An Oklahoma angler established a state and world record Tuesday by landing a 164-pound paddlefish at Keystone Lake.
Grant Rader (pictured at left in both images) snagged the massive prehistoric-looking fish on his 18th birthday, during a trip with Jeremiah Mefford of Reel Good Time Guide Service.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation broke the news Wednesday via Facebook, writing, “We have a new WORLD- and state-record paddlefish that was snagged at Keystone Lake on June 22. The beast weighed 164 pounds! Congrats to Grant Rader of Wichita, Kan., on his great catch!”
It’s worth noting that the International Game Fish Assn., which recognizes fishing records that do not involve snagging as a method of capture, does not include paddlefish on its list of world records.
Mefford, a previous state record holder for his catch of a 143-pound paddlefish at Keystone Lake in June 2020, told For The Win Outdoors that Rader’s catch breaks the world mark of 151.9 pounds. That also was a Keystone Lake catch.
Paddlefish, among the largest and longest-lived freshwater fish in North America, eat plankton so snagging is the most effective angling method.
Although the species dates back 125 million years, paddlefish are fragile and need to swim constantly. Fishing regulations are strict in states where paddlefish exist. (Their native range includes the Mississippi River basin from New York to Montana and south to the Gulf of Mexico.)
In Oklahoma, anglers can only use barbless hooks, which allow for easy releases, and can harvest only two paddlefish per year.
–Paddlefish images are courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation