
Andy Belobraydic III had never tried paddlefish snagging before March 21, when on a two-day outing at Table Rock Lake the 33-year-old man netted the biggest fish ever caught in the Show-Me State. Belobraydic, from Richwoods, Mo., landed a 140-pound spoonbill that set a new Missouri paddlefish record and provided the kind of boat-towing thrill ride that's usually reserved for saltwater angling. "My pole about got ripped out of my hands," recalls Belobraydic, who at first thought he'd gotten hung on a log. "Then it started peeling out drag, and the next thing I know it was off to the races: The fish was pulling us across the lake." Photo courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.








