One More Checked Off The Bucket List - Paddlefish

gitano · May 17, 2021, 01:36:18 PM

Were I the kind that embarrassed easily, I'd be embarrassed to be a professional Fisheries Scientist having matriculated :grin: at the University of Kansas, and had never caught a paddlefish (Polyodon spathula). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish) However, that 'condition' has been remedied. In spades!

The last couple of times I have been in Missouri visiting Sakorick and friends, the conversation has eventually gotten around to paddlefishing. After finding out that "John" was quite the paddlefisherman and seeing the amazing fish in his photo albums, I talked him into going "one more time" just to take this ol' sinner fishin' for a fish he'd never caught. Last January, we put together a plan to head down to John's old paddlefishing grounds, Lake of the Ozarks, and try to catch some paddlefish.

Relying entirely on John's organization, we made arrangements to rent some cabins at a fishing resort on the banks of the Lake of the Ozarks for the last week of the paddlefishing season. John recommended we go in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds that are getting to be "legendary". John was supplying the boat and the gear, and all "we" had to do was show up and catch fish. :D

I will digress briefly to relate two ancillary issues. First, is my attempt to drive through Canada down to Sakorick's house for this fishing trip. Afterward, I was going to leave my car at my house in Utah and fly back to Alaska. I'm not going to spend too much time on this because it still makes me FURIOUS just to think about it, and I would caution "you" not to try to defend the !@#$%^&ing rat sons of bachelors. In short, I was, according to THEIR webpage, completely compliant and qualified to drive through Canada. However, there was a caveat on the webpage: "Final decisions are up to the Guards at the border." I drove 8 hours from my house to the Canadian border where I ran into a little fascist with a gun. Skipping the interim elements, I was 'turned back', and told that if I attempted to try to enter again before the the border was "open", I would be arrested. I was thinking very evil, non-Christian thoughts, on the 8-hour drive back home.

Heading out on the fourth of April intending to be in Linneus, MO no later than the 17th as we were to be fishing on the 19th. I was running ahead of a storm I wanted to stay ahead of.

Some of the road hazards. Look closely.

The rest of the pics are just scenery in April in Alaska.

Until here. According to the weather guessers, the wind was a steady 70 MPH with gusts to 90.

The second issue is associated with the facts that 1) I love most, (but not all), caviar, and 2) paddlefish, (AKA "spoonbill"), caviar is "to die for". Commercially, it goes for $35/oz.

8 hours out, and hours being 'detained' by the fascists at the border, and 8 hours back. Not a happy camper. Then I had to make a plane reservation to Kansas City. Grr.... I was not 'good company' for a couple of days.

Nevertheless, I flew down, (with an overnight in Seattle - :cens:) and Rick picked me up in KC on Saturday the 17th. There were four of us going: Rick, John, Jim, and I. We made final 'coordinations' and started leaning forward in the foxhole.

Monday was a travel day, and we weren't in any particular hurry to get to our destination. Rick dropped his dogs off in dog jail, and he and I met John and Jim there. From there we topped off our gas tanks and headed south for about a 2.5 hour drive. Since this was John's old fishing grounds, we drove right to the place. We checked in, asked all the usual questions one asks when on is on a fishing safari to 'distant lands', and checked out our cabins. They were rustic and small, but adequate for our needs. We wouldn't be in them much anyway.

Since we had arrived "early" with respect to when we planned to get 'serious' about fishing, we had the afternoon of Monday to make sure we and our gear were ready. We decided to go out for a shake-down cruise, (naval parlance). This would allow us to check out the boat's seaworthiness, the fishing gear, and get Rick and I, (the newbies), instructed on proper snagging procedures. We had a minor issue with the fuel line on the boat that was remedied with a little 'road-side repair', and we fished for a few hours, without success. Even so, we were not discouraged. That evening we ate at the Oar House, and John reconnected with several old acquaintances.

There was rumor of a storm coming, and we were watching the weather closely. Sure enough, a SERIOUS storm arrived that night, and we awoke to about and inch of SNOW on the ground IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI ON APRIL 20! We waited for a little while to see how things were going weather-wise, but we were there to FISH, so fishing we went!

You can see the boat we were using and the slip provided by the resort, in Rick's post below. As with all reservoirs, Lake of the Ozarks is a dammed river - the Ozark. In fact, it's dammed both upstream of where we were, and downstream. "They" were "releasing water" from the upstream dam, and there was actually a significant current in the water. It was much more like a river, than a lake. It was the warming flow of water that triggered the paddlefish to migrate upstream to spawn, and facilitate the fishery. The current also facilitated our method of fishing. The motor was running at idle, but we were fishing downstream with the current, snagging 'downstream' as the fish traveled upstream.

