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Lack of moisture hampers paddlefish
season
Biologists say rain is needed to start
migration; season opened March 15
March 16, 2006 - PRATT -- The Kansas paddlefish season began
March 15 and runs through May 15, but anglers may not have much
success unless eastern Kansas receives spring rains and rivers
rise. If the dry spell breaks, and rivers rise, paddlefish enter
Kansas in search of spawning areas, usually when the water temperature
approaches 60 degrees.
But conditions are not promising as the season
opens. On the Neosho River below the Chetopa Dam, water flow
is far below what is necessary to spur the paddlefish spawning
migration.
"We normally open the season with a water
flow of 10,000 to 12,000 cubic feet per second," said Sean
Lynott, fisheries biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife
and Park (KDWP). "Right now we have 70. We need serious
rainfall for the fish to run."
Things are not much better at the Marais des Cygnes
River below Osawatomie Dam. KDWP fisheries biologist Richard
Sanders said that river is low, too. "I checked it on Friday
[March 10], and it was way low," said Sanders. "We've
had some rain since then -- maybe about 1/10 of an inch to 1
inch -- but it was spotty, and I don't think nearly enough to
bring the fish in."
Both areas were posted open to paddlefish snagging
March 15. Paddlefish may be snagged using pole and line with
not more than two single or treble hooks. (Barbless hooks must
be used in the Neosho River.) The daily creel limit for paddlefish
is one at the Chetopa dam on the Neosho River and two at the
Osawatomie site. Both Neosho and Marais des Cygnes rivers have
a length limit of 34 inches. The possession limit is six on or
after the third day of the season (three at the Chetopa site).
Each legal-sized (measured eye to fork of tail) paddlefish caught
must be kept -- on a tagged stringer -- and must also be tagged
at a designated check-in station. Anglers must stop snagging
once the daily limit of legal-sized paddlefish is reached. Other
sportfish snagged must be released immediately.
Anglers at the Chetopa site must check in at Warwick's
Jump Start in Chetopa. At the Osawatomie paddlefish snagging
area, the check-in station is Moon's IGA in Osawatomie. Paddlefish
may be snagged in the Browning Oxbow Lake, near Elwood, but this
site receives very little pressure because it has been low for
the past four years and has no check station. Anglers who snag
paddlefish there must phone 785-246-4514 to get fish tagged.
Anglers should check with these stations ahead
of time for hours of operation. In addition, openings, closings,
and hours of snagging areas are subject to change. Anglers should
check posted signs on the sites before snagging. Each area is
posted with all regulations and directions to the local check
station. Other sportfish, such as flathead catfish, cannot be
legally snagged and must be immediately released if accidentally
caught.
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