Conservation Department Needs Anglers' Help Managing Missouri's Most Unusual Fish

Fisheries biologists need anglers' help in tracking paddlefish numbers.

JEFFERSON CITY--Missouri's most exotic-looking fish also is one of the Show-Me State's longest-term residents. It has only one living relative--halfway across the world, and it is the object of a month and a half-long fishing season that employs fishing tackle more often seen on deep-sea fishing vessels than on Midwestern rivers. To manage such a special animal, the Missouri Department of Conservation needs anglers' help.

The fish in question is the paddlefish. Also known as the "spoonbill catfish," Polydon spathula is unrelated to real catfish. Like sharks, it has a soft skeleton made of cartilage. However, it is not closely related to sharks, either. Its only surviving relative, the Chinese paddlefish, inhabits China's Yangtze River, where it grows to more than 650 pounds.

The paddlefish's tail is long and shark-like. Its namesake paddle is a spoon-shaped snout that makes up more than a third of the fish's overall length.

Although nowhere near as large as its Asian cousin, the paddlefish nevertheless is one of Missouri's largest fish, regularly tipping the scales at over 100 pounds. The state record is 139 pounds, 4 ounces. Dams on the Osage River and manmade changes in the Missouri River and its tributaries have impaired paddlefish reproduction, threatening the species' survival. The Conservation Department raises paddlefish at Blind Pony Hatchery near Sweet Springs. The fish are 12 to 14 inches long when released.

Annual stocking goals include 3,000 paddlefish at Table Rock Lake, 15,000 each at Lake of the Ozarks and Truman Lake and 750 in the Black River. The Missouri River and the lower Mississippi River, which have not been dammed have self-sustaining paddlefish populations.

Paddlefish stocking sustains the species in rivers and reservoirs where it can no longer survive on its own. Hatchery-reared fish also sustain the tradition of fish snagging in those rivers.

Paddlefish season begins March 15 and runs through April. The season coincides with the fishes' spawning run, which occurs when the temperature of rain-swollen rivers climbs into the 50- to 55-degree range. Coming up out of lakes and rivers, the fish tend to congregate below dams and in staging areas, such as calm water behind rock dikes in the Missouri River. This concentration enables anglers to find the fish, which are widely scattered the rest of the year.

The method for catching paddlefish is as unusual as the fish themselves. In spite of their size, paddlefish feed exclusively on plankton suspended in the water. Their gills are adapted to strain the tiny plants and animals from the water as they swim around with their mouths agape. This makes conventional fishing baits and lures useless. Paddlefish snaggers tie heavy weights on the end of heavy fishing line, with large, three-pointed hooks tied a foot or two up the line. Using long, heavy fishing poles, they cast their lines into likely spots and let them sink to the bottom, and then retrieve them in a series of strong, sweeping jerks. This is blind fishing and hard work. The key to success is fishing in waters with enough paddlefish to ensure that your hook bumps into a fish now and then. When the right water temperatures and flows come together, paddlefishing action can be spectacular. In dry years, it can be disappointing.

Loss of reproduction due to dams on the Osage River is not the only problem facing paddlefish. On the Missouri River, much of the best paddlefish habitat has been lost to narrowing and straightening of the river channel for navigation. Illegal fishing, particularly the exploitation of paddlefish for their eggs to make caviar, is another threat. And like all water-dwelling animals, paddlefish are susceptible to pollution by pesticides and other chemicals. Any sign of problems with paddlefish populations could be an early warning sign for humans. Paddlefish also face competition from exotic fish introduced from Asia. These include the silver and bighead carp, which have become extremely abundant in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

"Some of the Asian carp species use the same food source as paddlefish," said Conservation Department Fisheries Management Biologist Trish Yasger. "We don't know yet what effect they might have on paddlefish, but there is potential for harm."

The Conservation Department tracks paddlefish populations for changes, whatever the cause. Yasger said this is a job that requires help. "Anglers are a critical part of our population surveys," she said. "Every paddlefish that leaves our hatchery gets a tiny coded metal tag inserted under the skin at the tip of the rostrum, that spoon on their snout. The code allows us to identity the fish, where it was stocked and when. By looking at tag recovery data over time, we learn survival rates, population age structure and other important facts. Without that information, we couldn't do our jobs."

This year, Conservation Department workers will be gathering paddlefish information at Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake and the Osage River below Bagnell Dam. They will use a metal detector to discover if fish brought in by anglers have tags. If they do, they will ask anglers' permission to remove the tip of the rostrum to recover the tag.

Yasger said she believes paddlefish snagging is gaining in popularity. "I'm getting a lot more inquiries about it, including out-of-state inquiries."

She said creel surveys showed anglers took approximately 18,000 paddlefish snagging trips on Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake and Table Rock Lake in 2001. That does not include snagging on the Osage, Missouri and Mississippi rivers. An estimated 14,000 anglers pursue paddlefish statewide.

Yasger produces a weekly paddlefish snagging report during the season. The reports include water conditions, recent angler success and information about boat ramps near the action. To view current reports, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/sport/paddlefish/report/.

- Jim Low -

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