Fish navigated six dams on 250-mile journey from Oklahoma to Arkansas, officials say

An Arkansas angler caught something unexpected in the state’s Petit Jean River, and the discovery has created quite a stir among researchers.

It happened when Bobby Chambers, a 67-year-old from Havana, was “snagging for flathead catfish,” which can top 110 pounds in Arkansas.

Chambers says he knew instantly something wasn’t right when a force grabbed his line and “ran downstream, which is uncharacteristic” of flatheads, according to a release from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

“When he finally landed the 35-lb fish, he realized he had caught a paddlefish — a species that is rarely seen this far up the Petit Jean River,” Oklahoma officials said.

“Chambers had a second surprise when he realized the fish had a band on its jaw indicating it originated in Oklahoma.“

Researchers examined the tag data and discovered Chambers’ fish — caught May 8 — began its journey in Oklahoma’s Webbers Falls Reservoir, about 70 miles southeast of Tulsa.

“This fish left Webbers Falls and traveled downstream, passing through six navigational lock and dam structures, crossing the OK/AR state line, before eventually turning into the Petit Jean River and swimming 75 additional miles upstream and over at least one low-water dam to Blue Mountain Lake dam tail water,” officials said.

“All told, the journey was approximately 250 miles, which may qualify as the longest documented movement of a paddlefish banded in Oklahoma.”

Experts suspect it managed to overcome multiple barriers with the help of “massive flooding” in the region during the summer of 2019.

“Floods like this distribute paddlefish over great distances,” officials said. “It’s likely that many Oklahoma paddlefish moved downstream with the swollen Arkansas River in 2019, but only a small fraction were banded, making Chambers’ catch highly unlikely and one to remember.”

The report didn’t say what became of Chambers’ fish.

Paddlefish are found in waters from Montana to Louisiana and live up to 50 years, according to a state report. The official Oklahoma record is 151 pounds, but one “unofficially” weighing 157 pounds was also reported.

This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Fish navigated six dams on 250-mile journey from Oklahoma to Arkansas, officials say."