On In A Million?

We've all caught a fish that we individually thought was one in a million.  For some it is a big brown trout on a skinny stretch of water.  For others it is a two pound bluegill that looked like something from Lake Springfield.  For me, it was a 6 pound largemouth on a 1/32 ounce crappie jig.  For my buddy Mark, it was a 15 pound albino flathead catfish.  He caught the rarity on a 1/32 ounce roadrunner that was tipped with a minnow while fishing for crappie and yellow perch.  Mark lives on Lake Lotawana (near Blue Springs and Lee's Summit) and was fishing off his dock when he hooked into the bleached beast.  Mark fought it for about 10 minutes on a spinning rod with 10 pound line prior to releasing the fish back to the wild.  After multiple requests, Mark contacted a fisheries biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation to report his catch.  The biologist said that albinoism is more common among channel cats especially in stocked and smaller lakes.  He said that an albino flathead was more rare and the fact that it must have been born in the wild and survived to adulthood only added to the anomaly.  Mark's brother had found some research that basically said that the chances of catching an albino flathead in the wild was about one in 10 million and the biologist confirmed that the number was probably pretty close.  I would say congratulations on a one in a million fish, but that wouldn't be fair to mark or this odds-defying wonder.

As always, if you have a good story to share, I would love to hear from you and share your pictures/story.  Email me showmeflyguy@gmail.com if you feel so inclined.