MT redneck fish juggling......something a little different in the best part of MT, no gators in sight and no dang mountains blocking the view of the horizon.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jeff Faycosh,

What is it? And can you eat it?

Greg

It is a paddlefish and they are very good to eat. It is a real dense white meat, texture of halibut. As long as they are processed quickly and kept cold, they are good.

I believe in other places they call them spoonbill cats, but they are no relation to catfish. All they eat are zooplankton and you have to snag them in the spring when the run up river to spawn.

Jeff

That thing almost looks part shark!! Where do you catch those?

John

They have no bones so in that respect they are similar to a shark. They don't have any teeth. In Montana there are three distinct populations of paddlefish. On the Missouri River upstream from Fort Peck Dam, Downstream of Fort Peck in the Dredge Cut Ponds and downstream of Fort Peck dam on the Missouri River and the Yellowstone River (which flows into the lower Missouri just over the ND border near Williston,ND).

They are not overly abundantate and the harvest is closely regulated. Their roe is harvested by a non profit group who will process your fish for free as long as you donate the roe. The paddlefish caviar is second only to russian beluga cavier and goes for $40 an ounce.

Jeff

I never knew that!! That is cool!! congrats on a nice dinner!

Very neat. Thanks for sharing.

When you hook them do they give a fight or are you just railing in dead weight? What do you use jigs, bait etc.?

They fight pretty good, that photo is a 50 pounder, kinda of a small average one. The state record is 140+. We see fish into the 90 to 100 pound range every year. It is not uncommon to fight them for 30 minutes or so. Their size and the random place you might hook them dictates a good fight usually. The river current doesn't help much it is usually over 40,000 cu.ft. a second, so that makes the fight even worse.

You don't use bait. You snag them with 10 to 14 foot surf rods, with an 8/0 treble hook and a 5 ounce sinker. I use braided 50 pound test line with a 50 mono drop line to the sinker. You just chuck it out as far as you can and commence to jerk and reel back to shore. Sometimes you hook them quick, sometimes not for hours. It is just a fun and unusual way to fish.

Jeff

In northern CA they call that a Lake County Spinner!! (Very Illegal in The Republic of Kalifornia!!) lol Enjoy you dinner!!