When do spoonbill spawn in oklahoma

Hopefully, we can help you learn what you need to know to snag one of these awesome Grand Lake monster fish. To legally is there any other way snag paddlefish, you need a valid Oklahoma fishing license AND a paddlefish permit.

You can get your license and free paddlefish permit at any area sporting goods store or Grand Lake area bait shop or online at wildlifedepartment. For complete paddlefish regulations, go HERE. That link is the complete paddlefish regulations from the state of Oklahoma and includes help in getting your fishing license, paddlefish permits and what to do once you harvest a fish, including if you happen to snag an already tagged fish.

One other note on harvesting your paddlefish…. They can be reached at This is a seasonal facility, that is generally open each spring from the first of March until the end of April. Their online information can be found here. This is where you can get your paddlefish cleaned for free and be given the fillets from your fish in heat-sealed, packaged bags. The reason they do this is that the workers at the Processing Center will salvage the eggs from the female paddlefish and process the roe into high-quality, ready-to-eat caviar, which is then sold on the international market.

They then use the funds from the sale of the Oklahoma caviar to continue paddlefish research and management and to help develop programs that ensure the healthy paddlefish population in the Neosho watershed for years to come. One more thing — someone from the research center will actually pick up your live paddlefish from bank and boat anglers at Grand Lake! They inhabit many types of habitats and occur most frequently in deeper, low current areas such as side channels, backwater lakes and tailwaters below dams.

Male paddlefish are old enough to spawn when they are four to nine years. Females spawn when they are years old. Spawning season is from March through June, when spring rains raise the water levels of rivers and water temperatures reach degrees.

Males and females gather in schools and release their eggs over gravel or sandbars. This is called "broadcast spawning. Paddlefish are caught by snagging, usually beginning sometime in March and ending in late April, during their early spring spawning run. This prehistoric fish can be caught by snagging with a stout surf rod, heavy test line, and a large, barbless treble hook. Paddlefish were once very abundant throughout their range, but have declined in numbers.

Threats to paddlefish include:. In , fisheries biologists began an effort to re-introduce paddlefish to waters where they has become locally eradicated. Dams on several rivers had blocked the annual movements of paddlefish in several river systems. Hatchery professionals raised young paddlefish in Byron and Tishomingo and then released them in Kaw, Oologah, Texoma, and Hugo lakes.

The fisheries division of the wildlife department have placed bands on thousands of paddlefish in lakes statewide. These bands are an important research tool allowing biologists to learn about population abundance, individual growth, and annual harvest.

Anglers can assist in this effort by reporting banded harvest, not removing bands from released fish, and knowing the regulations. This research is being paid for through the federally-administered State Wildlife Grant. How do I get it cleaned for free? What if I catch a tagged paddlefish? How can I help paddlefish research in Oklahoma? Know the regulations before you go fishing.

Paddlefish information in this year's guide begins on page Note: The daily paddlefish limit is currently set at one fish with no size limits. A catch-and-release policy is in effect Mondays and Fridays. Anglers cannot have a paddlefish in their possession out in the field on these two days. Anglers can keep no more than two paddlefish per year. Once anglers have caught two paddlefish, they may continue fishing using the catch-and-release method only.

The Grand Lake area provides some of the best paddlefish fishing in the world. Paddlefish were also re-introduced in the early s to Kaw , Oologah and Keystone lakes. The ideal time to fish for paddlefish is during the spring spawning run, which occurs from the beginning of March through late April. You can successfully troll for paddlefish by dragging a hook and weight behind a moving boat. Paddlefish feed on microscopic creatures that live on lake and river beds and will not bite a lure.

Make long sweeps with your fishing rod away from the hook, and then reel the slack line up. Tip the rod back towards your hook. Drag the line, hook and weight behind your boat. Watch for the rod to thump, then grab the rod and reel in your catch. The more time your hook is allowed to drag through the water, the better chances you have of hooking a paddlefish.