Many anglers have a bucket list of fish they would like to catch. For some people, it’s a sailfish or marlin. For others, it’s a trophy-sized salmon, or maybe one of the big, shark species out in the Gulf. I’ve had quite a few fish on my own personal bucket list over the years; one that has been on the list for a long time is the American paddlefish. I made a trip this past spring to Branson, Missouri in hope of checking paddlefish off of my list.

My paddlefish guide was Bryan Wilson from Stained Water Bowfishing Charters. I met him at 6:45 am at one of the boat ramps on Table Rock Lake. This lake is actually a massive reservoir covering 40,000 acres, providing almost limitless opportunities for outdoor adventures. As Bryan launched the boat with the help of his first mate Darren, I got my camera case and other gear out of my car. I was ready to do battle with a giant paddlefish!

Bryan knew exactly where to start in our search for a paddlefish. He motored out to the center of the channel and started watching the sonar screen for signs of fish. Darren was in the back of the boat, preparing to set the trolling rods. The water was just over 20 feet deep where we started, but it was gradually getting deeper as we motored forward.

When trolling for paddlefish, Bryan usually deploys four heavy-duty rods, with each one pulling a diving disk – just like the Dipsy Diver disks we use on Lake Michigan when trolling for salmon. The difference here is that there is no lure trailing behind the disk. Instead, a pair of large treble hooks are attached to the line in front of the diving disk.

Unlike salmon, paddlefish are filter feeders, and their diet consists almost entirely of zooplankton. Although they occasionally eat tiny aquatic insects, their zooplankton diet makes it extremely unlikely that they will be caught by anglers using conventional fishing lures. Thus, Missouri fishing regulations allow snagging of paddlefish during the annual paddlefish season. The season runs from March 15 through April 30 for most waterways.

Darren began letting the line out on each of the four rods, watching the line counters on each reel as he did so. Bryan told him to start with the divers set about 80 feet back, hoping they would be running deep enough to reach any paddlefish swimming near the bottom. As the depth slowly increased, Darren let out more line to get the rigs deeper. He first dropped them to 100 feet back, and then to 120 feet back.

We trolled the deep water along a long bluff, and when I glanced at the sonar screen, I could see that the water was 40 feet deep. Bryan pointed out several large marks on the graph that he said were likely paddlefish. But no hookups yet! At the end of the bluff, Bryan turned the boat around and headed back to where he had marked the most fish. Darren dropped the diver disks to 130 feet back to get them even closer to the bottom.

We had not gone far when one of the rods suddenly buckled under the weight of a big fish. Fish on! Bryan slowed the boat and I grabbed the rod. All I could do was hold on tight as the fish surged away. Darren began clearing the other three rods to make sure my fish did not get tangled with them during the fight.

After its initial run, I slowly started gaining line on the big fish. Luckily, Bryan’s heavy tackle was well-suited to battling big paddlefish, and I soon had the upper hand. I felt the fish tiring, and then saw it come to the surface about 30 yards behind the boat. Wow! It was a really big fish! I kept cranking, and soon had it right behind the boat.

I could see its long paddle, or rostrum, protruding out from its head, making it look weird and almost alien. Its powerful tail was still propelling it away from the boat, however, and I had to maneuver it back to the side of the boat so Bryan could slip his gaff into its mouth. With one swift move, Bryan hoisted it aboard. Success! We had only been fishing for about 30 minutes and already had a trophy-sized paddlefish in the boat!

I was very happy. When Bryan put it on his certified scale later, it weighed a very respectable 54.5 pounds. Awesome! But the day was still early, so we put that fish in the livewell and started resetting the lines to see if we could catch another paddlefish. The Missouri bag limit on paddlefish is two fish per day, with a minimum size of 34 inches (measured from the eye to the fork of the tail).

After the four lines were reset, Bryan turned the boat, and we headed back through the area where we had seen the most fish on the graph. Less than 30 minutes after boating the first fish, one of the rods jumped to life once again. Fish on! I jumped up again and wrestled the rod out of its holder. Another strong fish took off and I started reeling.

This fish did not feel as large as the first one, and it soon surfaced behind the boat. We could see that it was a smaller male paddlefish, although it was still a very big fish. I fought it up to the side of the boat and Bryan carefully lifted it aboard. He knew it might not meet the minimum size for harvesting it. We measured it and it was just short of the legal size limit, so we prepared to release it. Luckily, it was only lightly hooked in the tail, so we were certain it could be released safely and survive. With a splash of its tail, it was gone.

The morning was still young (only 8:10 am), so we reset the lines and started trolling again. We continued marking plenty of fish near bottom, and only 20 minutes later, we hooked yet another paddlefish! This one took off like a freight train, and it was difficult for me to get the rod out of the rod holder under the pressure of the fish.

I managed to get control of the rod, and the battle was on. We could tell that it was another big paddlefish, and this one fought harder than either of the previous two fish. After a few strong runs, though, it felt like it was beginning to tire. It was a real tug-of-war, but I was winning the battle. Soon the fish came up, wallowing on the surface as I continued gaining line. Bryan prepared the gaff, quickly slipped it under its lower lip, and pulled it into the boat.

Another giant paddlefish! This one was almost the same size as the first one, and it completed my two-fish limit. As Bryan removed the hook, he exclaimed that this fish was tagged, too! The Missouri Department of Conservation tags certain paddlefish to learn more about the species and improve paddlefish management. I would make sure that I called the phone number on the tag when I got home to report the details on my tagged fish.

When we got back to the boat ramp, Bryan weighed my second paddlefish and the scale read 50 pounds. It was only slightly smaller than my first fish. Bryan filleted both paddlefish for me and I packed the boneless fillets in a large cooler. I would have plenty of fish for grilling, frying and even smoking!

If this type of trip sounds like fun to you, plan a trip next spring with Bryan Wilson and Stained Water Bowfishing (573-263-8016). But don’t let the name of his business fool you. He certainly runs bowfishing charters, but he is an expert when it comes to spring paddlefish snagging trips. He also runs gigging trips for suckers and other fish during the fall and winter gigging season. Give him a call or check out his website at stainedwaterbowfishingcharters.com. 

There are lots of great lodging options in Branson. I stayed at The Village at Indian Point (thevillageatindianpoint.com) while I was in town. My condo was a beautiful two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit that was the perfect base of operations for me as I fished Table Rock Lake. It was also just a short drive to downtown Branson for restaurants and attractions.

When you plan your trip to the Branson area, visit the Branson tourism website (ExploreBranson.com) for some great ideas on what to do during your stay—besides fishing, of course! For the non-fishermen in the family, Branson has an abundance of live music shows, restaurants, outdoor adventures and many other attractions. Check it out for yourself!