Spoonbill Snagging

[catfishcentral]

Well it's getting close to that time a year again. I'll post some pics when I start to snag but I found some old video I shot a few years ago. I'm not in the pictures because I'm filming but it's getting me pumped up for spring. I was just using a digital camera on movie mode to make these. There not by any means great but fun to look at. These were taken at Chouteau Bend at the low water dam. We would travel up to the low water dam and start snagging. By the time you actually boated the fish the current has taken you several hundred yards downstream. Lots of fun.:)


http://media.putfile.com/double-spoonbills


http://media.putfile.com/spoonbills

[Tulcat]

Thanks for sharing the videos. Before too long hopefully we'll get some rain and get those fish moving up the lakes toward the headwaters.

[rivrbunny]

Thanks for the video-be sure to post when they start moving-they are pretty exciting to catch even if they aren't as good to eat.

[catfishcentral]

We really need that rain to come soon. I don't know how well Chouteau bend will be this year. Not only do they need to fill Lake Hudson back up but also Pumpback Lake that is feed by Hudson. They lowered Pumpack by like 40 feet for repairs so they have to fill it up also. I know we will get the spring rains but we will need a lot to fill both lakes before they start releasing any water.:sad: Depending on where, when and how much water is running into or out of our lakes I might be below Kaw or traveling over to Grand this year for snagging.

[cat daddy 791]

Hey Chris, I Was Always Wondering If The Fishing At Chouteau Was Any Good. Have You Fished There Very Much? The Reason I'm Asking Is That I Used To Drag Race My Jet Boat There A Few Years Ago. The Last Time I Raced There Was In 2001. I Thought That Might Be A Good Spot For Catfishing. But When You're Haulin @ Over 115 Mph, Its Kinda Hard To Get A Good Look Around. Just Kinda Curious...

[catfishcentral]

Hey Chris, I Was Always Wondering If The Fishing At Chouteau Was Any Good. Have You Fished There Very Much? The Reason I'm Asking Is That I Used To Drag Race My Jet Boat There A Few Years Ago. The Last Time I Raced There Was In 2001. I Thought That Might Be A Good Spot For Catfishing. But When You're Haulin @ Over 115 Mph, Its Kinda Hard To Get A Good Look Around. Just Kinda Curious...


Yes, the fishing is very good there but sometimes can get a little busy. The sand bass fishing is very good along with good blue cat fishing. My main purpose when I go there is to snag for spoonbill and it's one of the top spots to snag if the water is flowing good. I've trolled for sand bass and have done well also. The main channel is very good and Pryor creek is not bad also. I baited up some limblines and tossed out jugs with spoonbill leftovers and did extremely well in pryor creek creek last year. Ft. Gibson is a great lake and in the spring the blue cats, sandies and spoonbill all migrate up from the lake. I've never fished it any other time than March through the end of May.
They have been running those speedboat races for a long time out there but I've never gone out to see them. Would be kind of neat to see them some time.

[rivrbunny]

Chris,
The corp has been letting out water late afternoon early evening. There is a deep hole on the northwest side of the new river bridge hwy 60 that is great snagging water. You can drive down to the water on the south side of the bridge. They are doing road work on the side you need to fish from so you will have to park & walk under the bridge or drive to the north side of the bridge to get to the good spot. There is also some rip rap south of the bridge that was good fishing too-if you are up this way you need to stop and fish when the water is up. I think they are starting to let water out around 1300 and cut it off after dark so it will get to the bridge around 3 or 4 pm - Good luck:0a23: My truck is in the shop this afternoon - I told them they better get it all fixed at once because I won't have any down time once the weather stays warm!

[catfishcentral]

Misty,

Thanks for the information about locations to snag below Kaw. Here is a phone # is case you don't have 918-669-7521. This is the daily corps release and level recording. This recording has one thing you can find on the corps website and that's specific times water will be released especially if the lake runs turbines at the dam. Lakes like Ft. Gibson and Keystone may only release water for a few hours or half a day and if your there just when they start to release the water the fishing can be great. It's progammed on my speed dial on my cell phone.:p

[Tulcat]

Anybody headed out after the spoonies this weekend?

Me, I'm taking the weekend off but will be back out on the 11th at Grand.

[Believer]

How in the world do you guys manage to snag with only 20lb line???:confused:

Eric

[Tulcat]

How in the world do you guys manage to snag with only 20lb line???:confused:

Eric

At least for me... snagging with 20# means a 20# leader. And when using light leaders, it usually means I anticipate snags and want a reasonable pound test to be able to break off at the hook. It is also very important when using 20# to have your drag adjusted correctly along with the correct frame of mind as to how much pressure you must keep on the fish, less you get a busted line or spooled by spoonie.

[catfishcentral]

How in the world do you guys manage to snag with only 20lb line???:confused:

Eric



I use sometimes up to 30 pound line but I've never used anything more. I like it because I can cast a lot further than being spooled up with 40 or 50 pound mono. I tried using power pro one time but you get snagged a lot on all the rocks down below where I go. That stuff is too hard for me to break off when I get snagged. Last year I took one of my baitcasting rods and placed a roller guide on the tip. It really helped reduce the amount of breakoffs by putting less stress on the line. Twenty pound line will work fine as long as you use the drag and not just horse them in. Sometimes though I think I've lost a couple really big ones by not having enough lb test line. It's hard to tell sometimes how big a fish you have one when you snag them in the tail. Man do they fight better when you hook them in the tail.

[Tulcat]

Believer,

Braid is definitely better, IMHO.

As far as snagging goes, all my Spoonie reels are outfitted with 100# PowerPro. Now an issue you will run into at many snagging places is getting snagged on the bottom. When that happens with braided lines the whole situation changes.

#1 at near or greater than $20 worth of line on a big reel, you don't want to break off at the reel during a snag.
#2 PowerPro can easily cut through skin or cut off fingers. Always carry a pole of wood or some similar material to wrap the line around to break.
#3 If snagging from a boat, it is impossible to break high pound PowerPro without moving the boat and dragging the anchors out of place.

The way I handle all these issues using a braid line is to incorporate a leader on the end. The leader takes the brunt of the nicks and such when fishing in rocks and rough cover, plus allows me to use a smaller test strength to develop a sweet area for line breakage, when one is trying to break out of a snag. Best to break at the leader and not lose $3 worth of line.

For snagging all the reels we use have 100# PowerPro, and our leaders vary. For bank fishing I might use a 50#-60# leader to put up with the abrasions. From the boat we use 40# in most conditions, and 20-30# in areas where we are forced to fish where there are many snags.

And the beauty of the heavy PowerPro for catfishing is you can use the same reel to chase everything from channels to monster flatties. You can easily attach a leader of 20# Big Game line and the cat is none the wiser when he is biting that 3 feet above the hook is 100# hi-vis yellow PowerPro.

1 reel can cover infinite situations by merely changing the leader.

http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showpost.php?p=150597&postcount=4

[catfishcentral]

Anybody headed out after the spoonies this weekend?

Me, I'm taking the weekend off but will be back out on the 11th at Grand.


I'll be out of town this weekend but I'll be out in the next couple of weeks. I doubt it will be at Chouteau but both Grand and Kaw are both only about an hour away from my house.

[catfishcentral]

Hey Jim,

I got a question for you. On your big snagging reels are you using power pro on the whole reel or backing half of it with mono. I guess I'm cheap and don't want to spend 40+ dollars to fill a spool that will hold 350 yards or more. I was using a blood knot, I believe one year between my mono line and power pro. I was getting spooled and the line broke where the two were tied. I didn't like losing all that line and money and have just gotten by and fairly happy with plain old mono.

[Tulcat]

Hey Jim,

I got a question for you. On your big snagging reels are you using power pro on the whole reel or backing half of it with mono. I guess I'm cheap and don't want to spend 40+ dollars to fill a spool that will hold 350 yards or more. I was using a blood knot, I believe one year between my mono line and power pro. I was getting spooled and the line broke where the two were tied. I didn't like losing all that line and money and have just gotten by and fairly happy with plain old mono.

