# Scenic Sports Paddlefish Update



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

http://www.scenicsports.com/reports.html

04/15/05

***Paddlefish Update***

The water is very low in the river and for a while summer had moved into the North Country with new record highs in the eighties. We have finally cooled off and some moisture has hit to the west of us but only enough for a temporary rise in the river. Right now the Yellowstone is so low that even a small boat can't make a mile upstream. Obviously with new record low water we are going to have very good paddlefishing in our area but unless we see lots of moisture or cool weather it will again be early. I have seen the NDG&F tracking paddlefish in the Yellowstone so they are there. With season opening on Sunday, May 1st I would think that the first two full weekends will be the busiest with the best fishing for big females on the East end for the first couple weeks of season. The Confluence should be very good later if the Yellowstone remains low as the paddlefish will either spawn in that area or move up the Missouri like some did last year. I don't ever remember hearing of paddlefish being caught in the Missouri west of the Confluence in any numbers until last year. Last year season did close early but I could not find the exact date. I am told it closed before the Memorial Day weekend though. Checking the North Star web site I see the season closed on the 19th in 2002 and lasted the month of May in 2003. The best days in 2003 where the 2nd and 10th with seventy-five and seventy-three fish caught. In 2002 the all time record was set when 186 paddlefish were caught on the 11th of May. Bear in mind that these are weekend days but it does give you some indication as when to be paddlefishing.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

4/22/05

The rise in the river that we are now seeing may be the best raise we get out of the river and should have little effect on the paddlefishing. All reports that I am reading are still predicting an early run and as one writer wrote, " a quick season". There has not been any changes in the quota or limit and Monday and Tuesday are still catch and release days.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

04/25/05

PADDLEFISH UPDATE: The weather has cooled off but it should not have much affect on the paddlefish. There was also some rain and snow a few days ago in the Billings area but I would assume most of that will soak in with the ground totally thawed. We could see some moisture in the next few days but we need it as it is very dry. The smelt started running a week ago which is about a week or two earlier than some years when you can smelt and paddlefish at the same time in May. I will try to do updates about every other day from now through season. I had one email about a change in the camping at the Pumphouse but have not seen any changes in camping restrictions or paddlefishing regulations. We are not expecting big numbers of paddlefishermen until the second weekend with opener on Sunday but a few have informed me they are coming to get in on the early hot action at the Pumphouse. Lot of groups filled the first day there last year. We will once again being hauling paddlefish from the Pumphouse to North Star for cleaning at no charge to the fishermen.


----------



## yotebuster (Dec 3, 2004)

Hey, just wonderin, i cant remember, is it a 1500 fish quota or what? im not plannin on goin up until the weekend of the 21-22, i dont think it will close that early but you never know. :beer:


----------



## yotebuster (Dec 3, 2004)

I must have been wrong, i just read somewhere that it is only a 1000 fish limit. Ouch, hope it stays open till the 21-22 weekend.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

04/29/05

It is opening paddlefish weekend! We may not know for sure where we will be catching walleyes this summer but we have no doubt where the paddlefish will be, or do we? For as long as the Garrison Dam has been in place, I am sure the Yellowstone River has been the spawning spot and more precisely, Intake Montana. We have had a few years when most of the paddlefish did not make it to the Intake area because of low water, now we have a year when we can wonder if they will even make it to Montana. Last year was the first year when good numbers of Montana fishermen reported catching fish in Montana on the Missouri. Were they attempting to run the Missouri above the Confluence to spawn? We know some paddlefish hang below Fort Peck Dam because local underwater photographer Randy Miller has spent so much time in the tailrace that I am sure he knows them all personally but that is in February. The numbers are not huge and that area is definitely the end of the navigable river and the waterway to cold to spawn. East of Williston we have always considered to be lake beyond Kjorstads, but now where does it go from a river with current to a lake? Maybe Lunds or even White Earth before we quit seeing the old river channel and the trees stumps that use to be a whitetail forest. The paddlefish are going to be traveling a lot of river if they are coming from the lake. There are a lot of reasons why we may not see the paddlefish traveling as far to spawn. Once the paddlefish move into the snagging area starting at the Lewis & Clark Bridge we have a chance starting at West Hole, the Jungle, the Pumphouse then some limited areas at the Pipeline Crossing, Ringo's and the area across from Bauste's. Once they have made it there, they are in the closed area that runs all the way to Ryder Point. If you have never fished or boated in that area, it is huge with several good bends in the river with current breaks that the paddlefish stack into. The best paddlefishing I have ever had has been in that area. Those fish will hang in that area until water temps and time is right to move on. Shortly they are at the Confluence, which is a straight stretch of river without the current breaks that hold fish for any length of time. What happens if the Yellowstone does not rise? This spring we were very limited how far up the Yellowstone we could make it with even the smallest boat. Will the paddlefish be spawning before the Yellowstone or even the Confluence?

