Keith Lusher 02.19.26
An Iowa angler has set a new state record for black crappie after landing a giant fish during a Super Bowl Sunday ice fishing trip at Lake of Three Fires.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Micaiah Thompson of Greenfield caught a 17.8-inch black crappie weighing 3.95 pounds on February 8 at the 85-acre Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County. The fish surpasses the previous state record of 3.88 pounds, set in 2013, by seven-hundredths of a pound.
Under Iowa DNR guidelines, a new all-time state record must outweigh the previous mark by at least one ounce to qualify. Thompson’s fish cleared that threshold and was later confirmed and certified by state officials.
Thompson and his fishing partner, Dan Ginn, had taken five kids from a church youth group out on the ice that afternoon. While the kids focused on catching bluegills, Thompson and Ginn targeted walleyes using jigs and minnows, along with a few tip-ups set nearby.
The group was spread out along a tapering point that dropped from 3 to 17 feet of water. Using sonar, Thompson located a deep brush pile loaded with fish and began jigging near the structure as darkness fell.
“At about 6 p.m., right before we were getting ready to leave, I saw a good-sized fish come up to my lure on sonar,” Thompson said. “It missed that one, but I had another rod down in a second hole with a green jig and minnow, and it hit that one hard.”
Fishing with a small ice rod spooled with 10-pound braided line and a 4-pound monofilament leader, Thompson fought the fish for about a minute before bringing it to the hole.
“I thought it was a walleye the whole time,” he said. “Even when I got it up into the hole, we still thought it was a walleye because its mouth was so big. Once Dan put a flashlight on it, that’s when we realized it was a crappie.”
The anglers weighed the fish that night on a handheld scale, which read 4.1 pounds. Because it was Super Bowl Sunday and most businesses were closed, they were unable to get an official certified weight until February 10. The fish officially weighed 3.95 pounds on a certified scale, topping the long-standing record.
Thompson and Ginn initially attempted to keep the crappie alive in an aerated bait bucket filled with cold water, but after the official weigh-in, they realized the fish would not survive and decided to keep it.
Earlier that same afternoon, Ginn had landed a 17.2-inch crappie, adding to what was already a memorable outing.
The Iowa DNR encourages anglers who believe they may have caught a state record fish to immediately contact their local conservation officer or fisheries biologist to ensure proper documentation, identification, and weighing on a certified scale.
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