Northwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Keystone Lake is a hotspot for record-breaking paddlefish. On June 22, angler Grant Rader, of Wichita, Kansas, landed a new world record for the species. He caught the 164-pound beast on his 18th birthday.
Rader was fishing with guide Jeremiah Mefford, of Reel Good Time Guide Service, who has guided two other clients to world record paddlefish on Keystone. As filter feeders, paddlefish eat plankton, so snagging them is the most effective way to catch them. Oklahoma allows this practice with barbless hooks, and anglers are permitted to harvest two paddlefish a year.
According to USA Today, while Rader was fighting his giant fish, Mefford recognized it by an unusual black mark that identified it as the same fish another client caught in February 2020. At the time, the fish weighed 157 pounds and would have beaten the current world record of 151.9 pounds, if they had certified its weight.
This time around, the fish was officially weighed and certified by state biologists. It beat the existing record by more than 12 pounds.
For more information, see the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation website at www.wildlifedepartment.com.