Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What the heck are spoonbill - and why do they taste like swordfish

Me hiding behind a small fish - I held him close to the camera so he (she actually) looks bigger.



So that was the before pic, here is the after picture...
Just put some lemon pepper on them, maybe some light oil and or actual lemon... they grill like swordfish ..



Only thing that would have made it better would have been a good beer.

My wife an I like them, think they're really cool.

She thinks they're so cool one shouldn't eat them, or sturgeon for that matter.

I say Bon Appetite!

Geno

well I know swordfish is outstanding.

Better fried

Snagged one on a trot line once, dad freaked out when I pulled it in, didn’t know what it was. Fried that sucker up, good stuff. Think it was about 18 lbs.

Nice fish!

Saw on FaceFugg the other day that someone caught one on one of the rivers in downtown Pittsburgh. Not sure which one but I've seen before that they were caught in the Ohio river somewhere in Ohio. I've never seen one in person but would love to catch one someday.

Guy from Missouri says theyre awesome.
Some in a gravel pit in NW Indiana.
Guys diving there said they freaked em out LOL

Nice pic Spotshooter. Was that on the Kaw or Missouri? People around here are crazy for them down at Oswego and Chetopa and then down at Miami. I've never fished for them but did think I saw one jump clear out of the water one day on Truman Lake, years ago, down by Osceola.

Protected in Wisconsin. Used to snag one occasionally fishing for walleye below the dams.

Do y'all have them in your area?

That is a Paddlefish

Ethan - I caught that one on Truman Lake on Tuesday last week..

If you want to make a run on them with me shoot me a IM, all you will need is a sandwich, something to drink,and a cooler to take the steaks home in.

My boat is setup with outriggers so we troll for them with dipsey divers and treble hooks... the first time a guy goes he often yells “SNAG” when the line hits a fish.
The fish in the picture took me a while to get in... big sucker, but not the biggest by far.


reloader - They all them either, but yes... it’s a Paddlefish.

My understanding they are a type of sturgeon, and at least in KY, are now protected. Long time ago, used to go down in the mountains to visit relatives. Guys would be set up on side of road selling spoonbill. Very white meat. All cartilage. No bones. My understanding is that they are top feeders feeding on algae. Hence the light taste and white meat. Supposedly guys would set out trot lines of treble hooks just below the surface of the water in coves and back waters where they would feed. Just snag 'em as they feed.

And YES, excellent eating...

Caught mine out of the Meramec River over by Pacific, southwest of St. Louis. They are in the Missouri, too. Pretty sure all the lake have some as well, so it’s likely you saw one at Truman. Great eating fish. As someone else said, very white meat.

Truman, Pomme De Terre, Lake of the Ozarks, Stockton as well as every river or creek big enough to cover one with water has spoonbill, or paddlefish, in them.
Snagging season opens March 15th and is pretty much regarded as the start of fishing season in MO.

LOZ (Lake of the Ozarks) is really cut off by the truman dam so the fish are really captured there, I go to Truman where they tend to go up the Osage (all the lakes are built on the Osage )...

I fish the old man’s way by trolling vs. yanking the pole to snag them... it’s a great time. And great tasting fish

Some misunderstandings there. They're not a type of sturgeon. They do not feed on algae. They filter plankton from the water column. They aren't entirely cartilagenous, but are where the "meat" is.

Orion2000 ,
Howdy .
We [my family] use to go to Cumberland Lake , Ky. in the 70's when i was a kid - bought spoonbill catfish more than once - good tasting fish for freshwater fish . Seller said they snagged them , Ky. folk were tight lipped about details on catching them .