10/26/2011 11:36:57 AM
Louis Maring of Merna - Nebraska Paddlefish Record

According to a press release from the Nebraska Game and Parks, Louis Maring of Merna shattered the Nebraska hook-and-line paddlefish record October 6th. Maring snagged the 107 pound 12-ounce paddlefish from the Missouri River's Gavins Point Dam tailwaters. Maring said he was surprised at the weight of the fish. Maring's record breaker came on his first time paddlefish snagging and topped the old record by more than 14 pounds but he says he plans to try again next year. Daryl Bauer, Game and Parks' fisheries outreach program manager believes the fish, that was tagged June 2, 1992 below South Dakota's Fort Randall Dam, spent the last 19 year in Lewis and Clark Reservoir before escaping during the high water releases last summer. Bauer estimated the fish to be approximately 40 years old and said the fish is the largest of any species that has been documented to be caught in Nebraska.