New Oklahoma state record paddlefish is official

[RugersGR8]

http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_110973.shtml
New Oklahoma state record paddlefish is official
By Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
May 9, 2018

"New state-record paddlefish tipped scale at 132.5 pounds

Weighing 132 pounds 8 ounces, the paddlefish snagged Sunday, April 29, by Larry Morphew has been certified as Oklahoma’s newest rod-and-reel state-record paddlefish by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

After Morphew’s monster was officially checked and weighed by North Central Region Fisheries Supervisor Bill Wentroth, the angler released the record fish back into the Arkansas River near Blackburn. It beats the previous record by 7 pounds, 1 ounce.

Remarkably, the Yale resident said this was his first paddlefishing trip, his first paddlefish catch ever, and he snagged it on his first cast of the day."...

 

[dennishoddy]

Some people have all the luck.
I know a couple of deer hunters that scored a trophy buck on their first hunt and have been chasing one bigger for many years.

 

[Uncle TK]

What does the rod & reel and line look like that can hold a 132.5 fish?

 

[MacFromOK]

What does the rod & reel and line look like that can hold a 132.5 fish?

Deep sea fishing rig?

Google the record Marlin catch.

 

[kwaynem]

I got a story to tell my son in law asked me a couple years ago maybe longer have to check the date how to snag paddlefish (he had never been) so I showed him and his cousin how to tie up to snag they hooked on to the boat with wife’s aboard and headed out to the Arkansas river my son in law hooked his first fish I don’t think it was the first cast most likely not and caught a big one and sent me pics this was at around 8:00 am they all caught spoonbills then catfished the rest of the day and showed up here to clean them at around 8:00 pm he was raising the big one to clean and I told him he needed to weigh it cause I had never seen one that big after coaxing and him making phone calls he hauled it from here in pawhuska to Ponca city to get it officially weighed at 11:00 pm and he had the record congrats to the new record holder just kind of crazy the record holder had never been and the new record holder had never been either lol that’s some crazy stuff right there lol

 

[dennishoddy]

View attachment 118215 I got a story to tell my son in law asked me a couple years ago maybe longer have to check the date how to snag paddlefish (he had never been) so I showed him and his cousin how to tie up to snag they hooked on to the boat with wife’s aboard and headed out to the Arkansas river my son in law hooked his first fish I don’t think it was the first cast most likely not and caught a big one and sent me pics this was at around 8:00 am they all caught spoonbills then catfished the rest of the day and showed up here to clean them at around 8:00 pm he was raising the big one to clean and I told him he needed to weigh it cause I had never seen one that big after coaxing and him making phone calls he hauled it from here in pawhuska to Ponca city to get it officially weighed at 11:00 pm and he had the record congrats to the new record holder just kind of crazy the record holder had never been and the new record holder had never been either lol that’s some crazy stuff right there lol

That is an amazing coincidence!

 

[TwoForFlinching]

Are those ridiculously good eating or something? OK seems to be the main producer of em.

 

[dennishoddy]

They eat ok. Not a bone in their body.
You get this huge fillet with fish fat all over it. Once you trim the fat, not much of the fillet is left.
Cook it up in a crowd of beer drinking rednecks, one will get good reports
Those that enjoy fish will eat it, but prefer other fish.
Main thing Ok likes them for is the eggs they can sell. Make good money to study the specie and see what can be done to help them. Grand lake has an ODW cleaning facility that will clean the fish, and bag it in exchange for the eggs.
I approve.

 

[Master Carper]

We went snagging a couple of weeks ago, and local and federal game wardens were everywhere! We got checked on the river TWICE and when we were heading to the truck getting ready to leave, they were coming out from behind the trees and checked us again! We asked why so many checks, and they said the eggs were being sold illegally, no tags and more than 1 fish per person. They were writing tickets left and right and and arresting some of these stupid people! All I can say is that it serves them right. You break the law, you should pay!

 

[Glocktogo]

We went snagging a couple of weeks ago, and local and federal game wardens were everywhere! We got checked on the river TWICE and when we were heading to the truck getting ready to leave, they were coming out from behind the trees and checked us again! We asked why so many checks, and they said the eggs were being sold illegally, no tags and more than 1 fish per person. They were writing tickets left and right and and arresting some of these stupid people! All I can say is that it serves them right. You break the law, you should pay!

If they don't work the paddlefish circuit aggressively, the exploding popularity and anglers who either don't know or don't care about the regs will decimate the populations. We've caught several, but only ever harvested a single fish. I approve of their efforts to make sure we have paddlefish to fight for years to come.