For a new reel I will spool it up completely with new PowerPro, being careful to make a good knot at the spool to avoid slippage (some use friction tape). Anyway, that newly spooled reel will then be moved into my fishing rotation and start to see some use. As mentioned in another thread, I always match my leader weight to my conditions, where I think I have a very good chance at breaking off at the leader should I become snagged. But sometimes that doesn't work as intended, and you will break your line at the piece of wood you are using a break stick (we keep a 12" piece of broom handle onboard).

It's inevitable that after a few seasons or hard month of fishing, after breaking off at the reel and/or trimming off the last several feet of PowerPro after a weekend fishing in the rocks, your reel spool will be lacking the proper amount of line for optimum casting. At that point you need to do some maintenance.

For me, I will mount the reel on a short rod (rod#1), and then take another reel that holds the same amount of line and mount it on another short rod (rod#2). I then start to spool out the PowerPro (after trimming off the last 10 to 20 feet to get rid of nicks and abrasions) from rod#1 through a few guides on rod#1, then into and through a few guides on rod#2, and finally onto the second reel. At that point I will reel all the PowerPro onto reel#2. When I reach the end of the line, I will then splice on some heavy mono (using a Uni to Uni splice) and then continue to reel in the line until my spool is full.

Once the spool is full on reel#2, I will cut the mono allowing some excess for my knot that will attach it to the spool of reel#1. So, now we have reel#2, with a full spool, and mono on top. So I then thread back though a few eyes on rod#2, back into a few eyes on rod#1, and then attach the mono to the spool of reel#1 and start reeling. When I am done I should have a full spool again, with PowerPro on the top.

This method works great as long as you're not adding so much mono as to make your knot try and pass through the level wind when casting, as that is bad. So as long as you didn't lose too much of your PowerPro, this works great plus it gives you an indicator (the knot and mono) that you are getting close to getting spooled once you see that knot pass through your level wind.

Using this method I have some PowerPro going on 4-5 years old, and it still casts and holds like a dream. Once you prorate it over time, PowerPro is not really that expensive if you take care of it, IMHO.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions or if I need to clarify any of the post.

[Tulcat]

Change of plans for me :)

A friend at work asked me if I would go out early Sunday morning with him to Grand and teach him how to fish for Spoonbill.

So off again to Sailboat Bridge, unless I hear different that the fish have moved.

Anyone have any updates on Grand?

[catfishcentral]

Hey Jim,

In your shortend snagging outing were your spoonbills right around sailboat bridge? North, South of the bridge, depth you were seeing them. I have some free time on my hands and might head out there next week during spring break.

[Tulcat]

Hey Chris,

While we were only on the water less than an hour, we did find the 2 spoonies in about the same conditions/place. I will be out again this Saturday to try again, and will post more details as to what I find then.

As far as last Sunday, the fish were in the channel, but on the extreme west side of it just at the ledge. In fact, just a nanosecond before I yelled fish-on, the boat driver said we had just moved out of the channel as the depth went from 55 feet to in the 30's. We were just a hair south of Sailboat Bridge (with 50-100 yards) for both fish.

Now the week before I caught my 29#er near Paradise Point, but in the middle of the channel.

Unless we get a lot of rain in KS or MO this week, I don't see any reason for the fish to have moved yet and we plan on putting in at Red Port 11 ramp early Saturday morning.

Good luck and take some pics to share!

[catfishcentral]

Thanks for the info there Jim. The kiddo's are out of school next week for spring break and if the weather is decent we might camp out for a day or two. It's been forever since I've been on Grand except for the twin bridges area. I want to get up to Grand a few times this spring before it gets too busy up there.

[Tulcat]

We landed 4 Spoonies today, and here are some pics.

More details to follow soon.

[Tulcat]

Here are the rest of the pics.

[Tulcat]

My nephew, Pittscat90, not only caught 3 of the 4, but also the largest at 29#.

Well the fish really moved since last Sunday, and the water temp went from 45 degrees up to 56 degrees in some places.

We started where the fish were last weekend, right at Sailboat bridge. We were the only ones there, and we soon found out the fish had moved. As we moved up-lake, we ran into a few snaggers and guides fishing along the bluff opposite of Paradise Point. Out of about 5 boats, only one had snagged a Spoonie.

