Fat-Bellied Smallmouth is Very Very Round, Not Very Long

Aaaaaaand the award for freakiest looking smallmouth of the year goes to: Patrick Hildenbrand of New York! Patrick caught this rotunda of a smallmouth that appears to have swallowed another rotunda of a smallmouth in a tournament off the 1000 Islands in NY. He was kind enough to take several pictures of the fish and post to his Instagram, which have all gone viral of the past few days:

Via Instagram
We have also secured RARE footage of the short, round fish being reeled in:

The fish was measured at 8.15 lbs, 21 1/2 inches long and 20 3/4 round, which are just mind boggling statistics for a fish usually shaped like a football, but rarely shaped like it swallowed a football helmet. The fact that this fish likely has its own gravitational pull is likely caused by some sort of sickness and deformation. So while Patrick did return the smallie where he caught it after measuring and snapping pictures, this may be the last time it's able to surface, making it an even more rare and amazing catch!