The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish of the Year program (FOTY), recognizes anglers who have caught the longest fish of each species DNR tracks in the year.

For 2025, Steven Kellett, a Linton (Greene County) dentist, set a new FOTY record with 17 FOTY winning catches, eclipsing the mark of 15 FOTY winning catches set by Liu He of West Lafayette in 2022. The Kellett name also appears five more times on the 2025 FOTY list, as Landon, Steven’s 9-year-old son, caught five winning fish.

 The elder Kellett said fishing with his son makes him think back to his childhood and helps him shape his son’s future.

“Spending father/son time away from the everyday stresses of life means everything to me,” Steven Kellett said. “I have awesome memories fishing with my dad and grandfather, and I want Landon to have some of the same experiences that I did.

“A lot of kids these days do not get to experience the outdoors, living in our tech driven culture. When I’m not working or at a sporting event, we make an effort to go fishing! These memories will last a lifetime!” 

Steven’s FOTY catches for species most commonly pursued by anglers included a 25.5 inch channel catfish he caught at Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area, a 22.25 inch saugeye from the Whitewater River in Franklin, and a 21.5 inch brown trout from a private pond in Greene County.

The largest of Landon’s catches were a 28 inch black buffalo from the Wabash River in Sullivan County and an 18.5 inch shorthead redhorse from the Tippecanoe River in White County.

The elder Kellett said the FOTY program serves as extra motivation to fish for both he and his son.

“The FOTY competition offers a unique opportunity to either specialize in a single species or diversify into multiple,” he said. “I enjoy teaching my son to identify different species of fish and learn what is around us.

“We are both goal driven, and we like to log our catches, not only to send in for the competition, but to chart trends, locations, baits, and our own personal bests. This helps us find fish in the future, too.”

To learn more about DNR’s FOTY and Record Fish programs, see on.IN.gov/recordfish.

Floyd County resident Justin Brown caught a record-setting longnose gar on the Ohio River on Dec. 30 of last year, on a warm winter afternoon.

The fish weighed 23 pounds, 12.2 ounces, beating the previous record from 2008 by almost a pound and a half. The previous record fish was caught from the White River. Brown caught his gar from a boat using a jigging spoon.

 All three of Indiana’s gar records have now been broken in the past three years – the shortnose gar record was set in 2025, and the spotted gar record was set in 2024.

 Longnose gar is one of Indiana’s most common gar species. It is found throughout the state, and the largest longnose gar typically live in bigger rivers.

 Gar are ambush predators, lying still near the water’s surface to feed on small fish as they swim past. Gar are difficult to catch using basic hook and line techniques because of their hard, bony mouths. Many methods have been developed to catch gar, including using a snare with bait in the middle which tightens around the gar’s mouth.

Phil Kacmar, who is the big rivers fisheries biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), says anglers who use live bait to catch gar should let gar bite and run with the bait to give them time work the fish down in their mouth to have better success of hooking and landing it.

Terre Haute Man Injured In 

ORV Accident

 Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an off-road vehicle (ORV) accident occurring the afternoon of January 8 in Terre Haute.  About 1:50 p.m., officers responded to the area near the 10200 block of South Hutchinson Street in response to an accident involving an ORV.

Upon arrival, officers learned Mark Priehs, 19, of Terre Haute, was operating the ORV on the roadway when he drove into a ditch, causing the ORV to roll on top of him. A nearby Good Samaritan immediately helped remove the machine from Priehs.

Priehs was flown to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in stable condition with a back injury.  Priehs was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

 For information on ORV laws and safe operating procedures, please visit: offroad-ed.com/IN/handbook/ and  on.IN.gov/offroading.

‘till next time, 

Jack

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication or e-mail Jack at jackspaulding1971@outlook.com

Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.