Since we didn't see anything on SONAR, we decided to boat way up-lake (17 miles) and work SONAR and snag on the way back. Well we finally ran into some fish along the bluff opposite of Campbell Point. We had a few hours left to fish and managed to hook and boat 4 fish. They were by no means thick, but it was the best we've done so far this year.

By the time we made it back towards the ramp, the guides and other boats were gone. We're going to try and talk call one of the guides tomorrow, to see what type of luck they had.

If I was to put in again tomorrow I would launch from Twin Bridges, as it a lot closer to where we caught them and the direction the fish are headed.

[Pittscat90]

We were catching the spoonbill using about a pound of lead weights attached to the hook and were snagging them close to the bottom in about 22 feet of water.

[Tulcat]

Looks like the Neosho River basin up north of Grand Lake headwaters might be getting some rain tonight. Not sure if it will be enough to impact the spoonies, but if so that with the warmer water temps should be putting pressue on them to move up-lake.

I'll be out again next weekend if things go as plannned.

[catfishcentral]

Congrats on the spoonbills!!! The weather was so dang nice this weekend...I was wishing I was fishing. I'll be somewhere later this week either snagging or trolling for sandies

[Tulcat]

Hey Chris,

If you plan on being anywhere close to Twin Bridges on Grand during Sat 18 Mar, let me know, as I plan on linking up with another boat of friends from work for Spoonie fishing. It would be great to hook up with another boat to help locate the spoonies early.

[catfishinfordman]

Im new here hope to learn alot

[Tulcat]

Brad is a friend of mine and coworker, and he is headed out with me this Saturday chasing the spoonies.

[catfishcentral]

Welcome to the BOC there Brad.

[catfishinfordman]

I hope to get some good snaggin in this weekend. I am bringing a friend along with me when we go with Jim. The friend has never snagged before so he is really lookin forward to the weekend. raining or not its going to be a blast once we find them

[rivrbunny]

Welcome Catfishin Fordman,
Hope you guys snag a bunch this weekend. We haven't seen any so far this year up north on the Arkansas but if we get some rain and they run some water it should bring them up river. Try not to snag them all:) We took some guys snaggin last year that had never been and they had the time of their lives.

[catfishinfordman]

thanks for the welcome. I hope to help with any fishing advice I know and as well as pick u all clean of any advice u have.

[TDawgNOk]

spoonbill
edible or not?

I've never seen one so I'm very curious about them

[Tulcat]

spoonbill
edible or not?

I've never seen one so I'm very curious about them

Tony,

You have never seen a Spoonie? Are you sure you live in OK? LOL

Yes they are edible, but the meat is a little different then most fish as it does not really flake and is totally boneless.

We plan on cleaning a few fish this weekend (usually I'm CPR), if you want some fillets let me know and I'll try to hook you up.

[TDawgNOk]

Jim,

Yes, I've lived in Oklahoma my whole life, but, was never in to fishing until recently.

Would love to try some filets. My wifes grandmother used to live on Eufala and she said she would love some and would show us how to cook them.

[catfishinfordman]

Are there actually spoonies in or around the eufala area

[catfishcentral]

Tony,

You have never seen a Spoonie? Are you sure you live in OK? LOL

Yes they are edible, but the meat is a little different then most fish as it does not really flake and is totally boneless.

We plan on cleaning a few fish this weekend (usually I'm CPR), if you want some fillets let me know and I'll try to hook you up.


I have fixed spoonbill a number of different ways and I still don't care for it and I like pretty much any type of fish. I clean all the red out but I still taste too much oil in the meat. I know there's several people on the BOC that love the taste but I haven't found a recipe that I like so far. I usually end up giving away all the good white meat and use the rest for cutbait on jugs. All of the oil in them really attracts the blues and the eggs are killer bait also.

[Tulcat]

I just cooked it once last year, and it was ok but nothing great or bad about it. And mentioning the red meat, from what I've heard if you even leave a sliver of it on the fillet, it will not only ruin that fillet but also the cooking oil and the fillets after that.

