Montana fisherman reels in elusive paddlefish after 22 years of evasion

An elusive 117-pound paddlefish that had evaded capture for 22 years has finally resurfaced after Montana fisherman Trevor Swisse reeled in the fish on June 12 at Seven Sisters Wildlife Management Area.

The father of two was fishing with his children — Mason, 15, and Charles, 6 — when he caught the fish.

“I cast into some slack water behind a sandbar. I cast and hooked instantly,” Swisse told Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. “I started pulling and it came really easy over to shore. I couldn’t see it out of the water until I come back over the bank, and then I saw how big it was.”

The fish was originally caught on April 27, 2004 by North Dakota Fish and Game staff on the Missouri River. The staff were attempting to attach jaw tags to paddlefish to help estimate population within the area. In 2004, the fish was 49 inches long and weighed 90 pounds. It has obviously grown substantially in the 22 yeas since.

When the Montana regional fisheries manager, Mike Backes, saw the jaw tag, he was ecstatic because he knew the fish had been caught before.

“The fish is noteworthy considering its large size and the jaw tag being at large for 22 years,” said Backes.

The Missouri River and Yellowstone River convene at the Seven Sisters Wildlife Management Area where Swisse caught the fish.

The exact age of the fish is unknown but Backes estimates it is at minimum between 40 and 42 years old. At most, the fish could be between 52 and 62 years old, per Backes.

The actual age will be determined next spring after a section of the fish’s jaw was collected for age determination by Dennis Scarnecchia at the University of Idaho.

It is the biggest in Montana in 2026. But the state record belongs to Larry Branstetter, who caught a 142.5-pound monster on May 20, 1973.

The largest paddlefish ever caught belongs to Chad Williams, who caught the fish at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, on March 17, 2024. The fish weighed 164 pounds, 13 ounces.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Montana fisherman reels in elusive paddlefish after 22 years of evasion