Patrick Edwards prides himself in going after big fish in Wyoming. The Riverton angler took that to a new level during a two-week span earlier this year. On April 2 Edwards broke the state record for longnose sucker when he caught a 3-pound, 15.6-ounce fish. The old record was set in 2022 by Christopher Bobo of Casper at 2 pounds, 11.3 ounces. It marked the third consecutive year the longnose sucker record was broken. Then on April 17, Edwards broke his own state record for white sucker with a 6-pound, 8.45-ounce fish. His old record from March 2020 was 5 pounds, 6.45 ounces.

“Living in Wyoming my whole life and being an avid angler, I never thought I would have one state record — let alone two,” Edwards said.

Both record fish were caught along the same stretch of the Wind River. Edwards said he used a pickerel rig for both fish, which consists of a slip sinker, hook, another section of line and another hook. Each hook was baited with a piece of worm.

Edwards didn’t know right away his longnose sucker was a record because he wasn’t sure what he caught. He knew it wasn’t a white sucker. He took pictures of the fish and sent them to some people he knew. They confirmed it was a longnose sucker — and a big one. 

Edwards went to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s website and looked up the state record for longnose sucker, and knew his fish was bigger. That was confirmed after it was weighed on a registered scale at a post office in Riverton.

The white sucker record may also tie a world record. According to the International Game Fish Association, the world record white sucker of 6.8 pounds was caught out of the Rainy River in Minnesota in 1984. Edwards said his fish is still being considered by the IGFA for its record books.

The only world-record fish Wyoming boasts is the golden trout when C.S. Reed of Omaha, Nebraska, landed an 11-pound, 4-ounce fish from Cook Lake in Sublette County in 1948.

“Catching a state-record fish of any species is quite an accomplishment, but to break two state records is incredible,” said Alan Osterland, Game and Fish chief of fisheries.

Rules for submitting a state-record fish and lists of the current Wyoming fish records can be found online.