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10 of The Biggest Paddlefish Ever Snagged with Rod and Reel

These paddlefish are true bottom-dwelling monsters, and every one of them weighs well over 100 pounds
By Travis HallJul 15, 2025
Angler Grant Rader poses with a record paddlefish.
Photo Courtesy Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

10 of The Biggest Paddlefish Ever Snagged with Rod and Reel

Paddlefish are one of the oldest and strangest-looking fish species on the continent. Also know as spoonbills, these cartilaginous vestiges of the Cretaceous Period can live 50 years or longer and grow to gargantuan proportions—with some of the largest ever reported exceeding 400 pounds, according the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

But paddlefish aren't ambushing prey or inhaling schools of baitfish in order to reach such legendary sizes. Instead, they subsist exclusively on a steady diet of microscopic plankton. And because they're bottom-cruising filter feeders, anglers typically comb lake or river bottoms with stout snagging rigs in order to actually bring one ashore. That's why the International Game Fish Association doesn't recognize any official records for the species.

Luckily, fish and game agencies maintain their own record books in the handful of states that hold annual snagging seasons. And more than a few of the records sail well beyond the coveted 100-pound threshold. Here are 10 of the biggest record-breaking paddlefish ever hauled in with hook and line.

1. Chad Williams—Missouri

A group of anglers pose with a record-breaking paddlefish in Missouri.
Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Weight: 164 pounds, 13 ounces 

Year: 2024

Waterbody: Lake of the Ozarks

2. Grant Rader—Oklahoma

An angler poses with a record-breaking paddlefish in Oklahoma.
Photo Courtesy Reel Good Time Guide Service

Weight: 164 pounds

Year: 2021

Location: Keystone Lake

3. Henry Dyer—Tennessee

An angler poses with a record-breaking paddlefish in Tennessee.
Photo Courtesy Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Weight: 149 pounds

Year: 2023

Waterbody: Cherokee Lake

4. Cory James Watters—Oklahoma

An angler poses with a record-breaking paddlefish caught in Oklahoma.
Photo Courtesy Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation

Weight: 151 pounds, 14 ounces

Year: 2020

Waterbody: Keystone Lake

5. Clinton Boldridge—Kansas

An angler poses with a record-breaking paddlefish in Kansas.
Photo Courtesy Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

Weight: 144 pounds

Year: 2004

Location: Atchison's Watershed Dam #7 

6. Larry Branstetter—Montana

An anglers poses with a record-breaking paddlefish in Montana.
Photo Courtesy Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks

Weight: 142 pounds, 8 ounces

Year: 1973

Location: Missouri River Near Kipp Park

7. Tyler Hughes—North Dakota  

An angler poses with a record-breaking paddlefish.
Photo by Tyler Hughes

Weight: 131 pounds

Year: 2024

Waterbody: Missouri River

8. Grant Werkmeister—North Dakota

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Photo by Grant Werkmeister

Weight: 131 pounds

Year: 2016

Waterbody: Yellowstone River

9. Bill Harmon—South Dakota

An angler poses with a record-setting paddlefish.
Photo Courtesy South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks

Weight: 127 pounds, 9 ounces 

Year: 2019

Waterbody: Confluence of Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers

Read Next: 8 of the Biggest Sturgeon Ever Caught

10. Mike Schleeper—Arkansas 

Two fishing buddies pose with a state-record paddlefish.
Photo Courtesy Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Weight: 127 pounds, 6 ounces

Year: 2024

Waterbody: Beaver Lake

From our Expert
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Travis Hall
Associate Editor
Travis Hall is the associate editor for Field & Stream. Originally from southern Indiana, he's lived and worked in Yellowstone, along the Carolina coast, and in the southern Appalachians before moving to his current home in western Montana.He covers breaking news, from record-setting bucks to pressing conservation issues.  Learn More
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