Monsters of the Deep

Paddlefish – Catching paddlefish is lots of fun, especially because inexperienced, as well as professional, anglers can do it. Another thing making it so much fun is the simple equipment used. There’s no need to invest in expensive equipment to snag this monster of a fish, but it must be heavyweight.

“The best way to catch a paddlefish is through the fishing method known as snagging,” said Conservation Agent Eric Swainston. “Paddlefish will not take or eat bait like most other fish do. They are filter feeders, meaning when they are feeding, they swim in areas where their food is concentrated with their mouths wide open allowing water to go through their mouths and over their gill rakers, filtering food, mostly microcrustaceans and insect larve, out of the water.”

Paddlefish – with their distinctive long nose, or rostrum – can grow to more than six-feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. Catching fish that big means using stout tackle, such as giant treble hooks attached to 50- to 100+-pound test line a few feet above an eight to 16 ounce sinker.

“Since paddlefish won’t take bait, very few are caught by conventional fishing methods. If you do catch a paddlefish in the mouth with your hook, it’s probably due to coincidence that the hook happened to be at the right spot and right time to catch it,” Swainston said. “You can snag either from the bank or from a boat. Some fishermen will also snag by trolling from a boat. The hooks are drug through the water by the boat.”

Paddlefish season runs Mar. 15 – Apr. 30, except on the Mississippi River, where the season is Mar. 15 – May 15 and Sept. 15- Dec. 15. Daily limit is two with a possession limit of four. Legal methods for catching include: pole and line, snagging, grabbing (which is not hand fishing/noodling), trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line or jug line. Legal paddlefish will measure 24” from the eye to the fork of the tail; all paddlefish less than 24” must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. On Lake of the Ozarks and its tributaries, Table Rock Lake and its tributaries, and Truman Lake and its tributaries, all paddlefish less than 34” must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. For complete rules, pick up a copy of the Missouri Wildlife Code Book.

Although the season opens Mar. 15, the real action doesn’t start until warm spring rains increase water flows and water temperature warms to at least 50 degrees, Swainston said. These conditions are what trigger the paddlefish’s spawning behavior. While paddlefish may still obey their urge to spawn, dams, pollution, illegal harvest and habitat destruction have attributed to their declining numbers.

“There is very little, if any, natural spawning of paddlefish in Missouri. If there is, it is not enough to maintain a fishable population. Paddlefish require very specific conditions for natural spawning – access to a large free-flowing river with silt-free gravel bars subject to sustained inundation during spawning. Before the construction of Truman Dam, Lake of the Ozarks and the upper Osage River met these conditions. Almost all, if not all, of the paddlefish in Missouri lakes and rivers have been stocked by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation,” Swainston said.

So, how do paddlefish produce enough young to survive? The fish is long-lived and females produce a lot of eggs. One female paddlefish may produce more than 500,000 eggs weighing more than 20 pounds, which leads to a new threat from anglers, Swainston said.

Due to the value of their eggs, paddlefish are a constant target for poachers. The grayish-black eggs are often processed into caviar. Sadly, females cannot be identified by external characteristics, so poachers slit open every paddlefish caught, discarding males and females without eggs, leaving them to die from their wounds.

“One thing to remember is that you may not catch paddlefish for their eggs only. In Missouri, we have a regulation pertaining to wanton waste that states no person who takes or possesses any wildlife shall wantonly leave or abandon any portion of such wildlife commonly used as human food,” Swainston said. “You may possess the paddlefish eggs for your own use, under certain regulations. Extracted paddlefish eggs may not be possessed while on waters of the state or adjacent banks, and may not be transported. The eggs may not be bought, sold or offered for sale and they also cannot be used as bait.”

Compared to other fish, the paddlefish is very unique. Its skin is tough, smooth and scaleless, except for the upper lobe of their shark-like tail, where a few diamond-shaped scales are found. And, like sharks, their skeleton is mostly cartilaginous. Paddlefish, however, are unrelated to the shark. In fact, their only living relative is the Chinese paddlefish that inhabits China’s Yangtze River and can reach more than 650 pounds.

Snagging a paddlefish means having a lot of fish to eat. Paddlefish flesh is not flaky; it is more similar to scallops in texture. It can be cooked in a variety of ways, but the key to preparing it is to remove the red or dark meat, Swainston said. They should be rinsed and soaked overnight in salt water or milk. When that’s done, they can be smoked, deep fried or grilled.

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