On April 1, 29-year-old Ohio delivery driver Jesse Miller slipped in some fishing before heading into his evening shift, and what happened next was no April Fools' joke — Miller hooked a record-setting crappie from the Great Miami River.
According to Outdoor Life, Miller's catch was later identified as a hybrid crappie weighing 4.27 pounds — a fish large enough that officials created a brand-new Ohio state record category for the species.
Miller said he was fishing from the bank near Middletown, Ohio, using one light rod baited with a minnow beneath a float, as Outdoor Life reported, while also casting another setup for smallmouth bass.
He noticed the float disappear near the wall of an old river dam and rushed over to find a heavy fish on the line. The fight was brief, but landing the fish from shore proved difficult. Once he got a good look at it, he realized it was no ordinary catch.
At first, Miller thought the fish might be a white bass because of its size. However, its oversized mouth and unusual appearance quickly raised questions.
Miller posted a TikTok video documenting the following process he had to go through to get the record-setting fish certified.
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@jessethefisherman Generational Ohio State Crappie. 🎣 Watch till the end to find out how old this crappie is! - My family has been crappie fishing for many, many generations, and I am proud to carry on the tradition. I can say sometimes these fish kept food on our table when times got tough. I hope I've made my ancestors proud with this one! - 4.30lbs White Crappie. 18.3 inches. Possible hybrid. I had this crappie inspected by some talented state fish biologists in Xenia, Ohio last week. It was an awesome educational experience. They clarified that this crappie is right around 11-12 years old based on the scales. They also clarified that her 6 dorsal spikes say white crappie, but her pattern and dimensions lean toward hybrid. I'm still in process to have it officially verified as the new record white crappie while waiting on the committee to potentially classifying a new species of hybrid crappie in Ohio.. It is one of the biggest crappie ever caught in the world with A.) Photographic/Video evidence B.) Inspection by the state C.) Weighed on a county audited scale. I had it weighed on TWO different Warren County inspected scales. This ain't no fisherman's tale. The lord has blessed me with this fish. Big shout out to Zink Meat Market in Franklin, Ohio for welcoming me in to use their scales, and also having the best steaks I've ever bought. Also big shout out to Jesus Christ! ✝️ After I caught this hog I kept her alive in a cooler with an aerator until I could have her weighed, and have all the boxes checked to submit it to the Outdoor Writers of Ohio. The application is a very strict respectable process. I still have it frozen until I am aloud to have it mounted. I'll update this description when the process is all done. #crappie #fishtok #recordfish #crappiefishing #slab @bassproshops @Cabelas @MidwestOutdoorExperience @The_CrappieConnection @James Miller Fishing @🇺🇸 FISHING TIKTOKS @Paul Potter @Duck Commander @godwinguides @fincommander ♬ original sound - Jesse The Fisherman
He told Outdoor Life that the fish showed white crappie traits on one side and a different look on the other, prompting him to count dorsal spines and suspect it could be a hybrid. After an initial 4.30-pound weigh-in at a Kroger store, he learned Ohio's record rules required an official printed weight certificate and witness signatures.
He then kept the fish alive in a cooler, drove to Zink Meat Market in Franklin, and recorded an official weight of 4.27 pounds. That paperwork turned out to be only part of the process.
Miller later discovered Ohio did not yet list hybrid crappies among its record categories, Outdoor Life reported, instead tracking only white and black crappies. He then brought the fish to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources office in Xenia, where biologists Kipp Brown and Mike Porto determined the fish was a hybrid crappie.
Their findings were sent to the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, which maintains the state's fishing records, and a committee created a new category for the species. Because Miller's fish is the first submitted in that class, it is expected to become the first official Ohio state-record hybrid crappie.
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In his TikTok caption, Miller wrote, "My family has been crappie fishing for many, many generations, and I am proud to carry on the tradition … I hope I've made my ancestors proud with this one!"
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