But this year I'm going to try some new recipes, which I pulled off the Web and posted here: http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10660

[TDawgNOk]

the caviar one sounds interesting

[catfishcentral]

I never knew why some types of fish had more red meat than others until recently. The red meat is actually a different type of muscle and more prevelent in fish that migrate long distances. Spoonbills have been documented traveling over 1800 miles and Bluecats well over 500 miles. The same goes for Striper, hybrids and the like. When you clean a spoonbill you will notice the higher amount of red meat the closer to the tail section of the fish. The last foot or so on a spoonbill there's hardly any decent white meat, whereas the upper portions have considerable less red meat in them. I always wondered why flatheads had such smaller amounts of red meat in them compared to the same size blue. They just don't travel as much as those blue cats.

[Tulcat]

That was some great info Chris...I did not know that.

[TDawgNOk]

can't rep ya again yet chris, but once again, more great info!

[catfishinfordman]

Hey catfishcentral

How big where to two fish in the vids

[catfishinfordman]

YO Jim to bad we dont have a digital vid camera it could prove interesting.

[catfishcentral]

Hey catfishcentral

How big where to two fish in the vids


I don't really remember. Looking at the one video where it's in the boat and taking a pee I would say 20 pounds. We snagged about 100 spoonbill that day between 3 people on we only weighed a handful of the bigger fish. We probably had 20 plus fish that we right around the 50 + pound mark or bigger. The biggest I've caught was just a couple pounds short of 70 pounds.

[catfishinfordman]

Thats some great info on the red meat . I did not no that. The things u can learn from reading and to think I hated it growing up.

[Tulcat]

Well Catfishinfordman (Brad) and a friend of his, Jason, meet me at the Twin Bridges boat ramp at 6AM on Saturday, and we got in about 10 hours on the water. We have yet to still locate a large bunch of big spoonies, but did manage to boat 5 spoonbill with the biggest being 26#'s. We were happy as we only got rained on for a few hours and the winds weren't too bad during most of the day.

We caught our fish along the bluff between Ogeechee Bay and Campbell Point, but later in the day we were told several fish were being caught up the Neosho about a mile or so upstream of Mudeaters Bend. We had about 40 minutes left in our day and went up the Neosho, where we could see fish on the SONAR and saw a few boated, but failed to catch one ourselves in such a short amount of time.

Here are some pics.

(Brad boated the first 3 fish, but then went cold after I told him if he caught another I was dropping him off on the bank with a bottle of water and a SlimJim until I was ready to go home).

[Tulcat]

Here is the pic of Jason landing his first ever Spoonie...He was grinning the rest of the day!

[catfishcentral]

Nice pics there Jim. Have you been trolling at all for the spoonbills or watching the sonar and slinging lead. Any particular depth you have been seeing them. I had a buddy trolling for sandies out at the "Bend" Saturday. They didn't do well with the sandies only 20 or so but they snagged a few spoonbill that were rolling at the surface. They took one 40 pounder on 6 pound test line after 30 mintue fight. I hope this rain gets them moving soon.

[catfishinfordman]

Even though Jim told me I was going to have to take to the bank if I caught another one. I think that I would have done it anyways just for the fact that I cant help that I am a good snagger. (LOL) na but it was great fun and I cant wait to do it again

[Tulcat]

Nice pics there Jim. Have you been trolling at all for the spoonbills or watching the sonar and slinging lead. Any particular depth you have been seeing them. I had a buddy trolling for sandies out at the "Bend" Saturday. They didn't do well with the sandies only 20 or so but they snagged a few spoonbill that were rolling at the surface. They took one 40 pounder on 6 pound test line after 30 mintue fight. I hope this rain gets them moving soon.

We have been trolling while snagging through the channel, while also keeping an eye on the SONAR. When we see fish, we concentrate for a better snag motion and when I see a snag on the bottom we reel in or raise the rod tips.

And I think we met you buddy cleaning fish at Twin Bridges. We pulled up there to check out the action around 3PM, and there were 2 guys cleaning a spoonie who said they had caught it on a ba$$ rod, and that they had been chasing the white ba$$ earlier.