Our gear was heavy rods with large, open faced, level-wind reels. Much like you would see on ocean-going fishing rods. We used braided line that was at least 150-lb test. The rig went as follows:
A weight of 14 to 18 ounces was tied to the end of the line. 18" up the line was tied the first of three large (5/0) treble hooks. Three feet above that was the second, and another 3 feet above that was the last. The procedure was to let line out until the weight hit the bottom. (We were usually in about 30' of water.) Then allow the line to drift back until it made about a 45-degree angle with the water. At that point you set the reel to retrieve, and began large sweeps toward the bow of the boat, (downstream). When your sweep was complete, you let the line and rod drift back to the starting point, and do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And... well, you get the idea. It actually takes a bit of effort, and after a while, it's tiring.

We fished for a couple of hours without so much as a 'bite'. Snags are not infrequent, but we saved our gear most of the time. Finally, after a couple of hours, my line went ZZZZT, ZZZZT, ZZZZZT! FISH ON! Since it was my first ever paddlefish, and we were snagging, I didn't really have a clue about its size relative to other paddlefish. I knew it was bigger than a 5lb rainbow, or even maybe a 20lb coho, but beyond that, it was a mystery until it got close to the boat. Once John and Jim got a look at it, they were sure it was a 'big one'. YeeHaa! Finally - maybe 10 minutes, but not longer - John gaffed it, but it was so big, the gaff tore through its jaw! John said he had never in all his years had that happen before. John and Jim agreed that it was a "big" fish, but we didn't have a scale on board, so we'd have to wait until we got back to the dock to get an "official" weight. In the mean time, the sun had come out, and we were newly invigorated!

The daily bag limit is two per person, so my gear was back in the water PDQ. John, a bit jaded from catching so many over the years, was interested in fishing 'all of a sudden'. :D Life was good!

We fished for about 4 more hours, and among us, we caught 4 fish. All of them in the 40 to 50 pound class according to John and Jim. We only weighed the 'big' one, which, in the end, tipped the scales at SEVENTY POUNDS! THAT's a BIG paddlefish. If I remember correctly, John said that he had only caught a few 70 pounders, and it took him "a long time". I was VERY fortunate to have caught that big a fish as my first fish!

Here's a picture of Rick, Jim, and John with that fish.

That night we did about the same: Ate at the Oar House and got up NOT at the crack of dawn, and went fishing. The third day wasn't much different. I think we might have fished a little longer, but we caught another 4 fish, and I caught a 60-pounder, and the smallest of all the paddlefish we caught, a 27-pounder.

John snagged a nice walleye that we subsequently released. (Can't keep snagged fish except paddlefish.)

Here is the four of us with the 60-pounder.

Here are a few pictures of 'goings on'.
"In the boat" after the first day of "real" fishing.

And "in the boat" after the second day of fishing.

Me wrestling the 60-pounder:

And a 50-pounder.

I was fascinated by these fish. I found them very striking. The following pictures may explain that to some degree.
This is the top of one of their heads. Note that the spots are actually 1) a cluster of smaller spots, and 2) they're actually "indented". I don't think they're actually JUST "spots" after all.

Here's a close-up of the operculum (gill cover). Fascinating! Look closely.

Moving out a bit.

And a bit more.

Here are a couple of pictures of the rostrum - AKA "paddle" - from whence their name derives. I strongly suspect there are sensory organs in that schnoz, and that the 'spots' are part of that sensory system.

There's more. Rick and I had a little "adventure" on the way back, and the 60-pounder was taken WHOLE back to Rick's place, where it was butchered and we made caviar. I'll get to that tomorrow.

Paul

sakorick · May 17, 2021, 06:31:23 PM

Oh boy it really gets good from here!!:D Here's a teaser.

sakorick · May 18, 2021, 06:47:00 AM

A note on our accommodations. We stayed at Rick's Oar House on Mile Marker 81 just 8 miles from the Truman Dam that holds Truman Reservoir. That's the point of end for Paddlefish(Spoonbill) on Lake of the Ozarks for their annual spawning run. Fishing for paddlefish is prohibited from the Truman Dam to the Hwy 65 bridge which is at mile marker approximately 87. We caught all our fish between MM 81 and 86. Rick's has 6 rooms for rent and a Bar, Restaurant, Marina with about 30 docks. Renter's are assigned a free dock space and we had slip #6 just 30 feet or so to the cleaning table. John's boat is a 18 foot flatbottom with an old 30 HP Yamaha that purrs like a kitten. Snagging is hard work so the Bar/Restaurant was a welcome sight after fish cleaning. The food by the way was delicious with very reasonable prices. From my house to the marina was about 129 miles. John's brother Kenny and his wife Rene are my next door neighbors and they met at the Oar House when Rene worked there and he and John were paddlefishing. They have been happily married for 40 some years!

