Right fish/wrong day!

[Lee Borgersen]

  Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish
 
2/18/20


  ......
An Oklahoma angler's catch of a 157-pound paddlefish last Friday would have shattered the state record had it been caught on just about any other day.

Justin Hamlin landed the odd-looking behemoth while fishing on Keystone Lake with Capt. Jeremiah Mefford of Reel Good Time Guide Service.

The paddlefish tipped a boat scale at 157 pounds. But state regulations designed to protect the fishery require that all paddlefish caught on Fridays and Mondays must be released.


© File Photo File Photo Justin Hamlin with 157-pound paddlefish. Photo: Reel Good Time Guide Service

Hamlin, therefore, was not able to have his catch officially weighed or certified by a state biologist, and the state record still stands at 132 pounds, 8 ounces, for a 2018 catch on the Arkansas River.



However, that does not diminish the experience for the captain or angler.

"I think my heart was close to beating out of my chest," Mefford told For The Win Outdoors. "I'm an avid deer hunter and it was like seeing a dream buck come out right in front of you. The difference was this fish was landed and we did not have to talk about the one that got away."

Mefford added: "Heartbroken not to have it official, but Justin had a great attitude about it, and appreciation for the laws."

Paddlefish are plankton eaters so snagging is the most effective angling method. Oklahoma regulations allow anglers to keep one per day except on Mondays and Fridays, when all fish "must be released immediately."

Anglers can only use barbless hooks, which allow for easy releases.

Mefford said Hamlin snagged his 5-foot-long paddlefish with a large treble hook attached to 80-pound-test line. The fight lasted about 10 minutes.

The Keystone Lake record for paddlefish stands at 125.6 pounds, Mefford said.

American paddlefish, closely related to sturgeon, are native to the Mississippi River Basin and fossil records date back millions of years.

 File Photo File Photo Keystone Lake-record paddlefish stands at 125.6 pounds. Photo: Reel Good Time Guide Service.

     

[LPS]

Man that is a nice looking fish.

[snow1]

Ageed,what a beast....

[Scenic]

Yes it is.  Thing is huge

[Reinhard]

That is a big one.  Why in the world would they have a law that has two days that you can't keep this fish?  If it's endangered or needs protection just make it CR.  good luck.

[LPS]

Ya that's what I thought too.  The fish doesn't know what day it is. 

[Steve-o]

I was goona hammer d'em southerners for having such backward laws, but then I remembered it was only recently that Pennsylvanians could hunt deer and we could buy booze on Sundays.   

[glenn57]

Ya that's what I thought too.  The fish doesn't know what day it is.

maybe that fish did know!!!!!!!!!

[snow1]

That is a big one.  Why in the world would they have a law that has two days that you can't keep this fish?  If it's endangered or needs protection just make it CR.  good luck.

Agreed REINY,sounds like a minnesota dnr law maker moved south,I suspect to protect the spawning mass some what certain time of year? just like some western states have or had no waterfowl hunting on sundays,nebraska comes to mind years ago when I first started doing the spring snow hunts.

[Rebel SS]

That is a big one.  Why in the world would they have a law that has two days that you can't keep this fish?  If it's endangered or needs protection just make it CR.  good luck.

Because another brain-dead politician who's never fished made the rules.       

[glenn57]

That is a big one.  Why in the world would they have a law that has two days that you can't keep this fish?  If it's endangered or needs protection just make it CR.  good luck.

Because another brain-dead politician who's never fished made the rules.       

they still must be brain dead in Canada, cause I don't think they can still hunt on Sundays. They used to not be able to anyway.

[Bobberineyes]

Goofy law, but then again why even snag it knowing what day it is  look at the gash in its side..

[LPS]

I agree Boober.  If you can't keep them on that day then maybe you shouldn't even be able to catch and possibly injure them on that day. 

[Rebel SS]

The guys checked hat says it all.

[LPS]

You betcha!

[mike89]

The guys checked hat says it all.

\\that could be spot on!!!

[snow1]

The guys checked hat says it all.

Good one reb,looks like the seed from red green"show....uncle red,bet he was wearing spenders and a belt too