I was watching Larry Smith outdoors on Sunday.
He was fishing Paddlefish down south and the “method” was to snag them. Then gaff the fish into the boat.
I will never watch his program again! I was appalled.
Why? Perfectly legal down there. (And other states too)
-J.
I assume it is legal, but with what silver carp are competing with them for plankton and how fragile paddlefish seem to be, I am wondering why they are open for harvest?
Why? Perfectly legal down there. (And other states too)
-J.
Because its snagging. Might as well shine deer.
Seen that to. Wasnt crazy about how they where holding the fish by the jaw either. Did they end up keeping those fish? If so handle them any way they want. Not a fantastic show but Im still going to watch.
This is legal in multiple states where paddlefish populations are high. Nothing wrong with it in my mind.
It was totally legal and they did keep the fish, so whats the problem?
North Dakota and Montana have specific snagging seasons for Paddlefish. It’s actually going on right now.
I didn’t see the show. Generally I watch a few minutes of it then move on to something that doesn’t make my tummy roll.
It’s been legally going on for many many years much like the sturgeon spearing in WI. I seldom watch those shows either after they get past the educational portion of the show.
Larry has some good shows out there. I won’t judge all of his shows by one that I don’t care for.
My .02.
I was watching Larry Smith outdoors on Sunday.
He was fishing Paddlefish down south and the “method” was to snag them. Then gaff the fish into the boat.
I will never watch his program again! I was appalled.
X2
Large prehistoric fish like paddlefish and sturgeon deserve more respect than that.
So do white tail deer, ducks and geese.
They don’t take a slug to the head or body willingly. 
If the fishery can support it and people enjoy eating them, have at it!
So do white tail deer, ducks and geese.
They don’t take a slug to the head or body willingly.
OK…..
Poor comparison.
Deer maybe live to 10 years old, ducks and geese maybe 20, maybe.
Those fish are older than the jokers that are killing them. It will take 50+ years to replace those fish in a perfect environment. Just my opinion, believe what you want. There will be a day when they are gone, no doubt in my mind.
Interesting read at the MO DNR site.
https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/snaggers-get-ready-paddlefish-season-opens-march-15
Snaggers get ready! Paddlefish season opens March 15
News from the region: Statewide
Lucas Bond
Feb 22, 2016
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri’s annual spring paddlefish snagging season is a popular pastime for thousands of anglers. The state’s major paddlefish snagging waters include Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake with the season running March 15 through April 30. The season for the Mississippi River is March 15 through May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 through Dec. 15.
Also known as “spoonbills” because of the shape of their snouts, paddlefish take seven or eight years to grow to legal size. The fish feed on plankton and other microscopic prey. These filter feeders therefore do not take bait from hooks and must be snagged using large hooks that catch in the mouth, gills or other areas of their bodies.
The success of paddlefish snagging is dependent on weather conditions, primarily water temperature and flow.
“The best snagging conditions occur when water temperature reaches 50 to 55 degrees and there is an increase in water flow,” MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Trish Yasger said. “This prompts them to move upstream to spawn. We don’t usually see a lot of big fish being caught on opening day. Harvest early in the season is typically dominated by local fish and small males with the occasional large female. As water temperature and flow increase, you will start seeing more of the larger females.”
Stocking Efforts
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) makes paddlefish snagging possible in the Show-Me State through annual stocking of up to 38,000 fingerlings raised at Blind Pony Hatchery near Sweet Springs. The fingerlings are released into Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake and Table Rock Lake, plus the Black River. The annual stocking is necessary because dams and other barriers to spawning areas have eliminated sustainable natural reproduction in the lakes.
“Without annual stocking by MDC staff, this popular pastime and food source would go away,” said Yasger. “And we need help from snaggers to learn more about and to better manage this popular game fish.”
Yasger added that MDC released an especially large number of fingerlings into Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake in 2008. The more than 164,000 fingerlings released are now eight years old and should start providing good numbers of fish for snaggers to harvest.
Snag A Tag – Get A Reward
MDC is beginning its second year in a five-year tagging project to help monitor paddlefish numbers and improve species management. Department staff are placing metal jaw tags on up to 6,000 paddlefish netted in Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake and up to 1,000 netted from the Mississippi River. Yasger encourages all snaggers to help out by reporting tagged paddlefish and to NOT remove tags from undersized paddlefish.
“We will send a special ‘I caught a Missouri paddlefish!’ t-shirt to each snagger who returns or reports their first tag on a legal-sized fish,” Yasger explained. “All returned and reported tags will be placed into an annual drawing for cash prizes with a grand prize of $500.”
Tags or photos of tags from harvested paddlefish must be submitted for rewards. Snaggers must include the following information with each tag:
Date caught
Location of catch including reservoir or river, mile marker, and county
Tag number
Fish length from eye to fork of the tail
Snagger’s name and complete address
Report tags by calling MDC at 573-579-6825 with the information, or mail the information with the flattened tag to: Missouri Department of Conservation, 3815 East Jackson Blvd., Jackson, MO 63755. Learn more about the tagging project from MDC online at http://on.mo.gov/1VA1E6B.
Report Transmitters
MDC biologists are also implanting ultrasonic transmitters in adult paddlefish at Truman Lake, Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake, and the Mississippi River to track their movements and gain other important information. MDC asks that all snaggers who harvest fish with a transmitter to report it by calling 573-579-6825 or by e-mailing Trish Yasger at [email protected] (link sends e-mail). It is important to return transmitters so they can be implanted in other fish.
