4/19/2007

Paddlefish Snagging Season Opens May 1, Regulations Adjusted

North Dakota's paddlefish snagging season opens May 1 and is scheduled to continue through the end of the month. However, the season has closed early the last three seasons, leaving some people left holding paddlefish tags without ever wetting a line in the Yellowstone or Missouri rivers.

That will change as an adjustment to the two-year fishing proclamation will allow an option of snag-and-release-only for up to seven days after the regular season closes, or until May 31, whichever comes first.

For several years, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and its counterpart in Montana have instituted a harvest cap of 1,000 paddlefish in each state. Paddlefish snaggers in North Dakota reached that overall harvest quota the past two years in about mid-May.

Because of the ongoing drought, low flows in early May in the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers have concentrated fish, making them more susceptible to snaggers the last few years. As a result of the higher rate of harvest, the department had to close the seasons early.

Legal snagging hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. One tag per snagger will be issued. The use or possession of a gaff within one half mile in either direction of the Highway 200 bridge on the Yellowstone River is illegal at any time during the snagging season.

Snag-and-release of all paddlefish will be required on Mondays and Tuesdays. Those planning to participate during snag-and-release-only days will need to have in their possession a current season, unused paddlefish snagging tag. Use or possession of gaffs is prohibited on Mondays and Tuesdays, and, if it occurs, during the snag-and-release extension period. During the other five days of the week, mandatory harvest of all snagged paddlefish is required.

Snagging is legal in all areas of the Yellowstone River in North Dakota, and in the area of the Missouri River lying west of the U.S. Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border, excluding that portion from the pipeline crossing (river mile 1,577) downstream to the upper end of the Lewis and Clark Wildlife Management Area (river mile 1,565). If there is an extended snag-and-release period, only a limited area at the confluence will be open to this extended season snagging opportunity.

Cost of a paddlefish tag is $3 for residents and $7.50 for nonresidents.