Aaron Stone with his 125-pound 7-ounce OK state record paddlefish April 10 from the Arkansas River. Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation/Courtesy
Here’s Aron Stone of Pawhuska, Oklahoma with a new state record paddlefish from the Arkansas River that weighed 125 pounds, 7 ounces. An impressive beast to be sure, but I’m not totally sure how I feel about the way folks go about catching paddlefish in the areas where they live.
As plankton feeders, paddlefish won’t bite anything when they run upstream to spawn, so snagging with treble hooks is allowed. While perfectly legal, for some reason, this just sounds kinda crude and barbaric to me but then again, it’s really the same thing that happens when sockeye (red) salmon run. They’re also plankton feeders and really don’t bite well in freshwater, so legalized snagging is acceptable and widely-practiced. You just snag reds in the mouth with beads, yarn or Coho Flies instead of gut hooking them with trebles (I’ve done it).
I guess I really shouldn’t knock something I don’t know all that much about, but paddlefish snagging just doesn’t seem all that cool. But maybe I’ll have to give it a shot someday…just so I can comment more intelligently about it in the future. Maybe there are plenty of ’em and the populations can handle the snagging. Perhaps I’m way off base here (wouldn’t be the first time!) and these are just the ignorant thoughts of one West Coaster…
What do y’all think?
striper says
thanks for the idea jd i said to myself i would never go to paddlefishing because you can only snag
dylan says
when you snag you have to cut the barbs off of the hook that way if they get off it will not kill them. snagging isn’t crude at all. what people usually catch they keep unless it’s to small of course. but it really doesn’t do any perminant damage to the fish
Joe says
Put an 10/0 treble hook on a” Billie Beer” and you could snag some good ‘ol boys.
Justin W. says
They are edible although a large percentage of the weight of the fish is cartilage. The fish are generally harvested, often illegally, for their eggs which are then processed as a form of caviar. This is one of the main reasons for decline just behind little things like dams and sedimentation of rivers. :) The fish also take a long time to mature much like sturgeon (10-12yrs for a female).
Justin W. says
I hear ya Jordan. They are relics of ancient fish and some papers (scientific literature) suggest they are the result of 100 million years of evolution.
For more information on this species and their declining numbers check out the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/fish/mo_paddlefish.htm
Josh "100lbs club" Jordan says
I have mixed feeling about this…. If the population can handle the snag operation then I dont see a huge problem. I mean look at the gator hunters, they snag 800lbs gators using this method for population controll and their livelyhoods of course. But on the other hand LOOK at that fish. Its been roaming the waters for thousands of years and hasn’t evolved at all. That is pretty damn cool. Which makes me rethink the snag and catch. The population numbers are high because there was no method of catching them for hundreds of years. Now we have the method (snagging) and in the end the population numbers will dwindle on this beautiful beast. I wonder how they taste???
tom says
Are paddlefish edible? If not why catch them or at least always release them.
shiveley says
I have to agree with Justin W. on this one…
no snaggn here says
I dont care what kind of fish or about the population size…SNAGGN IS NOT FISHING!!!!!
Justin W. says
I feel an ancient fish like this should be treated with a bit more respect than snagging. Catch & Release should be the general rule (if they won’t bite then don’t fish for them). It is already listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
I don’t know. I rather like these fish and compare it to snagging beluga or whalesharks.
Mike Hooper says
When I was a kid we used to fish on the Mississppi and these things would jump out of the water when we ran the boat near the dams. Used to scare the crap outta me when and 80lber would jump near the boat. I agree about the snagging but I guess if it is legal. Wonder if it is recognised by the IGFA?
brian cradduck says
Seems its all the same to me as sockeye fishing. I have no issue. By the way…WOW what a fish.