An Arkansas angler trolling for striped bass snagged a state-record paddlefish as an alternative, reeling in a 127-pound, 6-inch catch that topped the standing file by nearly 10 kilos.
Veteran striper fisherman Mike Schleeper, of Garfield, was trolling minnows in 30 ft of water at northwest Arkansas’ Beaver Lake on June 15 when he discovered himself in the midst of an surprising battle. “I’ve been fishing for stripers up right here for about 13 years, and I’ve had the prospect to catch some stripers over 30 kilos, however this was completely different,” Schleeper famous in a press launch from the Arkansas Sport and Fish Fee (AGFC). “It didn’t strip line and cease in surges like large stripers do; he simply kind of pulled the rod down and saved going. I couldn’t flip him so we needed to comply with him with the trolling motor for in regards to the first 20 minutes.”
After he managed to get the fish headed towards the boat, Schleeper spent nearly one other half-hour working it shut sufficient get his first take a look at the enormous. “I’d thought possibly it was a extremely large striper, however then we may lastly see it a bit bit,” Schleeper informed the AGFC, which introduced the file on Fb June 19. “It appeared like an enormous catfish at first, however as we bought nearer to the boat, we realized what it was.”
Missing a web large enough to wrangle the fish into the boat, Schleeper and fishing associate Tom Mayberry finally managed to haul the whopper aboard with the assistance of a rope threaded by means of the paddlefish’s mouth. As quickly because the fish hit the deck, the hook—which was embedded in one of many fish’s pectoral fins—popped free. “We bought actually fortunate,” Schleeper mentioned.
At 127 kilos, 6 ounces, Schleeper’s catch blows away the Arkansas file caught by James Johnson in 2020. That paddlefish weighed 118 kilos.
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The oldest surviving animal species in North America, predating even some dinosaurs, paddlefish are filter-feeding planktivores that subsist on microscopic vegetation and animals. Since they sometimes don’t chew baited hooks or lures, they’re often caught by spearfishing or by snagging—both deliberately, throughout designated seasons, or unintentionally by anglers fishing for different species, as was the case for Schleeper.
Beaver Lake, a 50-mile-long impoundment on the White River, has produced even larger paddlefish. In July 2023, a shore fisherman swam out to get well a paddlefish he noticed floating on the water. AGFC officers decided that it had possible been hit by a ship prop, severing its spinal wire. That fish, which was not eligible for the state file ebook, weighed 165 kilos—a pound heavier than the present world file for the species.