I would really like to encourage the area paddlefishermen to take advantage of the catch and release as it is a good time and has been proven to not harm the fish. The crowds are not there and the paddlefish seem to move more freely through the good fishing areas. Be careful with the fish and if you snap a picture do it on the edge of the water or better yet in the water and never drop the fish on the ground or handle them by the gills. Respect our resource it is your hands!


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/01/05 Paddlefish Update

Today has been awesome with many of the groups of fishermen at the Pumphouse filling out and already heading home. The first load of pictures is up on the paddlefish photos page so check them out. We should have some great catch and release in the next two days. It is about 3:00 PM so another seven hours remain of opening day and the shuttle has been running non stop. We have hauled an 88 and an 86 so far for the biggest fish. Nine of the first thirteen fish taken at the Pumphouse were females. Next weeks temps are calling for the sixties on Tuesday and into the seventies by Thursday. Today was about forty! The numbers out of the Pumphouse so far today is about twenty paddlefish.

05/01/05 Paddlefish Update

Our first shuttle run through the Pumphouse we found nine paddlefish caught. The numbers of paddlefishermen is way down but success is awesome. This is all in the first hour and half of season. Right now at the Pumphouse it is running half females which is good for so early. If you can handle the weather you should be there. We have had sunshine and snow already this morning. Will update again when we start getting weights and will get pictures posted as soon as possible. The next two days will be catch and release but expect to see lots of anglers starting to show up at the Pumphouse on Wednesday. See you soon, Andy!

04/30/05 Paddlefish Update

The day before opener and it is very quiet this morning. We have had a few fishermen threw last night that were going to camp out at the pumphouse and do a little catfish and walleye fishing today and be ready for opener on Sunday morning at 8:00 AM. There has been no changes on camping at the Pumphouse or any where on the Williston bottoms. It is public land so enjoy it. Unless we see some huge numbers of fishermen late today it will be awesome at the Pumphouse and those out there should fill their tags in a hurry. Walleye and sauger fishermen are reporting see good numbers of paddlefish rolling in the Pumphouse area. See you soon!


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/03/05 Paddlefish Update

We are into the second day of catch and release and those who are fishing are doing good. The numbers of fishermen is quite low. We expect to see some out of the area guys showing up tonight and tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing some of our old customers. We enjoy this busy time of the year but sometimes wish we had more time to smell the roses and get to know the paddlefishermen better, all though some don't smell like roses after a couple days of fishing. The Pumphouse area has been bladed, shaped and graveled and looks awesome compared to the past. A big thanks to the NDG&F, it makes us proud of the area. There are two portable toilets at the parking lot and I believe garbage cans too. You guys are super welcome as it is a public area and thanks to the fishermen who pick up after themselves and many times others, it look good. While our lake has dropped eight feet or so it does not show up as much on the river and appears to just be down a couple three feet from last year. While today is beautiful and the forecast is great, last night was a cold SOB and it probably cooled the water off even more. We had ten degrees and a good freeze last night. That does bring the fish down stream which is good news for those of us who like the lower part of the river. I have had lots of fishermen emailing me about how long season will run. I can't give you exact times but the times it closed early was on the 19th and the 28th. If you are planning on staying in a motel I would recommed calling and making reservations as the oil boom has this place busy. See you soon, Andy & the gang


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/04/05 Paddlefish Update

Today has been a rather slow day at the Pumphouse and we have not had a report back from the Confluence. We have ran four paddlefish so far today. The weather is great though and the heat should help to get the water warmed up again. I don't think there is a lot of movement of fish right now and there is not a lot of fishermen yet either. This morning at the store was real slow but picked up a little this afternoon. The Sunday opener was very inconvenient for the out of the area fishermen. Will give you a final count for the day when we know.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/05/05 Paddlefish Update

The North Star caviar site has not posted the results from yesterday yet but from what I have heard there was 45 paddlefish brought in total. That would bring the total the first two days to eighty-six fish. The Confluence was better than the Pumphouse and I guess the action is where the school happens to be. The action has improved at the Pumphouse today but it is still not real hot by any means. It appears the whole river is a little slow today. The weather is very nice and the water should be warming. We have about twice as many fishermen as we did yesterday but there is still room for campers at the Pumphouse. I know the Confluence is filling but have not been there myself. We are trying to keep up with the photos but I am afraid or Web Master is over worked and under paid. We have seen six fish come in from the Pumphouse as of 2:00 PM.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/06/05 Paddlefish Update 10:00 AM

It has been crazy this morning at the Pumphouse and the paddlefish shuttle is having a hard time keeping up. It appears the fish are moving into the legal snagging area at a pretty good pace. I will be doing more updates through out the day on numbers and sizes when ever I get a chance.

