Tennessee angler reels in 30-year-old sturgeon while fishing for catfish

This fisherman didn’t get what he bargained for, but it was still a huge fish.

Christopher Begley, from Rogersville, Tennessee, was fishing for catfish recently when he caught a huge lake sturgeon, according to a Facebook post from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

“BIG FISH ALERT!” wildlife officials wrote on Facebook. “Wildlife Sgt. Brent Harrison sent this photo of angler Christopher Begley of Rogersville with a lake sturgeon he caught from the Horton Ford bridge on the Clinch River above Kyle’s Ford.”

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According to the post, Begley was using “cut suckers” for catfish bait. Instead, he reeled in the 61.5-inch (over 5 feet) sturgeon — with the help of his fiancée, Kathy Trent, officials wrote on Facebook.

Per Tennessee law, Begley released the sturgeon back into the river.

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According to the Facebook post, the sturgeon was almost 30 years old.

“Regional Fisheries…