iStockphoto / wrangel
An extremely rare melanistic all black paddlefish was caught in Oklahoma and this fish looks like something from another planet.
Melanism in paddlefish is so rare that the USFWS National Digital Library doesn’t even have an entry for it, though it does have an entry for leucism in paddlefish. Miraculously, another black paddlefish was caught last year in May, also in Oklahoma, and it’s a borderline miracle that fishermen are able to land these fish at all.
I call it a ‘miracle’ because paddlefish are filter feeders. They don’t go after bait on a hook like normal fish targeted by anglers. Catching them involves unique tactics to get a hook in the fish’s mouth and these days that also often tarts with using sonar to track the fish.
This black paddlefish caught by Aidan in Oklahoma tipped the scales at 28 pounds. And Aidan was fishing with a friend who hooked up to a 30-pound fish at the exact same time so they doubled up. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation shared a photo on Facebook of Aidan’s rare black paddlefish:
On Facebook, the ODWC explained why melanism may occur sometimes in the wild in paddlefish. They wrote “When adult paddlefish spend extended time in shallower tailwater habitats where water clarity may be greater, they will take on a darker coloration. Effectively, these fish are getting a dark suntan. This could be a combination of melanistic traits and the effects of shallow and clear water habitats.”
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation also confirmed that the rare black paddlefish was released alongside the 30-pounder caught by Aidan’s friend.
The melanistic paddlefish above was caught on Kaw Lake. It was never reported where this one was caught in May of last year but this fish was estimated to weigh 60-70 pounds:
Nature is awesome. Glad to see both rare black paddlefish were released to keep on growing.
For what it’s worth, both fish were way off the Oklahoma state fishing record for paddlefish. They grow to huge sizes and the state fishing record for paddlefish is 164 pounds, a fish caught back in 2021 that looks like a shark it’s so big.