05/06/05

Last weekend I guess we would have to call opener, but this weekend will put it to shame. With the Sunday opener only a few locals and a handful of out the area anglers got excited but the fishing was pretty good and most filled their tags. Catch and release ended up being fair and the best I heard from anyone in the Pumphouse area was one lucky fisherman landing three good fish. Wednesday was a slow day at the Pumphouse but Thursday came on again and was pretty good with the few anglers that were there catching about fifteen to twenty paddlefish. The weekend should be good and the numbers of fishermen will be as good as it will get. I am sure the Confluence will be packed but some room should be available on the curve past the Pumphouse and of course some of the not so popular and hard to get to areas should be fine. A boat would be a great idea too but sometimes it is fun when there is a lot of fishermen and action. Don't leave your walleye rod at home though as I have heard some fairly good catfish and walleye stories coming from the river as it is clearing fast. We should also be seeing more action from the lake as we get into May.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/06/05 Paddlefish Update

8:30 PM

We have had a very busy day today but it did slow down a little in the afternoon again. There has been over a hundred paddlefish caught today. The biggest for the day so far at the Pumphouse was again 87# but the largest for the season so far is 102#. Several small males showed up again even down on this end of the paddlefish area. This must mean more are coming as normally the males lead the way. Should still be real good next weekend so don't worry about missing out. If you really want to spoil yourself sneak out in the middle of the week when the crowds are gone. Don't worry about work there is lots of jobs out here. In fact we looking for help and we have paid fishing not paid vacation!


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

5/07/05 Paddlefish Update

This morning started off with a flurry and the first load out of the Pumphouse was six paddlefish. I heard second hand that the Confluence was also good early and they were standing in line to get there fish cleaned. Mornings have definately been best. In the first three hours there is usually more fish caught than the rest of the day. That should change as we get more into the run and the paddlefish don't hole up during the day time. The Pumphouse parking area is full but there is still room upstream on the curve by the oil well. I will do another update as soon as we hear about more going on.


----------



## ej4prmc (Dec 3, 2004)

Yesterday 5-7-05(Sat.) when we launched the boat at the confluance, the tally at 11:00am was 44 paddlefish for the morning, and at 3:30pm the line was still around ten deep to get your fish cleaned.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/08/05 Paddlefish Update

NEW RECORD SET on Saturday for the most fish brought in in one day! 196 paddlefish were cleaned yesterday and today has been good as well. We have hauled twenty-one more paddlefish from the Pumphouse today already and there is very few fishermen left. Just about everyone who stuck around to fish in the rainy windy morning caught their paddlefish. Also a new record for the year was broken on Saturday when Jerome Silvernagel hauled in a 105 on the curve south of the Pumphouse. A ninety eight pound fish was caught an hour earlier just south a couple blocks. The total number of fish for the year is now 510 and that includes some from today. I believe the total as of close Saturday was 498. I will watch and see what it ends up at tonight. We have two days of catch and release before the week starts again. It looks good for this coming weekend but we will know more as it progresses.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/10/05 Paddlefish Update

There have been about 550 paddlefish caught so far for the year. This weekend should be another good one. The weather here has been wet and cool so the numbers of catch & release fishermen has been way down. Today of course is the last day for the week of catch & release. I have been updating pictures as fast as I can and have almost caught up from the weekend. The record fish for the year is on page 7 of the paddlefish photos page. Also on that page is Mike Conlin who I would have to say are the most appropriately dressed for this "Red Neck" sport. Page 8 is the toughest paddlefisherman who hoisted his paddlefish over his head for a photo.

