Angler reels in record-breaking 140-pound paddlefish in Missouri. ‘Felt like a tree’

An angler’s state-record catch on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri almost didn’t happen.

But when the weather forecast shifted in Jim Dain’s favor, he and his family ventured out to the lake for what would be a monumental day.

Dain, from Pittsfield, Illinois, caught a 140-pound, 10-ounce paddlefish on March 18 — breaking the previous record by 1 ounce.

“The forecast was calling for storms, and then it changed to no rain, so we went out, but it just kept getting colder,” Dain said, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. “We weren’t having much luck, but decided to fish for another hour so we took another turn. And that’s when the drag on the reel started. It felt like a tree was on the line!”

It took Dain 20 minutes to get the fish on the boat. When he got to the boat ramp, he came across another state-record holder who suggested Dain get the massive fish weighed.

“He’s looking at the fish and says to me, ‘Boy, I think you should get that checked out because it could be a state record.’”

The fish did best the previous record, which was set in 2015 on Table Rock Lake. The world record was set in 2021 when an 18-year-old in Kansas reeled in a paddlefish weighing 164 pounds, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Dain opted to keep his paddlefish, saying its meat will produce plenty of meals.

“We got 16 one-gallon bags of meat out of this catch,” Dain said. “We’ve fried it, grilled it and made paddlefish tacos the other night. We’ll be having paddlefish for a while!”

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Angler reels in record-breaking 140-pound paddlefish in Missouri. ‘Felt like a tree’."