"Prehistoric River Monster" - Angler pulls in giant fish

What a catch: An angler is sitting in a kayak and suddenly has a gigantic fish on his line.

It takes an hour before he can pull the animal on board.

Berlin/Goshen – This hunting success can be booked under “fat prey”: Robert Murphy from Arkansas (USA) actually wanted to spend a relaxing afternoon fishing on his kayak.

Maybe catch a zander or pike.

But it turned out quite differently.

When he reeled in his rod that day, there was a huge chunk hanging from the hook – a paddlefish weighing almost 50 kilograms.

"Prehistoric River Monster": Angler pulls in giant fish

The angler had to use all his strength to pull the animal ashore.

The gigantic fish didn't give up easily.

"After a fight that lasted over an hour, Robert Murphy was finally able to land the prehistoric river monster," the

reported on its Facebook page.

Murphy, who is from Fayetteville, Arkansas, had to wrestle the giant sturgeon from his boat on the Upper White River.

The man was just as overwhelmed as the researchers who discovered an unknown fish at a depth of 8,300 meters.

Angler pulls giant fish out of the lake – impressive photo published

What he ended up holding as prey was a truly impressive specimen of paddlefish.

The gigantic fish weighed an incredible 102 pounds - that's the equivalent of over 46 kilograms.

"Congratulations to Robert on his remarkable catch," the

commented on the Facebook photo, in which Murphy poses proudly with the giant fish in his arms.

Murphy's sizeable catch was just short of the state record for the heaviest paddlefish ever caught of 118 pounds and 9 ounces, set by a Beaver Lake angler in 2020, it said.

Paddlefish congregate in the river-like sections of southern Beaver Lake in spring.

A Canadian made an even bigger catch, pulling a 300-kilo sturgeon out of the river.

Spider, shrew, salamander: the 13 most poisonous animals in Germany

Spider, shrew, salamander: the 13 most poisonous animals in Germany

Paddlefish is considered a delicacy – and is threatened with extinction worldwide

The paddlefish, which can grow up to six feet long and was originally thought to be a species of freshwater shark because of its appearance, was once widespread in the Mississippi River systems.

However, dams and predatory fishing have meant that it is now threatened with extinction.

The meat and roe of the paddlefish are considered very tasty.

According to reports from the

sturgeon and paddlefish are the world's most endangered fish species, along with the shark.

In the comments on the Facebook post, the question of whether the impressive fish was released again appears more frequently: "Surely he put it back in the white river?!" Says a user half questioningly.

Whether this was the case remained open for the time being.

The

and the angler initially gave no answer to the further fate of the fish.