Jamie.270 · May 18, 2021, 10:04:28 AM

Sure,... Pique my interest and then leave me hangin'.

Durnburnit!

sakorick · May 18, 2021, 01:10:07 PM

Quote from: Jamie.270;155717Sure,... Pique my interest and then leave me hangin'.

Durnburnit!

Not to worry. He'll be back soon.

gitano · May 18, 2021, 05:05:13 PM

You just couldn't wait, could ya, Rick?

Paul

gitano · May 18, 2021, 08:15:34 PM

I have edited the original post (OP) with most of "the rest of the story". I'm adding this post so that subscribers to this thread will get the notification of new posts, even though the new stuff is in the OP.

Paul

Jamie.270 · May 19, 2021, 02:04:54 AM

Very VERY cool.

Nothing shy of awesome as a matter of fact. The spots look kind of like little paw prints.

So, beyond the caviar, how is the meat? Is it close to any other fish(es) in texture or flavor?

(awaiting chapter II)

gitano · May 22, 2021, 10:32:45 AM

As Rick and I both mentioned, Missouri is pretty 'serious' about paddlefish roe. For the most part, with good reason. "Back in the day", (as youngsters say nowadays), with the price of paddlefish caviar skyrocketing, people would catch paddlefish, strip the roe, and throw the carcasses back in the lake. The population of paddlefish was plummeting! To combat that wasteful behavior, Missouri, and other states, came down hard on regulating paddlefish take and especially everything associated with its roe. Now, in Missouri, the ONLY way paddlefish roe can leave the DOCK, let alone the lake, is in the whole fish. Then, once it gets 'home', it cannot leave the premises. Period. Even after 'processing', it can't even go next door in a jar for a party.

Since I LOVE caviar, and since paddlefish caviar is THE BEST caviar I have ever tasted, including salmon, I REALLY wanted to make some! Therefore, we brought the 60-pounder to Rick's place whole. (In fact, it was alive when we put it in the back of his truck.)

Here are pictures of extracting the roe in Rick's back yard.
John and I as I begin the 'dissection'. I extracted the roe and John took care of the meat. There's some finesse required in getting the meat from the fish. All of the "red meat" and fat has to be trimmed from the "white meat". Without that finesse, there is even more waste.

Same scene with Missy on the left and Bella in the background. Rick's dogs.

Pretty good picture of the roe.

There was 12.5 lb of roe. Assuming, (unrealistically), that ALL of eggs would make it to 'caviar', and that it could be sold for the retail price of $35/ounce, that's $7000 worth of roe. You can see why there was a vigorous black market. A black market that would have, AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE WITH COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OF ANIMALS AND ESPECIALLY FISH, driven the species to EXTINCTION had severe measures not been taken.

Rick and I ate "too much" from the first batch, and for a couple of old guys taking statins for "cholesterol", we paid the price.

For us, "moderation" is the watchword with regard to paddlefish caviar. Without a word of exaggeration, raw, right from the fish, it tastes A LOT like butter! It is REALLY GOOD!

Sadly, I could not, of course, take any back to Alaska. Had I been driving, I would have taken the chance, but since I was flying and my bags would certainly be x-rayed, it was almost a certainty that I would have been caught "smuggling paddlefish roe", which would have resulted in a fine significantly greater than $35/oz! Since I was a 'ferriner', there might have even been jail time. That's how serious these states are. As long as the going price stays that high, there will be motivation for a black market, and the existing rules will have to stay in place to prevent eradication of the species. Greed will out.

We had paddlefish and caviar for dinner that evening. The meat was prepared as Rick normally prepares the panfish we catch; breaded and deep-fried. It was good, but not necessarily anything to "write home about". The next night, he smoked/bar-b-qued it. MAN! It was DEVINE! SERIOUSLY. REALLY good eating! All of a sudden, Rick was a paddlefish EATING fan. :D

Even before we left Lake of the Ozarks, we were making plans for returning next year. Not so much for the fishing per se, but just for the camaraderie. We had a GREAT time with each other. The good fishing was just "gravy".

Paul

branxhunter · June 09, 2021, 01:13:25 PM

Great read Paul. Looks like the usual suspects are still getting together to do stuff which is fantastic. Weird looking fish. I reckon you are on the money with those 'spots' being part of a sensory system.

Marcus

gitano · June 09, 2021, 02:18:31 PM

Thanks, Marcus. I certainly enjoy the company of these fellows. Sometimes we lament the passing of the "halcyon days of our youth", but if we're blessed with good friends, we can have the best times of our life in our 'golden' years.

Paul