to upstream to spawn at some point.
If not near K Dock, then one of the feeder streams. Some guys are going to say Pot Hole, and that is also a possibility.

I think probably yes. If it's in there it's probably either in Tablerock, Bull Shoals, or Norfork. Bull Shoals is obviously known for it's walleye population but Tablerock has some real bruisers swimming around also. And very few people are bothering the TR walleyes. (That is good - everybody stay away).

All of these lakes have plenty of forage and a good long growing season. 22 lbs 11 oz's is a huge walleye though. The guy or guys that catch a record will probably do it by fishing in a feeder river, in Febuary, fishing either a Slick or a Hornyhead. (native stream minnows).

Didn't mean to write a book.....

You are forgiven my son. Go forth and sin no more!

Let us not forget that the current crop of near world record size bass are coming from lakes with a healthy population of rainbow trout for forage. Lots of those in the White River system.

Tell CW more about these "slicks" you mentioned...is that some kind of new plastic bait that Wal Mart has not put on the shelves yet?????

Sorry....Slicks are a secret.

Tablerock said:
Sorry....Slicks are a secret.

Yep--So dont tell no one!

Hi Ernie...! Say, when does your work season end ??

oops, that's off topic...

My 2 cents say either TR or Bull Shoals. I have seen some good ones out of TR last year and this year not a ton of them but some good ones. These two lakes have the baitfish and deepwater I think we need to produce BIG fish.

Powerdive, In answer to your question, the answer is YES. Somewhere on the Mo. side of the border, there lurks a monster or two that will equal or surpass the World Record. But, in all fairness, the Arkansas side of Bull also has some in it. Also, if Greers Ferry produced one World Record Walleye, then there has to be one as big or BIGGER than that one somewhere in there. When you take into consideration that the Missouri State Walleye Record is 21 lbs., 1 oz., and came from the Pot Hole, YES, the Pot Hole in 1988 by a bank fisherman, then there are more there as well. I would bet that BULL or Greers has a NEW World Record in there swimming around somewhere. I think Norfork and Table Rock have some fish that grow to enormous weights, but until I see one from those lakes topping 20 lbs.(as of yet, NONE 20 lbs. or over has ever showed up from these places), then they probably DON'T have any in that size range swimming in them. Stockton's lake record is 16 lbs., 6 oz., so it too is NO Go until a fish is caught from there 20 lbs.or over. Do these places possibly have a 20+ pound fish living there. Yes. This is just my perspective, but the odds are with Bull and Greers to break the NEW World Walleye Weight Record. But remember one thing. Very few walleye over 20 lbs. have ever been caught by anglers. So, the odds of anyone or any of us catching one in our lifetimes 20 lbs. or over is miniscule, but the sheer idea of a fish that size being in the lake alone makes it worth trying to catch it.

EP,,,totally agree with one possible exception...it's been a long time since any truly big walleyes came out of Greer's Ferry. They were on a big fish roll back in the 80's, but almost no walleyes of gigantic size have been caught. I don't know if anybody can explain that, but lakes tend to have runs with superior year class hatches in both numbers and size. Greers Ferry may have hit the wall. Then again, somebody may bring in a 23 pounder from there tomorrow morning....I have the In Fisherman set of five books about walleye fishing, and this very phenomenon is discussed in depth. Bull Shoals is a top contender for any future new world's record, but almost all the "experts" agree that wherever it comes from, it will be a southern lake with a year round growing season and lots of forage.
As i recall, Table Rock was on the list of possibles.

CW, I will be going to fish Greer's Ferry for the first time ever next February or March with MeatMan, who has fished it several times before. In fact, he has a story about that lake. It seems his wife had a huge eye on the line some time back when they were fishing off the dock down there, and he didn't have a net big enough to get it into(he said the fish stuck out on both sides of the net), thus the fish got off ). Nevertheless, the fish found a way(imagine that)during the 5 or 10 minutes she had it on to GET OFF. He tells me that she still reminds him of this fact every once in a while. He estimated the fish to weigh 17 or 18 lbs., as he got a good look at it. He also told me that he wanted to dive in after it(in the C-O-L-D February waters or Arkansas mind you--I would have for a fish that size.) Too bad. He will have a chance to redeem himself next Spring when we invade the lake. We WILL be bringing back the World record with us for sure !

Catch it down there, bring it back and claim you caught it in Missouri waters...no problem. Either way you have a high dollar fish, and just us chickens will know where it really came from. I am going to find that list of the waters most likely to yield the next world record. Makes for some interesting reading.

BTW, the big Greers Ferry walleyes tend to come from an area up in the river where the fish congretate prior to spawning...

Around here, when we say big walleyes we mean Missouri big walleyes, dern it!

I think Lake of the Ozarks might be a sleeper on this one. According to MDC, an 18 came out of there last year. And it's not the first...

Go to any bait shop on the Arkie side of Bull Shoals, and you'll hear the same rumor...Game and Fish netted SEVERAL 25 to 30 pounders up in Jimmie Creek, or Little Sister, or whatever. Everybody WANTS to believe...and there've been enough 20s and near-20s to make it likely. Yeah, it could happen there anytime.

Table Rock, in my mind, could have an even better chance of pumping out a freak fish, simply because it's virgin territory.

I don't know anything about Norfork and have never heard of anything above mid-teens there. And the Missouri portion of the Mississippi is the southern end of the walleye range in that river--but again, I know very little about it.

Fun stuff to think about...dream about...live for.

OK...here's the real deal: Of the top ten KEPT walleyes, eight came from Greers Ferry Lake. The last record walleye came from there in 1989. A walleye can grow a lot in a warm southern lake in sixteen years.....Greers Ferry occupies all but the #3 and #5 fish. Got to be at least a few real hawgs still in there.
Now, here's what In Fisherman has to say about where to go for a shot at a "trophy" walleye (not necessarily a world record class fish):
1. Western basin of Lake Erie
2.Columbia River Oregon/Washington
3.Little Bay de Noc, MI
4. Upper Mississippi River WI/MN/IA
5. Lake Sakakawea ND
6.Red River Manitoba
7. Mille Lacs MN
8. Greers Ferry AR
9. Georgian Bay ONT
10 Lake Sanaga MN
11 Saginaw River MI
12 Bay of Quinte ONT
13 Lake Manistee MI
14 Lake of the Woods Upper half of North America
15 Tobin Lake SASK
16 Allegheny River PA
17 Lake Oahe SD
18 Fox River WI
19 Lake Geneva WI
20 Missouri River SD, ND, MT

here we go: waters offering the best potential for a new world record: first on the list: Bull Shoals, Missouri.#2 Columbia River, then Greers Ferry. Homeboys might have a shot here.

PD, Go up Kings river and White river in the spring and Table Rock is not as vigrin as you might think. The banks are packed with fishermen plus a few boats then up the White river it's all boats and they are all fishing for walleye's. A guy I fish with saw an 18 lber caught right under the 86 bridge that crosses Kings river 3 years ago. He did not see the guy actualy weigh it but he has a 14 lber on his wall that came from Kings river 5-6 years ago so that was not the first Big walleye he had seen and he said he belived the weight when he heard it, he said it was a Pig. 12 pounds was the biggest that I heard of coming out of each river this year the Kings and White.