KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Olathe man used some skill and a little bit of luck on St. Patrick’s Day to set a new world record for the largest paddlefish.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shared Chad Williams was out snagging with friends Sunday at the Lake of the Ozark when he hauled in a 164-pound, 13-ounce paddlefish.
“I’d never been snagging before,” Williams said in an MDC news release, adding that he’d never even heard of a paddlefish before Sunday’s catch.
The fish shattered the state’s previous record paddlefish catch of 140 pounds and eked out a new world record, which previously stood at 164 pounds.
“I was thinking I was extremely weak because it was taking so long to reel in,” Williams told state officials. “My body was aching.”
The state keeps track of record fish in two categories: pole-and-line fishing or alternative methods, including snagging. More information on the technique is available online.
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