Paddlefishing

[MathewsZman]

Premature evacuater !! :;:cheers

 

[Brian Renville]

Here's my 3 cast wonder. First cast I snagged a tree and lost the rig, second cast was a whiff, third cast connected with this 66 lber. It's not quite a 132 lb new state record, but I think my backdrop is hands AND feet above his. LOL!! Not upset with the fish in any way, but I think I kind of missed out on the whole experience so I consoled myself with a couple cases of blue num nums and a bottle of Capt. Morgan. The trip was a rousing success on just about every angle: Beautiful weather, lots of fish, excellent food, great friends, newcomers to the sport being successful, and a bit of a sunburn for everyone. Enjoy!!!




[/QUOT

That's a dandy!

 

[dean nelson]

Anybody getting tagged ones? Gotten a couple over the years in the bismarck run and know the one day I was at north star many of the fish had them.

 

[KDM]

One of our group got a tagged fish from Montana on a catch and release day. Wrote the number down and let'er swim. Only one we got, but saw a few at the check station. He might post a pic when he has time.

 

[dean nelson]

Was this your first year? Must have been like the first i hunted standing rock where I spent weeks scouring for any thing I could find on where to go what expect then end up tagging out in less then two hours. Felt great to have big buck down but definitely felt a bit anti-climactic to be done so soon before the hunt even really got going. With yours at least you got a beautiful fish sice I saw it happen where a guy had drove up all the way from Laramie Wyoming setup to fish for five days only to tag out in the first ten minutes on a fish that was 15 pounds at best and put up literally no fight and pretty much surfed in.

 

[KDM]

15 lbs of meat off my 66 lb'er if anybody was wondering how much meat you get off a fish. That comes out to 22% return. I don't know if that percentage remains constant throughout the size continuum for paddlefish. Can anyone else throw some of their numbers in here?? It'd be a nice piece of trivia to know the approximate return ratios for these guys when I go after these again.

- - - Updated - - -

This was my second year Dean. I went back in 2013 and tagged a 65 lber. Hitting that "Brick Wall" on you swing and hit a fish is quite the rush. It's luck of the draw on these things. Lots of people chunk 5 oz of lead for days and days and never even roll a fish. Pretty sure they would be very happy with a 15 lber. I myself go to have a good time with friends in the outdoors, eat some camp food, and enjoy some adult beverages in the fresh air. If I didn't get a fish, I'd still be sunburned, well fed, and smilin'!! LOL!!!

 

[dean nelson]

Best way to do it. You or the guys your with ever keep the eggs? Your fish both probably had several thousand dollars in eggs in her at $25 an once. Not a caviar eater but would have to think a few guys must make it for themselves.

 

[KDM]

I, myself have never considered doing the egg thing. The G&F, along with the williston folks, get a cut from the value of the eggs the fishermen donate so even if it's only 1%, it's a donation I can make for the critters of ND and it doesn't cost me a thing. We were told that a 100 lb fish has about 25 lbs of eggs and 20% or so of those "Make the Grade" for caviar. So with those numbers a 100 lb fish gives about 5 lbs of eggs at $75 an oz. Comes to 6K for that fish. Mine was 66 lbs, so I figure 2500 for my fish. Though I have NO DATA to support any of these numbers, it still sounds good to me regardless.

 

[dean nelson]

Well other then the price since they sell it for $25 and oz.

 

[KDM]

That's still 2K for a 100 lb fish and over a grand for mine. Not a bad payout for a fish. Thanks Dean!!!

 

[dean nelson]

Yeah be nice if the game and fish did it themselves with a 75/25 take where we get the 25% but then I'm sure there would be ten times as many people so it would never work.

 

[Brian Renville]

North Star make sure they spread the loot around plenty so they stay on everyone's good side. Good for them, at least they showed the initiative to use what used to be waste. Glad they can make some $ for themselves as well.