North Dakota's paddlefish snagging season opens Wednesday with the beginning of May.
The season is scheduled to continue through May 21, though it's often closed early to preserve the resource. Last year's season ran the entire scheduled three weeks, but the 2022 season lasted only about a week.
If there is an early closure this year, snag-and-release-only fishing will still be allowed for a seven-day period immediately following the harvest closure, but not to extend beyond May 21.
Paddlefish are an ancient fish related to sturgeons. There are only two species in the world; the North American species is found in the Missouri and Mississippi river basins, according to North Dakota's Game and Fish Department. They have a large paddle-like snout or "rostrum" that they use to detect weak electrical fields generated by small food organisms. North Dakota's state record is a 131-pound whopper snagged in 2016.
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Snagging is legal in all areas of the Yellowstone River in northwestern North Dakota, and in much of the area of the Missouri River west of the U.S. Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border. Anglers in some areas stand on the riverbank nearly shoulder-to-shoulder to try to snag a fish. The Williston-based nonprofit North Star Caviar typically offers a free cleaning station in exchange for the fish roe, which is sold as caviar.
Game and Fish uses the catch from the annual season to keep tabs on the population and health of paddlefish. Full regulations can be found on the department's website, gf.nd.gov. Paddlefish tags are available for purchase online at the site, and also at license vendors and at Game and Fish offices in Bismarck, Dickinson, Jamestown, Devils Lake, Lonetree (Harvey) and Williston.