Montana's Paddlefish Season To Open Soon

Paddlefish (click image for detail)

A fish species that has survived for eons will be on anglers’ minds – and hopefully some lines – during the 2005 paddlefish season May 15-June 30 or as posted on the Yellowstone River from the mouth of the Big Horn River to the North Dakota state line. The Missouri River both below and above Fort Peck Lake is open to paddlefish snagging year round.

Anglers at Intake Fishing Access Site on the Yellowstone River are required to catch and release paddlefish caught between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on every Wednesday and Sunday. This is the only location on the Yellowstone River open for anglers to catch and release paddlefish.

On the Yellowstone, and lower Missouri rivers, the paddlefish season will close June 30 or within 48 hours if the harvest quota of 1,000 is reached before June 30.

While paddlefish snagging is a rite of spring for many Montana anglers, longtime anglers may find fewer paddlefish this year. Paddlefish, like many other native fish of Montana’s eastern rivers, evolved to spawn when mountain snowmelt swelled flows on the prairie reaches of the rivers. With below-average snow pack in the headwaters of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, those higher flows probably won’t materialize and paddlefish activity is likely to be lower than normal.

On the Missouri River upstream of Fort Peck Reservoir, this is the seventh year of low flows. Laura Leslie, FWP Region 6 fisheries biologist, says drought and the age of Fort Peck Reservoir are probably responsible for a trend toward smaller paddlefish and lower angler catch rates. She encourages snaggers to release larger females to conserve the most productive individuals in the population.

All paddlefish anglers regardless of age must purchase the proper prerequisite conservation license, fishing license and paddlefish tags. The paddlefish tag is $5 for each resident and $15 for each nonresident angler.

For detailed paddlefish regulations and descriptions of areas open for paddlefish, see the 2005 Montana Fishing Regulations, Special Paddlefish Regulations. Anglers may also contact the FWP Region 7 office in Miles City at 406-232-0900 or the FWP Region 6 office in Glasgow at 406-228-3700 for details.