With all the rain, I hope they move up in good numbers to the river. The Miami dam is under water, but there was no one snagging when I drove by on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

[catfishcentral]

I went out to the Bend today to try my luck for the first time this year snagging. The spoonies are there but scattered and with no flow there not up at the low water dam. We fished a couple of spots today. We caught a couple South of 412 over by the cave by where you boat into Maizes Landing. We also headed upstream about a mile south of the low water dam and caught 6 more between everyone. I caught the first two of the day and got nothing the rest of the day. We had a great time, the weather was nice but a little windy. All the fish were in the mid to low twentys in weight. All were Male no big females today. I've always heard that the males come upstream first and the females come later at water temps continue to rise.

[coyote]

Hi Chris,
I was there on Saturday and we caught a few in the last bend before low water dam. It was very crowded. I have a report that the females are laying south from the boat ramp by the old railroad piers towards Mazie, will find out Friday afternoon. Of course they will have moved by then, but they will be staging somewhere waiting to move up if they haven't already. We caught a few big sandies up in Pryor creek early in the day. I think that was my last trip on a weekend, very crowed, will go on a week day afternoon with the time change coming up this weekend should have plenty of daylight.
Kenny

[tanner]

Well it's getting close to that time a year again. I'll post some pics when I start to snag but I found some old video I shot a few years ago. I'm not in the pictures because I'm filming but it's getting me pumped up for spring. I was just using a digital camera on movie mode to make these. There not by any means great but fun to look at. These were taken at Chouteau Bend at the low water dam. We would travel up to the low water dam and start snagging. By the time you actually boated the fish the current has taken you several hundred yards downstream. Lots of fun.:)


http://media.putfile.com/double-spoonbills


http://media.putfile.com/spoonbills

if you don't mind telling me, what kind of digital camera is that? those videos seem to not have any lossy compression. :confused:

[catfishcentral]

Kenny,

I hear ya on the crowds of people it's a pretty popular place in the spring time. I don't like that many people either but it's a lot of fun catching all those spoonbills. I might try to sneak out on a weekday also and do some fishing. I think in another week all the big females should be making their way up. I just wish Hudson would let some water out so they will all get stacked up below the dam. I doubt it will happen as low as Hudson and the Pumpback are right now. By the time they release any water I bet the snaggin will be over unless we get a few turd floaters soon. The blue cats haven't seemed to make it up there yet also. I baited 16 jugs with spoonbill and didn't even a single bait taken. We have incredible results with cut spoonbill in the past on jugs out at the bend.

Tanner,

I'm just using a sony cybershot camera nothing special.

[coyote]

Thanks for the tip on the spoonbill for bait. We caught a couple towards the dam then made the run down river to the railroad piers. Marked a lot of fish on the graph but with only enough time for a dozen casts I only hit one fish but it didn't stick.

The tilt and trim motor went out so it will be a few days before I get back on the water. Crappie on Eufaula next Friday.

[coyote]

Picture of my new snagging buddy. She is my niece and she had a blast.

[AwShucks]

Okay, so this is a dumb question that probably should not even be asked... but if the limit for spoonbill's is one per day, and your not allowed to cull the ones you catch, how do you do it? You catch one then release it and fish for another or do you just turn a blind eye to the law and snag as many as you want?

[catfishcentral]

Okay, so this is a dumb question that probably should not even be asked... but if the limit for spoonbill's is one per day, and your not allowed to cull the ones you catch, how do you do it? You catch one then release it and fish for another or do you just turn a blind eye to the law and snag as many as you want?


Lawrance,

You are allowed by law to catch and release as many spoonbill as you want in a given day. This means NOT keeping the fish in your possision and culling a bigger fish. Once you keep a fish you are done for the day and cannot snag anymore. Any fish that are in your boat need to be tagged with the person's name and license on the fish. If the game warden were to check your boat and seen you snagging and also have a fish with your name on it then your busted. We just release all the fish until the end of the day when we say "The next fish I catch I'm done". You are usually wore out at the end of the day and take the fish you will keep when your ready to leave.

