By Jill Pritchard, Missouri Department of Conservation
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The 2024 paddlefish snagging season is off to a great start after an angler reeled in a world record fish at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulated Chad Williams of Olathe, Kansas for snagging a 164-pound, 13-ounce paddlefish at the Lake of the Ozarks March 17.
The fish not only breaks the previous state record of 140 pounds, but also the previous world record of 164 pounds.
“I was lucky enough to get invited to go out snagging with friends,” Williams said. “I’d never been snagging before. Never seen a paddlefish – didn’t even know what it was!”
Shortly into the snagging trip, Williams hooked into something massive.
“I was thinking I was extremely weak because it was taking so long to reel in. My body was aching,” he recalled.
After the fish made it onto the boat, the group immediately knew it was a record. They later met MDC Fisheries and Protection staff at Three Brothers Meat Company in Montreal to weigh the fish on a certified scale. This makes the second state record caught in 2024.
Williams said he and his wife kept some of the paddlefish meat and shared the rest with their fishing group. He plans to taxidermy the head.
“I’m honestly still processing this whole thing,” he laughed. “Conservation Agent Tyler Brown was in disbelief it was my first time snagging. He said, ‘You don’t have to go out fishing ever again! Nothing can top this!’ and he’s probably right!”
Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, gig, bow, crossbow, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or atlatl.
Click here for more information on state record fish.
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The National Weather Service said early Sunday that amounts of one to two inches of rainfall locally are possible today and tonight.
Localized flooding is possible where the heaviest rainfall occurs, it said.
The highest totals are expected across southern Missouri today and tonight.
Several highways east of Texas County are under water Sunday morning, MoDOT reports.
The men’s golf 2024 SEC Tournament is currently being played at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. The event started on Wednesday and will end on Sunday.
Missouri’s time in the tournament came to a close on Friday as the team finished in 14th place with a +39 to par and 879 total.
Individually, Jack Lundin is tied for 50th place with a +9 to par and 219 total (71-74-74). Charlie Crockett (75-75-70) and Alfons Bondesson (73-69-78) are tied for 52nd place with a +10 to par and 220 total. Adam Miller is in 61st place with a +14 to par and 224 total (75-74-75). Virgilio Paz competed in rounds one and two (71-76) and Trevor Mirel competed in round three, scoring a 78.
Softball: No. 18 Mississippi State at No. 14 Missouri. 5 p.m. CT. SEC Network. Live Video. Live Stats.
125 days.
The Dallas Cowboys waited until the 216th overall pick to draft the 31st wide receiver off the board in the 2024 Draft, making Southeast Missouri State’s Ryan Flournoy their sixth-round pick. The Cowboys knew they wouldn’t be adding any of the premier players at either WR or RB when a run on both positions extended through the end of the first round into the start of day two, instead using all of their premium picks to address the offensive and defensive lines.
The surprise of the draft remains Dallas staying put at running back, but here in the compensatory stage of the sixth round the board is all about drafting for coachable traits and Flournoy possesses plenty.
With a 4.44 second 40-yard time and 39.5 inch vertical jump, Flournoy led Southeast Missouri State in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Flournoy averaged 14.7 yards per catch in his final collegiate season, and 16.1 the year before with seven touchdowns.
The Cowboys have the best WR coach in the NFL with Robert Prince ready to work with Flournoy. As second- and third-year players like Jalen Brooks and Jalen Tolbert are expected to go from less of projects to real contributors alongside CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks this year, the Cowboys did well with this pick to keep their receiver depth a strength by adding Flournoy to the room.
Flournoy catches the ball well away from his frame, knows how to box out defenders with a thick build, and is fearless going across the middle to make plays in traffic. A lot of Flournoy’s highlight catches came late in a down or on broken plays, an area Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has always been adept at finding his targets. Former receiver Michael Gallup remains a free agent, and was a player Prescott regularly looked to in these situations. Jalen Brooks may have the first crack this offseason at claiming that role in Mike McCarthy’s passing game, but Flournoy will be another player to watch throughout training camp and the preseason as a candidate for flash plays as he fights his way onto the roster.
Flournoy told the Dallas Cowboys team draft show that he started his football journey as a running back, and some of that skill to get upfield is evident with the ball in his hands. As far as receivers he watched for inspiration, he mentioned Jerry Rice and more specifically modeling his game after former Cowboys star Dez Bryant. Flournoy can run Bryant’s favorite route, the back shoulder fade, with a strong ability to highpoint the ball.
The Cowboys will have two picks remaining in the seventh round at 233rd and 244th overall to conclude their 2024 draft class.
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