Man celebrates largest fish ever caught in Tennessee at 149 pounds

KINGSTON, Tenn. (WTVC) — A Tennessee man is celebrating his new state record for a paddlefish, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Henry Dyer caught the massive fish that weighed 149 lbs. the evening of Thursday, April 13 on Cherokee Reservoir in upper East Tennessee.

Based on a review of records, not only is it the largest paddlefish ever caught in Tennessee, it is the largest fish of any species ever caught in the Volunteer State since official records have been kept. The second largest fish in TWRA's records is a 130-pound blue catfish caught by a commercial fisherman on Ft. Loudon Lake in 1976.

Jason Henegar, Assistant Chief of Fisheries for TWRA, said, "It's a big deal, at least in my mind it is."

When contacted, Dyer was not aware of his big achievement.

Really," he exclaimed. "I didn't realize that. When I snagged that thing, I thought I'd hung on a stump and then all of a sudden it just took off.

THE CATCH

Dyer was using a heavy rod he calls "Old Blue," outfitted with a Penn fishing reel filled with an 80-pound test line.

I was in the back of a boat and it was everything I could do to hold on to it," said Dyer. "The fish made five long runs. It took about 35 minutes for me to get it to the boat.

This wasn't the first paddlefish he had snagged but this was Dyer's first ever multi-day excursion snagging with longtime friend, Brian Townsend, an East Tennessee fishing guide.

I don't snag for paddlefish a lot," said Townsend. "We'd just gone down there to try and catch some stripers or hybrids, but we saw other people snagging for paddlefish so decided we'd try it.

"When I got the fish to the boat Brian got a gaff in it. Then he hollered, 'Help me.' I grabbed another gaff and it took the two of us three tries to get it in the boat. I'm a little feller and that fish weighed more than me," Dyer said.

Ed Stroud with the Hawkins Farmers Coop in Rogersville helped weigh the huge paddlefish, also sometimes called shovel bill catfish.

"We have certified scales so we've weighed several of these," said Stroud. "But this is definitely the largest one I've ever seen."

DYER STILL SMILING

It's been a few days since Dyer caught the massive fish he has nicknamed "Old Big Boy" but he says even after several days, "You can't wipe the smile off my face right now."

Dyer donated the huge fish to TWRA who will use it for research purposes. The fish was just shy of 80 inches long, more than 44 inches around and weighed 129 lbs. which is more than the previous record of 120 lbs. caught in 1982.

Even though Dyer caught the fish by snagging (yanking large treble hooks through the water), Bart Carter, TWRA Region 4 fisheries biologist, said it is classified as a Class A record versus Class B reserved for fish caught in commercial gear. Class A is usually reserved for fish caught using traditional hook and line but Carter said that since snagging is really the only means to catch paddlefish, they are included in Class A records.

In his job, Carter has seen a lot of big fish but he said, "It's quite incredible to see a fish that size. That fish could be 30 years old. We'll see."

It is legal for sports fishermen to snag paddlefish during the established seasons, which vary in different bodies of water. Commercial fishermen also take female paddlefish in limited numbers for the eggs (roe) as it is a common form of caviar, especially since the importation of sturgeon eggs from overseas has been restricted in recent years.

CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN?

Paddlefish populations are healthy but biologists do monitor and regulate populations closely. Following a decline in the paddlefish numbers in some parts of the state several years ago, there was a special committee formed. Henegar said Tennessee's Commercial Fishing Advisory Committee (CFAC) is made up of commercial interests who work closely with TWRA biologists to monitor and protect paddlefish.

Based on Dyer's catch, apparently, those efforts are working - at least on Cherokee Reservoir.

It was an incredible fish," repeated Carter. "I'd say (this record) will stand for a while.