We have been reminded that we are only to shuttle freshly caught fish and want to thank those who are considerate enough to let us haul their fish in for cleaning as soon as possible. We had some fish held back for over a day and the eggs were ruined. This cost all us anglers lost revenue for roads, improvements and money for research on a fish we all treasure. The shuttle service is a great service to the fishermen and keeps fishermen who probably should not be driving safely off the road. North Star Caviar is a non-profit local group that means a lot to the area and has offered to pay us to haul freshly caught females in for the caviar, we haul the males only as a service and all lose out when females are bad. Please help us out on this and remind those that leave their fish lay for hours what they are doing to those of us who like to see those dollars work for the area and the sport.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/11/05 Paddlefish Update

First reports this morning from the Pumphouse indicated about a dozen fishermen fishing with most in the parking lot. Three paddlefish have been caught in the first two hours of the morning. No reports yet from the Confluence will have one soon when the shuttle gets there. Weather has improved and the sun is shining!

Just got another call from the Pumphouse and there are more fishing waiting to shuttle. The caller reported very good snagging and about half of the fishermen have hooked up. Call from Sundheim and four fishermen fishing have one good fish so far.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

The NDGF is closing the season on Saturday at 10PM.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

http://bismarcktribune.com/articles/200 ... /upd05.txt

Paddlefish season ending early after big catch
By the Associated Press

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota's paddlefish snagging season is ending Saturday because of the large number of fish caught, the state Game and Fish Department says.

The paddlefish season opens each May and lasts until the end of the month, but fishing can be cut short when 1,000 fish are caught. The season has ended early in three of the past four years.

The Game and Fish Department announced Thursday that this year's season will end at 10 p.m., Saturday, to protect the fish population. The closing includes days set aside for snag and release. will be caught.

Fred Ryckman, a state fisheries biologist, said many anglers tried their luck Friday and Saturday and more than 600 fish were snagged as of Wednesday night.

"Rumor was out, I think, through the grapevine or whatever you want to call it ... that the river flows were very low and the fish were pretty vulnerable," he said.

"We've had a lot of crummy weather too, so when we get some nice weather, people want to get out and do something," Ryckman said.

The paddlefish spawn in northwestern North Dakota and eastern Montana, near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers.

North Star Caviar cleans the fish for free but keeps the paddlefish roe, which is packed and sold as caviar. Proceeds from the caviar sales benefit local groups and paddlefish research.

North Star's operations manager, Darci Grindheim, said at least 1,000 pounds of roe have been processed so far.

"That's a little on the low side," she said.


----------



## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

05/13/05

Friday the 13th! A lucky day for the fishermen!

A fourteen-day season of paddlefishing comes to an end on Saturday! It is hard to believe in the twenty nine years I have been paddlefishing that we have gone from two fish a day and a two month season to fourteen days with four being catch and release. Add the fact that we use to also be able to fish twenty-four hours a day. What is going to happen in the next ten? The paddlefish numbers cleaned at North Star are now close to 650. We have had five fishermen this season who wanted to clean their own paddlefish from the Pumphouse and with this area representing a little over nineteen percent of the fish caught we would estimate total harvest is at 677. Yesterday's announcement will no doubt bring more folks out for today and Saturday making it a little busier than an average weekend. We had a hard time getting the store closed last night as fishermen from all over the state rolled in. Get out and enjoy it as it does not last long and even the catch and release is done on Saturday.

With good moisture between here and the mountains the guys at Intake are excited about having a good season this year in Montana. The gentleman who runs the concession at Intake was in the store yesterday stocking up after seeing the river already starting to rise and over six inches of wet snow on the ground. Last year was a poor year for Intake because of the low water and this year was looking worse until this week's moisture hit. Paddlefish season starts on Sunday in Montana. They actually have two totally different areas with the Yellowstone and Missouri below Fort Peck being considered as one area with a thousand fish quota and the area above Fort Peck on the Missouri being handled as a totally different area with its own quota. If you still have not had enough after this weekend maybe a trip to Montana is in order.

It is sounding quite good on the lake already. We have had some good reports and obviously the weather has not been real receptive to a good bite yet. We really need to see the water warm up and that is going to take some sunshine. The ramp situation is improving and the moisture in Montana brightens our hope that sooner or later things will return to normal. There are three ramps available of interest to this area besides our river ramps and those include Lewis & Clark State Park, Four Bears and Van Hook. A change of the channel appears to have improved access at the Lewis & Clark Park, which may not make much difference to the fishermen at this time but may in the future. The Fours Bears access is old news but has the best possibilities for the area fishermen at this time. Van Hook is finished and I did hear at least one report of fish being caught there as well. Like Dan mentioned in his column this week there are plenty of stumps and hazards out in the lake but we still have some of the best walleye fishing in the country and this winter we did figure out there is walleyes in those stumps. Rather than trying to bust them loose maybe we should be fishing them!


----------

