From his kayak, Indiana man reels in fish whose ancestors ‘swam with dinosaurs’
A man in Fort Wayne, Indiana, caught a large spotted gar to smash a state fishing record while on Rivir Lake in Chain O’Lakes State Park.
Kyle Hammond reeled in the 9-pound, 11-ounce gar, according to a press release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
Using a spinning rod and reel with a white zoom fluke, Hammond pulled the fish into his kayak.
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“Gar are usually found in shallow water around vegetation and have been seen in 71% of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists’ glacial lake surveys,” said the release.
Kyle Hammond set another Indiana state record after catching a spotted gar. (Indiana Department of Natural Resources)
Hammond reportedly set the new record in the first 20 minutes of his fishing excursion.
Gar are long and cylindrical with elongated mouths and move slowly unless trying to catch food, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife.
They are primitive fish and their ancestors swam with the dinosaurs, dating back some 65-to-100 million years ago, Texas Parks & Wildlife reported.
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“The Hoosier angler captured the entire catch on video as part of his hobby of actively posting his fishing trips on his YouTube channel, Indiana Kayak Fishing Journal,” said the release.
Hammond’s YouTube video which showed his catch has garnered more than 2,300 views in five days.
The Indiana state fishing record for the spotted gar was recently broken (actual fish caught by Hammond not pictured). The fish’s ancestors swam with the dinosaurs, according to wildlife officials. (iStock)
Hammond holds another state fish record.
He caught a 2-pound, 5.6 ounce shortnose gar in 2021 while fishing on the Wabash River.