trealtree
Well-Known Member
Where is the best place to snag one? I have never been able to get one, but I have a rod rigged and ready for this season. I always try but always end up with a bunch of shad and carp.
Snagging Paddlefish?
- Thread starter trealtree
- Start date
I have seen some people pulling them out of the spill way at Reelfoot Lake. They catch a bunch of big fish at the spill way when the lake is up.
Are they good to eat or are they snagged for the roe?
Okay, you can have mine. Shark is okay but not something I would order in an eating joint.
Spoonbillmallard
Well-Known Member
I might be wrong but last time I cheched "snagging anything below dams was illegal. There is a season for paddlefish but I don't know if its legal to snag them or not. You might want to check on that.
shorefisherman
Well-Known Member
i heard paddle fish pat down on river bottoms with their bill looking for food, i have seen them in the caney when there is a lrge amount of water flowing for a few months, like now
trealtree
Well-Known Member
Spoonbillmallard said:
Snagging is the only way to catch them. They feed on micro organisms. It is legal to snag below dams as long as you are 100 yds from the dam.
Nimrod777
Well-Known Member
Paddlefish paddles are not shovels to work the bottom, but extremely tuned electro-magnetic sensory organs. They sit in the current and open up their mouths and filter everything coming through. Mouths open like a big old turbine intake on a jet engine.
They are also basically boneless, with a cartilage backbone, allowing for nice steaks to be cut (hence the shark comparison). They are excellent table fare.
They are also basically boneless, with a cartilage backbone, allowing for nice steaks to be cut (hence the shark comparison). They are excellent table fare.
Spoonbillmallard
Well-Known Member
trealtree......yea you are right I forgot about the 100yd rule. I forgot about that. We have caught a few without snagging because the current just so happens to push the bait into thier mouths I guess. Because we have had a few that were hooked in the mouth when we got em up. Thought they were big channel cats til we got em up.
spitndrum
Well-Known Member
I'd like to shoot one with my bow!
catman529
Well-Known Member
Dang I want to catch one. They have always intrigued me. I don't think we have em around here anyway, maybe in the cumberland, but I don't know. If I ever get out to the hill or the caney I should look into it and see if I can give it a shot. Maybe if I am out at Rock Island again some time, where the caney forms into the hill, I could try but I have no idea if that's a good place or where to look for spoonbills. Basically I am clueless about how to find or snag them. The only snagging I've done is on buffalo sitting near the surface.
Hangnail
Well-Known Member
I would suggest below Old Hickory, Cordell Hull or Cheatham dams. The Cumberland has quite a few. Used to snag a lot of floating trotlines fairly often on Old Hickory although it's been a number of years ago. The season is short and you can't cull. They have a different taste but it isn't bad at all, just different.
trealtree
Well-Known Member
catman529 said:
Unless they changed it, tributaries of center hill lake are not legal to snag paddlefish in.
