A couple of men fishing in Middle Tennessee made an unexpected, and massive, capture in a Tennessee river last weekend, News Channel 5 reports.
According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), the men, Matt and his friend Jason, were fly fishing in the Caney Fork River when they came across a large fish that put up a fight as they attempted to reel it in. After half an hour, and after the unknown fish pulled their boat about half a mile, they successfully pulled the catch in.
The massive creature turned out to be a 5-foot-long Paddlefish that weighed around 55 pounds. According to the TWRA, American Paddlefish are prehistoric fish that can grow over 5 feet long, weigh up to 200 pounds and live longer than 30 years. Thanks to the Mississippi River Drainage, they can usually be found in large rivers like the Tennessee and Cumberland.
Matt and Jason snapped some photos with their catch before releasing it back into the river.
The TWRA posted photos of the prehistoric fish on Saturday (May 8), along with the caption, "Is that a dinosaur?"
This is the second massive catch in a Tennessee river recently. Last month, a man fishing on an East Tennessee bridge reeled in possibly one of the largest and oldest fish living in the state.
Photo: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency