Iowa Spoonies!!

[IAcrankbait]

I had my first ever chance at snagging some Spoonbills today!! This past Summer the Missouri River flooded.........BIG TIME!! As the flood waters receded, fish got stranded. I went to Snyder Bend Park(south of Sioux City, IA) to see what I could find. "Snyder Bend" was part of the Mighty MO at one time before the river decided to cut a new channel. It became part of the river again this Summer and some Spoonies stayed behind. The park recently reopened and the IA DNR decided to give anglers the opportunity to get some Paddlefish so they wouldn't go to waste. Snagging is allowed and there is a limit of 2 fish per person.
47" and 55"


Say AAAHHHH!!!

[Haywood]

That's just ugly!!! The fish is kind of cool looking though.

[Tubes]

Those are pretty neat! Was there a lot of them?

[biglakeba$$]

I had smoked spoonies when I was deer hunting in Montana last year. Next time I will pass the tray along.... LOL

[Uncle Smash]

Pretty sweet Pat! The oddity of that fish has always intrigued me, but yet to pursue one.... nice work!

[IAcrankbait]

I snagged a 44" Sunday and we tried it that night. I was careful to remove any red meat on the fillets, chunked them, rolled in Shore Lunch, dipped in milk and then coated with Panko crumbs. Deep fried 3-4 minutes and was VERY pleased with the results. The texture of the meat is different from any other fish I've tried.....almost a cross between a chicken tender and a perfectly cooked shrimp is the best I can describe it. I thought the flavor was very clean as well.
I was thinking of smoking a few pieces but not sure if I will considering what BLB said and I really enjoyed them fried(big surprise).

Fish from Sunday

[11fish1]

Paddlefish are going extinct due to dams blocking them from spawning, that's why Minnesota doesn't have an open season.

[biglakeba$$]

I hardly think they are going extinct...... Do the dams help? Prolly not. Hardly causing extinction of an entire species....

[Brett Vegoe]

Paddlefish are actually making a comeback in Minnesota. They're showing up in the Minnesoata river where they haven't been seen in decades.

[PATRICK R]

Cool pics of the paddlefish Pat. Interesting opportunity to say the least. I never tried eating them myself, but sounds like they taste fine. Are those fish short on food? They look skinnier than the few I have snagged unintentionally on pool 4.

[IAcrankbait]

Cool pics of the paddlefish Pat. Interesting opportunity to say the least. I never tried eating them myself, but sounds like they taste fine. Are those fish short on food? They look skinnier than the few I have snagged unintentionally on pool 4.

Yes, they are VERY short on food. As the river stranded them, they were pretty much cut off from any current that would normally carry the plankton they need to live.
The DNR has netted and returned many fish to the Missouri River but they figured there was no way to get them all. We are getting a chance at the fish that are not expected to live much longer. Starvation and/or ice-up is expected to finish off whatever is left in the oxbow lakes.

[Dan Wood]

very cool Pat.. nice job.