Help smaller fish survive
Yasger reminds snaggers to help undersized snagged fish survive to grow larger.
“Do not land paddlefish with gaffs. This can fatally injure sublegal fish. Use large landing nets,” she said. “Remove hooks carefully and get sublegal fish back into the water as quickly as possible. Wet your hands before handling fish and avoid excessive handling. Do not pass them around for photos and hold fish firmly to avoid dropping them. Never put fingers in the gills or eyes.”
Regulation Requirements
Unless exempt, anglers must have a current fishing permit to snag or to operate a boat for snaggers. The daily limit is two paddlefish and snaggers must stop snagging after obtaining the daily limit on Lake of the Ozarks and Truman Lake and their tributaries, and the Osage River below Bagnell Dam. The minimum legal body length for paddlefish at Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, Table Rock Lake, and their tributaries is 34 inches, measured from the eye to the fork of the tail. The minimum legal body length is 24 inches on the Osage River below Bagnell Dam and in other Missouri waters. All paddlefish under the legal minimum length must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught.
The Wildlife Code of Missouri requires the head, tail, and skin to remain attached to all paddlefish while on the water so paddlefish should not be cleaned until off of the water. Also, extracted paddlefish eggs may not be possessed while on waters of the state or adjacent banks and may not be transported. Paddlefish eggs may not be bought, sold or offered for sale. Additionally, paddlefish or their parts, including eggs, may not be used for bait.
Learn more about Missouri’s official aquatic animal, regulations, snagging reports, and more at http://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/paddlefish.
So do white tail deer, ducks and geese.
They don’t take a slug to the head or body willingly.
Apples to Oranges and it is his opinion (as the above is yours…).
Love Larry’s show! So he did not do the same as you would have-is that reason to throw him under the bus? I could bitch all day about spearing pike in MN, but don’t because 1) It’s legal. 2) Imposing one’s ethics on another always goes in the wrong direction. Got to give credit to any guy that can put a show together every week.
I like how Missouri offers a prize drawing for reporting tagged fish. I think that would help reporting here in Mn.
Also interesting these fish are legal size by age 7. I guess I assumed these were old fish too. They grow fast down there!
-J.
I like how Missouri offers a prize drawing for reporting tagged fish. I think that would help reporting here in Mn.
-J.
MN did one year. I got several rapalas that no one would ever use, as a reward for reporting tagged walleyes on Mille Lacs. I think Fleet farm donated the rapalas from their clearance bin after no one would buy them. 
Minnesota, the state where we are smarter and of a higher moral character than any other state in the union, just ask us, we’ll tell you how high and mighty we are with our stance on game laws and habitat issues. Oh wait we destroyed the prairie and can’t manage one of the best walleye lakes in the country. But we do try and save a species through regulations alone vs managing habitat. Minnesota, the state where everything will eventually be illegal cause it offends someone.
If it’s been a tradition in a state or country, the game can sustain it, who the heel am I to say they should adhere to my version of ethics and morality when it comes to game laws? If you have problems with how things are harvested, do not spend any time watching how subsistence is acquired in Alaska, you’d be petrified.
Here’s a paddle I found Tuesday
CameraZOOM-20170502183030512.jpg
Here’s a paddle I found Tuesday
OK…That is way cool! RR
Large prehistoric fish like paddlefish and sturgeon deserve more respect than that.
Why? Why does age have anything to do with respect?
If I may, please let me read between the lines on this comment. I think you mean that a fish that old is takes a long time to replace.
But then that also assumes that they have no idea what the impact on the resource is. This is not true. I’m sure they have plenty of research on how harvest impacts the fishery.
My personal opinion lies somewhere in between. I feel that they have a fairly good handle on the impact and its sustainability, but the long term (100+ years) might be questionable. And extremely difficult to predict.
If it’s legal and sustainable, have at it.
I don’t tell people how to live their lives because I don’t expect them to tell me how to live MY life. It’s all opinion at this point, and everyone is entitled to their own and to express it.
I’ve never been a fan of his show, but it was nice to see a change of scenery and to show different sporting options that this great, vast country has to offer.
What’s the saying? Opinions are like Aholes, everyone has one and they all stink?…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Here’s a paddle I found TuesdayOK…That is way cool! RR
X2. What sonar are you running?
-J.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brian Klawitter wrote:</div>
So do white tail deer, ducks and geese.They don’t take a slug to the head or body willingly.
Apples to Oranges and it is his opinion (as the above is yours…).
LOL! Thank you.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>roosterrouster wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brian Klawitter wrote:</div>
So do white tail deer, ducks and geese.They don’t take a slug to the head or body willingly.
Apples to Oranges and it is his opinion (as the above is yours…).
LOL! Thank you.
Well Brian, you are very welcome! 
Here’s a paddle I found Tuesday
Na, looks like a sawfish to me.
Bird 1199
My first reaction was do people eat those things? It is my feeling that animals shouldn’t just be killed for our amusement or “sport”. I know there are exceptions to this but I believe if you kill something for sport, you had better not just end up throwing it in the trash or burying it somewhere in the deep woods.
I did look into it and yes, people do eat paddlefish. I did not see the show but I would hope the they would promote an ethical and responsible result of harvesting fish.
BTW, people eat sturgeon too. Found this old IDO thread if any of you want to revisit some nostalgia! 
http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/croix_584378/
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
