State anglers anticipate spoonbill season opener, set for March 15

Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation A successful young snagger with his catch.

March 15 is marked on many calendars in Missouri, including one by Harold Davis. Davis a spoonbill angler who arms himself with deep sea gear and lives for opening day of paddlefish snagging season.

Davis is a dedicated spoonbill snagger who owns several deep sea fishing rods and reels with an 80-pound test line that he uses in search of those monster fish dwelling in the Osage River as well as Table Rock Lake.

Davis said: "I got my start with that type of fishing when I was a teenager. I went with my older brother who hooked a 54-pound spoonbill and then handed me his rod to try my luck. When I snagged a 26- pounder, I was hooked for life."

Since that day Davis has snagged a lot of paddlefish with his largest being a 69-pounder. Although, you never know what the weather or water conditions will be like early in the season, you can be sure there will be plenty of snaggers out looking for these prehistoric fish.

Davis' older brother, Jack, recalled how Osceola, though still a hot spot for snagging, was a booming town for spoonbill snaggers as well as spectators to witness the action.

Before the removal of the dam on the Osage River in Osceola, snaggers from all around the Midwest and beyond flocked to the town where the reputation for snagging was great as the dam stood in the path of the fishes spawning run. The fish couldn't go any further upstream except in time of flooding when they could swim over the dam or around it. There were hundreds of snaggers lining the banks of the Osage river.

After the construction of the Truman Dam, just prior to late 1980s, Missouri's Osage River was the world's leading spoonbill fishery, rivaled only by Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in Montana.

Beginning around 1988, conservation agents began finding evidence of widespread poaching of spoonbills for eggs or roe, which was processed into expensive caviar. By the time the poachers were caught, the wholesale netting and killing of both males and females had severely diminished the state's fishery.

The MCD imposed strict regulations regarding the size limit and number of spoonbills that may be caught. The MDC also made the decision to permanently close the (then) fall season and shorten the spring season. Through time and management, the population has begun to show recovery.

Other names for spoonbills are spoonbill cat, shovelfish, shovel-billed cat, duck-billed cat as well as paddlefish. Spoonbills are in many respects one of the most primitive of fish, though highly specialized.

Veteran spoonbill snagger, Jon Belcher, Osceola, getting ready to try to hook a fish on the Osage River at last season's opening day. (Photo by Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail)

They are a remnant of ancient life, differing from other species of fish by their elongated paddled snout, long gill covers as well as their shark-like body form. Their large size and bizarre shape have made spoonbills particularly interesting to layman and scientist alike. These cartridge-filled and boneless fish share a long life, with fish commonly in the 20-year range and not too uncommon 30 years or more.

Different theories have been forwarded regarding the function of the paddle-like snout. It has been suggested that it is used to stir up the bottom to facilitate feeding, serves as a "rudder" to guide the fish, and/or is a sense organ for the detection of food organisms. The spoonbill is not a bottom feeder and the snout possesses an elaborate system of sense organs, making the latter theory appear logical as the primary function of the appendage.

One reason Snaggers watch water conditions is because the fish start their spawning runs when the water temperature nears 55 degrees and the spawning run is larger in periods of high water flow. Spoonbills are a very mobile fish.

Biologist have gathered data from thousands of spoonbills caught from 22 states. A three-foot-long fish that was released in the Ohio River at Mount Vernon, Indiana in 1998 was caught by an angler eight years later in the Missouri River in South Dakota. The fish had traveled 1,136 miles. Another tagged spoonbill went the other direction and was caught in the Kaskaskia River in Illinois.

Bob Koehn, Kansas City, a snagger who hadn't thought much about going after a fish without using some kind of lure or bait until he tried it several years ago.

He said, "When I saw people fishing it that murky water, I thought they were fishing blind. They can't see the fish, and the fish don't hit a lure so how can they enjoy fishing for them? Later, after I tried it with a friend,who had been snagging for more than 20 years ---- we both hooked fish that weighed more than 30 pounds. I became a confirmed snagger."

Koehn remembers that first spoonbill like it happened yesterday. He recalled: "There were lot of boats in the river with guys flinging heavy weights, then I saw a guy hook a monster.

Koehn continued: "While watching him, I felt something hit my 80- pound test line. I knew it had to be a spoonbill. When we finally had it in the net, I couldn't believe the size of that monster. It was by far the largest fish I had ever hooked. I had no idea that I would ever catch a fish that large. It was the biggest thrill in my more than 20 years of fishing."

A look at these fish shows why they are called spoonbills. (Photo courtesy of MDC)

When the season opens March 15, Missouri snaggers might get off to a slow start, but there are plenty of fish in most of the popular hot spots, including the James River Arm of Table Rock, along the Osage River, the Osage arm of Truman and the Osage River below the Bagnell Dam at Lake of the Ozarks.

There is little doubt that when opening morning rolls around, there will be lots of snaggers ready to hook a fish that has survived for centuries.

Some Missouri anglers wouldn't walk across the street to snag a big spoonbill, thinking it isn't worth the trouble and too much like work. However, snaggers like Davis, love the challenge as do many others that flock to the river on opening day.

Davis said: "When I first started snagging for spoonbills, there didn't seem to be many other snaggers. Now, if you don't get to the river early, you might have to wait an hour to launch your boat because there are so many others waiting to get after the spoonbills. I wouldn't miss it for all the bass in the state."

The season opens on March 15 and will continue through April with a daily limit of two legal fish.