When DinoFish Ruled the Earth!!!

Adam's first Paddlefish.

One of my favorite things about fishing public accesses is that you never really know what you are going to catch.  While fishing these accesses I often lean against the rail, only inches from the waters edge, and look out on the water with an active imagination about what lies beneath the surface.  Maybe a record Hybrid Striper, a nice Smallmouth Bass, or one of those monstrous catfish I have heard about since I was a boy.

Recently I was at RC Byrd public fishing access, which can be found a few miles below Gallipolis Ohio, and I stumbled into a species of fish that even my imagination could not have topped.  It was large, strange looking, and seemed so out of place when compared to the other fish being caught.  Earlier in the year, while speaking with a local fisherman, I was told that a strange looking fish called a Spoonbill or Paddlefish was occasionally seen in these waters.  Since that conversation I have hoped that I would have a chance to see this ancient fish and if given the opportunity get a few pictures.  But days turned into weeks from the time of our conversation and I wondered if I would ever get such an opportunity.

The particular day I am writing about seem to have the odds stacked against it for being a quality fishing day.  The water was about three to four feet higher than normal and the current was much stronger than what most fishermen prefer.  But, just about the time we were all readying ourselves for a hard days fishing, one local angler quickly motioned that we all should look at a certain spot in the water.  There, to my surprise, was a large and beautiful Paddlefish.  This sight brought a few "Wows" out of us and it gave me what I wanted, which was good view of this elusive fish.  Little did I know I was about to get a much better look.

Travis strikes a pose.

Maybe the largest of the day, Travis traveled far down the rocks to land this one!

Shortly after our first sighting we started to see more and more until we finally realized that for some reason the paddle fish had moved into our area in great numbers and seemed to be content just spending the afternoon close to our fishing platform.  Just about that time one of the angler shouts to us that he has one on and that "its a big one!"  Excited and unsure how to help we all move out of the way and become cheerleaders for our fishermen buddy.  Now I am both excited and perplexed at the thought of catching one of these fish.  Excited because its large, rare, and just so strange looking, but perplexed because this particular fish is not supposed to be hitting a lure because it feed exclusively on zooplankton.

Joe gets in on the action with a nice one.

See this particular fish keeps it's large mouth open and uses it's gill rackers to filter out tiny organisms from the water.  So, it is a predator, but just of super tiny things.  After a conversation with a Ohio Division of Natural Resources official I learned that while these fish swim around their bills catch the lines of fishermen and force the lure, and it's hooks, into the upper portion of it's mouth.  This is enough to fool most fishermen into think it "hit" his lure.

The bloody spots you see are the "suck marks" left behind from a parasite.

Unfortunately something had broken this fishes lower jaw, but you can clearly see the gill rackers.

Well, after a few hours fishing, several monster Paddlefish had been caught and carefully released.  By the days end several fishermen left with new stories to tell and I had those pictures I wanted and an up close and personal experience with these gentle giants.  I can promise you this is one day I will never forget.

Before you run off to your local access in pursuit of one of these amazing fish remember a few important things about them.  Most importantly that they are a threatened species, not endangered, most still far from the numbers we would like to see this species at.  So, if you catch one, be careful with it, and release it.  This is both the ethical thing to do and the legal requirement in the state of Ohio.  Also they are a piece of real history.  They are an ancient species and we want the experience I just described to be there for generations to come.  It can be tempting to keep such a large fish as a trophy.  Doing so would be illegal and a set back

 to the breeding population of the Paddlefish.  Enjoy them but please be a steward at the same time.  Each of the fish you see in the pictures was quickly release and swam away in as good a shape as they came in.  Some better as we were kind enough to remove a few parasites that were attached to them.  See, you guys next time and who knows what we might caught next time.  -Average Joe Angler.  

  

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 Notice the tag in the lip of the fish above?  This due to the careful steps being taken to monitor and help the Paddlefish in the Ohio River.