JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A lucky St. Patrick’s Day for an Olathe, Kansas, angler on his very first snagging trip at Lake of the Ozarks.
Chad Williams admits he’d never seen a paddlefish in his life prior to Sunday’s expedition.
“I was lucky enough to get invited to go out snagging with friends,” he said. “I’d never been snagging before. Never seen a paddlefish—didn’t even know what it was!”
Williams and his friends hadn’t been out long when he snagged something big.
“I was thinking I was extremely weak because it was taking so long to reel in. My body was aching,” he said.
After landing the paddlefish, Williams and his cohorts believed it was a record-breaker. They traveled to Three Brothers Meat Company to meet with Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries and Protection staff to weigh the fish on a certified scale.
The paddlefish weighed 164 pounds and 13 ounces. Williams’ haul smashed the previous state record of 140 pounds and just surpassed the world record of 164 pounds.
“I’m honestly still processing this whole thing,” Williams said. He joked that the conservation agent told him he never needed to go fishing again because nothing could top this.
Williams and his wife kept some of the paddlefish meat and shared the rest with their fishing group. He plans to taxidermy the head for display.