[AwShucks]

Okay Chris, I understand that. I was reading the threads posted about snagging and, sorry to say, was not reading the posts that way. I hate being a bleeding heart, but fish have limits placed on them for reasons. I sure would hate for my grandkids to never see or catch a spoonbill in their lifetime because they were depleted in ours. Same goes for the big flatheads... I wish even the noodlers would let the flats go... just keep the blue cats. If they catch a big one of them and get it in, they have paid their dues for that fish. It will tear them a new a________, and that is not an arm pit. lol

[fat_fish55]

here in illinois it is illegal to release a spoonbill
if you catch 2 1 pounders you are done and must take them by law

[catfishcentral]

Lawrance,

The ODWC really patrols the areas where spoonbill are snagged pretty heavy. I've been checked twice in one day before at the Bend. Everyone in our boats makes sure the barbs are pinched in and has tags to tag their fish. I personally don't care too much for the taste of spoonbill. I just look forward to snagging lots 50+ pounders each year.:) There's a few that break the law but I believe the majority follows the rules and their will be plenty of spoonbill as long as we have the current regs.

[Tulcat]

We have seen the game warden at Twin Bridges the last 2 weeks in a row, and they are WELCOME as far as I'm concerned to keep everyone honest. The ones I have spoken to have been most professional and helpful for locating the fish.

I have been out fishing the last few weeks, but have not been posting as I have been working on a new set of catfish jugs and took a small Internet break (something I need every now and then).

I'll get caught up today on the posting, to help those interested on where I have been catching the spoonies.

[TDawgNOk]

Jim,

Hope you have gotten some good pics of the spoonies you have been catchin

[Tulcat]

Jim,

Hope you have gotten some good pics of the spoonies you have been catchin


Sure do Tony...I'll try to get them posted tonight.

We finally broke the 50# mark for the year.

[Tulcat]

While we didn't run into a lot of fish, we did manage to land a few large ones. Here are the best of the lot, a 47 pounder by my nephew Nick (aka member Pittscat90) and a 52 pounder by my brother in-law Randy

[Tulcat]

Although we only got in about 5 hours of fishing before lightning ran us off, we did manage to land a few nice fish. My nephew Nick (Pittscat90) joined me in taking out another nephew of mine, Jake, on his first ever Spoonbill trip. Once again we fished the bluffs north of Sycamore creek along the western side of Grand, with the biggest fish being 44 pounds and landed by Nick.

[Tulcat]

Pittscat90 even got an unintended blue.

Jake catches his largest of the day and joins the 30 pound club.

The 44 pounder becomes fillets.

[TDawgNOk]

Looks like a good trip to me!!

[Pittscat90]

I would like to make a correction. The spoonbill I caught on Mar. 25 was 49 pounds not 47.

[catfishcentral]

Looks like a nice bunch of Spoonbill. It seems like the bigger females are making their way up the river right now. Two weeks ago up at Chouteau all we could catch were some smaller males in mid twenty males. I'll be out at the Bend this weekend trying to snag some big girls. Now if we could just get the water moving real good to get them stacked up.

[Tulcat]

I would like to make a correction. The spoonbill I caught on Mar. 25 was 49 pounds not 47.

Man it sucks to get old.

[catfishcrazyjr]

hey catfishcentral, do you do any guided trips up that way?

[TDawgNOk]

I'll be in Chouteau this weekend, but, I don't think the boat will be ready. I'm also pulling a trailer full of garage sale stuff to Chouteau so I won't be able to pull the boat.

[catfishcentral]

hey catfishcentral, do you do any guided trips up that way?


No I don't right now. Maybe in a few years with a bigger boat. The wife needs to make more money so I can "guide" ie fish all the time.:)

[CountryBoy]

i also fish below lowwater dam iv spent alot of fun nights down there with my friends. do you think that the spoonbill will still pack below the dam even though there not runnin water and havent for quite awhile? heres a pic from last spring best night of snaggin ever...

[FishMan]

what do you all do with the spoonbill? are they good eating?

[catfishinfordman]

I personally think that spoonbill are good eating. There is a particular way to clean them though

[TDawgNOk]

How about a picture tutorial of how to clean them

[Tulcat]

How about a picture tutorial of how to clean them

Catfishinfordman and I were going to do that several weeks ago, but did not end up with any fish once we decided to start keeping them. Last weekend I was racing a T-storm with my fillet knife and the storm won.

Maybe this weekend might work out, and I haven't forgotten to try and get some fillets to you.

