Winfield Man Catches a Surprise Fish

A Winfield fisherman caught a 56.5-inch, 40-pound paddlefish in the Kanawha River and he did it while fishing from a boat dock behind his house. The Gazette-Mail reports he was fishing for catfish when he saw the long snout and pulled in the paddlefish. Ricky Downey fought the fish for half an hour before he was able to haul it in. Wildlife officials starting stocking paddlefish in 1992 as part of a restoration program, but the Division of Natural Resources says the catch is pretty rare.