iStockphoto / Marina Vedernikova
A North Dakota fisherman tied the state’s paddlefish record after snagging a 131-pounder only two days into ND’s paddlefish season.
Paddlefish are one of the most peculiar looking species of fish in North America and anglers chase after them all throughout America’s heartland but fishing for them requires non-traditional tactics as they are filter feeders and won’t take a normal bait at the end of a rod and reel.
The most-effective style of fishing for paddlefish is ‘snagging’ which is exactly what it sounds like, and that’s exactly what Tyler Hughes and his wife were doing on the Yellowstone River on May 3rd when the state fishing record-tying 131-pound paddlefish got snagged on his 10/0 treble hook.
Bob McNally of OutdoorLife was able to get video of the catch which, once measured and weighed, tied the North Dakota state record for paddlefish. Tyler Hughes had unfortunately forgotten his gaff on this fine day and had to leave to go pick it up once the realization set in of how big the fish was. The footage is mostly of them struggling to get this tiny whale up a muddy bank and onto land after reeling it in:
Tyler Hughes told OL that when he hooked the big fish around 11 AM it was such a behemoth he thought he’d gotten snagged on a rock or log. He says when it started move that’s when he realized that he had hooked into a massive paddlefish.
Hughes caught the fish using 75lb test line and once they got two gaffs in it on the river bank they took it to a Williston weigh station with a certified scale where they cleaned the fish in exchange for the roe (caviar) of which they reportedly got around 30 pounds(!!!). The short paddlefish fishing season in North Dakota where anglers were able to harvest the fish only lasted from May 1st to the 15th so there was a very narrow window in which he was able to catch and keep this massive specimen.
It tipped the scales at a whopping 131 pounds which tied the state record and measured 74 inches long which is three inches longer than the previous record. North Dakota Game and Fish announced in a press release this catch had officially tied the previous state record.
There must’ve been something in the air this year during ‘opening day’ of paddlefish season across the country. Down in Missouri, one angler landed a 164-pound world record paddlefish on opening day and it was the FIRST TIME he’d ever gone snagging for paddlefish in his life.
The existing North Dakota paddlefish record that was tied is a 131 pound, 0oz fish caught on the Upper Missouri River by angler Grant Werkmeister on May 7, 2016. This fish that tied the record was caught on May 3rd. So there must be something in the air in early May that attracts these big fish.
The 131 pounds is, by a WIDE MARGIN, the heaviest fish caught in North Dakota across all species. Buffalo (fish) is the nearest record at just 61 pounds, 8 ounces followed by Muskie at 46 pounds, 8 ounces.