First time paddlefish fishing.

Wapiti Warrior · May 15, 2017

Lived in Montana all my life and finally went paddlefish fishing. What a blast, hard work, but hang on when you hook one.
We didn't keep any, but might keep one in the future to just see what they taste like.

Big Sky · May 15, 2017

It is a ton of fun. Looks like you had a great time. I tried to eat paddle fish once. I couldn't get past the smell to even taste it. It took a couple days to get the house aired out after trying to cook it. Some folks might like it, but I'm not one of them. They sure are a blast to catch though.

What Map · May 15, 2017

Holy macril.
Looks like big time fun.
What a way to start spring.

1_pointer · May 15, 2017

Well done! Snagging those things is a good time. Wish I could have kept one to try, but the quota had been met that year so it was snag, tag, release...

antlerradar · May 15, 2017

It has been a long time since I went after paddlefish. As I remember paddlefish have both red and white meat. One of the two, I think the red was close to inedible. The other was excellent when fresh. It didn't keep well in the freezer however.

buckbull · May 15, 2017

Nice fish. Spoonbill can be very good. Like a big catfish, you really need to trim away all the fat and mud streaks.

Nameless Range · May 15, 2017

Very cool pictures. Looks like a great time. I've never done it.

My brother kept one last year and gave me a pile of "steaks". I tried cooking them a few different ways, from smoking it, to frying it, to grilling it. When I was given the steaks I was excited but frankly, I thought the meat was awful. Could've just been my ignorance when it came to preparation.

Keeptrying · May 15, 2017

Nice! We have our archery tags this year. So glad they changed the season from July to June.

Cutting off the red meat is critical. Eating it fresh is best. We bake it without the skin and lots of butter or deep fat fry. Tasty stuff if done correctly.

Nemont · May 15, 2017

Keeptrying said:
Cutting off the red meat is critical. Eating it fresh is best.

^^^^^
This

Another way is to boil a couple of cups of sugar in a half of gallon of water. Cut the steaks into 1 inch chunks. Turn water down to a simmer. Put chunks in for about 2 to 3 minutes. Salt to taste and dip in butter.

Nemont

teamhoyt · May 15, 2017

I Went out tonight and got a few. Season will be closed early this year. If anyone has any other recipe options Id love to hear them. For some reason my daughters want to keep one this year and I'd like to make it edible lol

Flatrock · May 15, 2017

Nice!!! As others have said, the meat is ok and you have to get rid of all the red meat. Although I've only caught them in ND and they clean them for you so I've never actually cleaned one.

From what I remember eating it, it was a really firm meat, almost like chicken but kind of oily. I gotta think it would be good if you deep fat fried it??? Super cool fish!

teamhoyt · May 16, 2017

Well my youngest caught her first one tonight! Now to figure out a recipe

Hammerhead · May 16, 2017

Nice fish and a great photo.

Looks you were fishing the north side, is the shuttle service running?

Sounds like it will be a quick season with 200+ taken today. I am hoping to take my kids over memorial weekend for C&R, if it stays open that long!

Hammerhead · May 16, 2017

Nice fish and a great photo.

Looks you were fishing the north side, is the shuttle service running?

Sounds like it will be a quick season with 200+ taken today. I am hoping to take my kids over memorial weekend for C&R, if it stays open that long!

1_pointer · May 17, 2017

Congrats to the young lady!! Well done. Looks like where I fished them. We parked/camped and walked in to get there the year I did it. Much less crowded than the other side of the river.

JMG · May 17, 2017

Nice fish! I'm sure dog (Oden) helped.

teamhoyt · May 17, 2017

Yes it was on slough side. The Shuttle is running on keep days.

publichunter1 · May 17, 2017

Looks like fun. Congrats!

sigpros · May 17, 2017

It's been said but get rid if that red meat. If you fry it I swear a piece that has that red meat on it will ruin the pot of grease. I do think it's more like pork than fish. Shake and bake it is pretty good. Fried was ok too. Tell your daughter congrats on her fish

Chris D · May 24, 2017

30 and 69 pounder for me and my aunt.

First time paddlefish fishing.

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