[TDawgNOk]

Catfishinfordman and I were going to do that several weeks ago, but did not end up with any fish once we decided to start keeping them. Last weekend I was racing a T-storm with my fillet knife and the storm won.

Maybe this weekend might work out, and I haven't forgotten to try and get some fillets to you.


Where are you going to go this weekend?

[Tulcat]

Where are you going to go this weekend?

That I am not sure about, and probably won't know until Friday night, but it will be either the Neosho River at Miami or Twin Bridges on Grand.

We usually like to put in at Twin, as then we can head down lake to fish the bluffs or up the river towards Miami (about 13 mile boat ride). But as I head to Kansas Friday night, I will stop in the park at Miami to check to see if the spoonies are there in any great numbers. If so, we'll be putting in our boat there at the dam about 5:30 AM to beat the crowd.

If the spoonies are not in any great numbers at Miami, we'll put in at Twin Bridges and probably fish the bluffs first, and then if that is slow we'll head up the river to check out some holes there.

I prefer to put in at Twin if I anticipate cleaning fish, as they have a great fish cleaning station with running water and hooks to hang the spoonies on.

[TDawgNOk]

Sounds like you are ready for the weekend!!!

I would like to learn snagging. Gonna have to get the boat running, AND get out there.

[Tulcat]

Sounds like you are ready for the weekend!!!

I would like to learn snagging. Gonna have to get the boat running, AND get out there.

Tony,

Get your boat running and you are welcome to meet me any weekend and I'll teach you what I know. I can even loan you a snagging R&R if you are not set up for it yet. I always have a full boat with others in line, or I'd take you out on my boat.

[catfishinfordman]

Catfishinfordman and I were going to do that several weeks ago, but did not end up with any fish once we decided to start keeping them. Last weekend I was racing a T-storm with my fillet knife and the storm won.

Maybe this weekend might work out, and I haven't forgotten to try and get some fillets to you. Yea Jim will definatley be the one to show the cleaning technique as for I doubt that I will have the time or money to go fishing. Mostly the money part but I did show him how to do it and he is a smart man so he definatley knows how to do it. SO I am going to leave the fun of pic takeing up to him

[CountryBoy]

was down at kerr dam tonight i was catfishin others were snagging i was there only for about an hour. i watched them pull in 2 but they neither would go over 20lbs...had luck catching fryers though... on cut shad... just alil info

[Catfish_Calvin]

You guys down there doing any snagging yet? Went yesterday up here in Iowa had a very good day. Our season is January 1st to April 10th. The big Spoons havent made it to where i fish yet. The water temperature is still too cold. But they will be here soon!


Heres a few to make you jealous. Just in case your season hasnt started yet.:big_smile: http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?p=933445#post933445

[catfishcentral]

You sure did pull up an old thread. I haven't personally started snagging yet but they have been snagging for well over a month over on Grand. I'll be snagging later next month into April. We usually see the smaller males come first up the rivers with the bigger egg laden females coming in late March to April.

[Seth]

What time of year do they usually start hitting them at the Miami Dam? I've been thinking about running down there and giving it a shot this year just for a change of pace. I can hop of I-44 and it will take me straight down there in about 3.5 hours.

What do non resident permits for Oklahoma run and how much does a paddlefish tag cost?

[catfishcentral]

What time of year do they usually start hitting them at the Miami Dam? I've been thinking about running down there and giving it a shot this year just for a change of pace. I can hop of I-44 and it will take me straight down there in about 3.5 hours.

What do non resident permits for Oklahoma run and how much does a paddlefish tag cost?

Non Resident permit for 5 days is 18.50 or 37.00 for the year. In addition you have to spend an additional 5.00 for a Legacy permit (don't ask). New this year you have to purchase a paddlefish permit but it's free, just fill out the permit online or when you buy your lic. You can get all these purchased online at the wildlifedeparment.com.

If you only wanting to fish below the dam I would wait a little later in order for the majority of spoonbill to make it up there. Late March though mid April....also depends on springs rains how much and when.

[AwShucks]

Thought this may be of interest to the out-of-state brothers, and possibly, to the in-state ones as well. LOL

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishregs/paddlefishregs.htm