# Just wanted to share this rare catch!



## Rivarat (Sep 15, 2011)

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## SPLMAX SAM (Jul 10, 2010)

Nice catch. its on my bucket list!!!


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## Rivergetter (Jun 28, 2011)

Ohio river??


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## fredg53 (Sep 17, 2010)

SPLMAX SAM said:


> Nice catch. its on my bucket list!!!


Me too nice man

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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

Nice catch, but try to keep them off the ground. It'll make them more likely to survive the release. West Virginia's population is naturally reproducing now and it's one of the success stories of reintroduction. They're still not stable enough for sportfishing, but maybe in another decade or two if we're lucky. Although, I guess if you were fishing in Kentucky waters, they're legal to take. IMO, Kentucky needs to get on board and watch its population. Between overharvest and zebra mussels, they'll drive their population to extinction if they're not careful, but I guess they know what they're doing.


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## black swamp (May 22, 2012)

I am going to say Ohio River what state were you in


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## Chubz (Apr 8, 2009)

Awesome catch. Thanks for sharing the photos.


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## Daveo76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Still threatened list in Ohio but Ky allows 2 snagged a day. You'll see a few belows dams now while the water is high and they get ready to spawn. Hard fish to catch besides snagging, filter feeder


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## lil goose (Oct 16, 2009)

They are cool. I caught one three years ago at new cumberland i was vertical jigging with a vibe and snagged one and when i was reeling it in another one was following it i suppose they were spawning. Up close they are very prehistoric looking!! Oh yea i did release it unharmed. Goose


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

Never seen one in any water I've fished but I'm going to hazard a gues and say Paddlefish? Didn't even know they were native to the US let alone Ohio and surrounding states....

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

There are two paddlefish species, an Asian and an American one. American one is native to the Mississippi and tributaries. Basically, they were extirpated above the lower Ohio River in the early-1900s. New York, PA and West Virginia began stocking programs in the 90s. PA's has basically completely fizzled, New York's is iffy and West Virginia's is the only one that seems to have actually taken hold. They've moved up into the Kanawha, Little Kanawha and are even finding them 20 miles up the Elk. They think that the big tributaries are providing good breeding grounds.


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## Rivarat (Sep 15, 2011)

My buddy hooked him at pike island dam in ohio. We was all surprised by the catch and released him unharmed. I've never seen one before and was glad I got to witness this catch. 


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

senoy said:


> IMO, Kentucky needs to get on board and watch its population.


i agree, ky dnr needs to take a lot of notes from wv and oh. 

neat catch! how do they fight? never caught one. i had a fish a couple weeks ago straighten my jighead, it slowly peeled 20 yards drag, never felt a bite, just went to make a pop up off the bottom and there it went, nothin but heavy slow pull.


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## fishon667 (Jan 28, 2011)

Last March when we were returning home from the Florida panhandle-we stayed overnight in Carrolton,Ky. The next morning in the parking lot I saw what looked like a heavy duty commercial fishing boat-aluminum, and the guy was inside the boat. Naturally started talking to him and he said he was a commercial fisherman fishing the Ohio for paddlefish and selling the eggs for BIG BUCKS- I think they get about $20.00 per ounce for the eggs-he didn't say how much he gets sells them for. He said the state folks keep pretty good tabs on them.


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

Yeah, paddlefish eggs are a type of caviar. They bring in good money on international markets. Lately, the US has been tightening up on their export and commercial fishermen are steamed. Still though, catch rates in the lower Ohio have been going down and if they drive the fish to extinction, then no one is happy. Right now, Kentucky and Tennessee are basically the only two states with a significant paddlefish roe industry. It brings in maybe 5 or 6 million a year off of 50,000 pounds of harvested roe. A lot of it comes from Kentucky Lake, but the Ohio produces as well. They say that they are monitoring populations, but when you have big money and an issue that the public doesn't really care about or know about, you figure that perhaps the best interests of the fish may take a back seat to the best interests of the people with money involved.


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## throbak (Jul 8, 2012)

Not only can you catch 2 a day CF,s can catch all they want in Kentucky and Indiana along with all the Blues and Flathead s. this need to be stopped. we are trying check out Ohio Valley Catfish Federation On face book or on our internet site All states are welcome


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## fishercreekrick (Jan 19, 2010)

the guys i watched last winter below grenup dam wasnt killing the fish to remove the eggs they used a big shring to extract the eggs then they would release the fish the ones i seen released would swim off


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

fishercreekrick said:


> the guys i watched last winter below grenup dam wasnt killing the fish to remove the eggs they used a big shring to extract the eggs then they would release the fish the ones i seen released would swim off


i've been researching caviar and extraction methods for row. from what i've found you have pretty much be a surgeon to remove their row without mortally injuring them. and it causes so much stress they are still likely to die. 

could they possibly be testing to see if they have row? or if the row is ready for caviar purposes? thats the only conceivable action i could see them doing. 

i didn't know that bowfin are harvested for caviar too, mind blown!


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Nice Jeff. As long as I've been fishing there, I've yet to catch one or seen one caught, only hear of it from time to time....like now....


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## Ajax (May 16, 2008)

Paddlefish are not threatened on the Ohio River. We have been harvesting them since settling here. With pollution levels at a all time low they will survive quite fine.


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## Fisherman 3234 (Sep 8, 2008)

They are still threatened in the state of Ohio. 

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/paddlefish/tabid/6719/Default.aspx

Kentucky needs to get their heads out of their rear ends and have a dialogue with Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania about what we can do to make the Ohio river a better protected fishery.


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

Fisherman 3234 said:


> They are still threatened in the state of Ohio.
> http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/paddlefish/tabid/6719/Default.aspx
> 
> Kentucky needs to get their heads out of their rear ends and have a dialogue with Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania about what we can do to make the Ohio river a better protected fishery.


*AHHH YES! THANKS Maybe that's one reason why they still exist?
Exactly What I was going to say,,,, Mutual Talks,,, Along with a 'cover-all' license, limits, seasons,,,,, & WAY MORE ACCESS! 
IS THAT ASKING FOR TOO MUCH? *


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## throbak (Jul 8, 2012)

The needles were used to check to see if they were male or female Their stocking them in Penn. and West Va. and protected in Indiana and Ohio Indiana just for sport fishing Go Figure They wiped out the beluga Sturgeon thus the demand for spoon bill roe and they( CF,s) will wipe out the spoon bills if nothing is done


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

Here's a report from Indiana DNR about overharvesting. He mentions that they are in noticeable size and population decline and their number one threat is overharvesting.

In 2007, Indiana even went so far as to amend its reciprocal agreement with Kentucky so that no snagging at all and no possession of paddlefish by recreational fishermen could happen on the Indiana shore or their portion of the waterway since they felt it was overharvested. (They're allowed commercially because it brings in 3-4 million dollars a year to the Indiana economy. Money always trumps conservation.  )

I guess that it's none of my business, I'm from WV and ours is on the no-catch list, but I hate to see any species go away.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/12/paddlefish-caviar-overfishing/1762951/


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