Tennessee angler Henry Dryer has snagged a new state record for paddlefish, with a specimen weighing 149 pounds—roughly the same weight as a mountain lion.
According to the official Tennessee state record, Dyer's fish is the largest ever to be caught and documented in the state.
Dyer, from Kingston, caught the fish in Cherokee Lake on April 13. It was almost exactly one year after the previous record was set by Chad Collins, with a fish weighing in at 120 pounds.
"When I snagged that thing, I thought I'd hung on a stump, and then, all of a sudden, it just took off," Dyer told WTVC ABC. "I was in the back of a boat, and it was everything I could do to hold on to it."
The fish made five long runs, and it took Dyer 35 minutes to get it into his boat. "I'm a little feller, and that fish weighed more than me," he said.
Paddlefish, also known as shovelnose cats, are mostly found in the mainstream reservoirs of the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi river systems. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, paddlefish can grow to lengths of up to 7 feet. Their paddle-shaped snouts account for up to a third of their total body length.
Together with the sturgeons, paddlefish form a group of fishes called the Acipenseriformes. These are thought to have evolved over 300 million years ago, nearly 50 million years before the first dinosaurs.
According to the Tennessee Aquarium, the species can live for 60 years or longer. This particular specimen is thought to be roughly 30 years old.
Cherokee Lake is a fertile reservoir near the city of Knoxville in Tennessee. According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, this high-fertility level allows the lake to hold a high density of fish, including various species of bass, catfish and, of course, paddlefish.
The TWRA announced Dyer's achievement on Facebook on April 18: "BIG FISH ALERT," the post read. It has received thousands of likes and shares, and hundreds of users have shared their congratulations.
"Wow I've never seen one that big," wrote one user, while another posted, "Great job! Downright impressive."
Others, however, expressed their concerns about removing these threatened fish from their natural habitat. "Nice catch, but would have been nice to release it," wrote one.
The TWRA responded to some of these comments. The agency said that, although the species is protected in some states, it is "plentiful" in several Tennessee waterways, including Cherokee Lake.
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