Thirty-nine-year-old Jonathan VanHook hauled in the big fish May 25 at Cecil M. Harden Lake in Parke County. It measured 42.25 inches long with a 30-inch girth.

VanHook’s 39-pound catch broke the previous record of a 35.4-pound striped bass that an angler caught in 1993 in the Ohio River.

VanHook, who’s a police officer in Rockville, says his catch was the best fish he ever landed. He hooked it as he and two friends were trolling the lake using bluegill for bait.