Paul Easley of Mead landed the biggest fish ever caught in Oklahoma last Thursday when he snagged an 8-foot alligator gar from Lake Texoma that weighed 254 pounds.

The beast easily beat the old state record of 192 pounds. State wildlife officials estimate the fish, which Easley released alive back into the lake, is between 40 and 50 years old.

“It did swim off,” said Matt Mauck, south-central fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “They made their best attempt to get it back in the water alive. She did not appear to need any encouragement to leave.”

Mauck said he often is skeptical when he gets a phone call from an angler about a possible state record alligator gar, but when Easley told him the girth (44 inches) and length of the fish, he knew it was a giant.