FInally got the boat on the water this morning!

[Waterwings]

This morning I bit the bullet and said to heck with the humidity and took the boat to Lake Pee Wee (about 400 acres of water, 1.5 miles from my house). Launched around 0630 and was off the water by 1030 due to the heat and the bite dying. Caught the first one off a point in 1' of water. Nothing to brag about, but it was good to catch something early in the game. Tooled-around working the bank and didn't get another bite until later on, and it weighed 1lb 9oz, and was caught on my go-to-bait a Red Shad Tiki Stick, in 10' of water. Got a few more nibbles but no takers from some bluegill and real small bass chasing a Rage Tail Craw I was using later working the bank. On my trip back to the ramp, working the rocks along the dam I saw something floating up ahead and checked it out once I got near it. I've never heard anyone say we had Paddlefish in Pee Wee, but I counted about 8 dead ones floating on the surface. The largest was probably around 24"-28" end to end, and the smallest probably about 18". I'm guessing that maybe they might have made the trip to Lake Pee Wee through the pipeline from the Green River that is used to supply water to the lake (which is a reservoir). Apparently they weren't cutout to live in a lake, but just guessing. Pics below:

First catch of the day. (fish trying to get away when I snapped the pic)

Second catch: 1lb 9oz:

dead paddlefish:

another one:

 

[Zum]

Way to get out on the water.
Did you report those dead paddle fish?
Just wondering how they got there.
Nice fish.

 

[Waterwings]

Since you mentioned it, I'm going to send an email to the KY Fish & Wildlife dept concerning the paddlefish. I've been fishing Pee Wee since 2004 and have never seen or heard of any being there. I'm thinking they may have come through the pipeline from the Green River that the water dept uses to feed Pee Wee, which is one of our reservoirs.

 

[Waterwings]

Email w/pics sent to state fish and wildlife dept.

 

[FishinsMyLife]

Interesting about those paddlefish...Nice catchin!

 

[Jim]

Nice job Waterwings!

 

[ACarbone624]

Great Job Man! =D>

 

[BassAddict]

Nice catching, let us know the outcome on them paddle fish if you hear anything

 

[Waterwings]

Nice catching, let us know the outcome on them paddle fish if you hear anything

Thanks, and hopefully will hear something back from them.

 

[ben2go]

Nice catch.Could someone have caught the paddles some other place and released them into the lake?I dunno why they would do that.

 

[Quackrstackr]

Nice catching, let us know the outcome on them paddle fish if you hear anything

Thanks, and hopefully will hear something back from them.

They had a big fish kill over on Barkley a couple of weeks ago. They will probably be interested in hearing about those.

 

[Waterwings]

Nice catch.Could someone have caught the paddles some other place and released them into the lake?I dunno why they would do that.

Someone releasing them into the lake crossed my mind, but they would have had to had multiple large livewells or coolers to accomplish it I think. Pee Wee is a reservoir and the ramp is located within site of the water treatment plant and they seem to keep a pretty close eye on the ramp area (we used to have to have boat permit stickers on our rigs until this year). Someone would have to be pretty sneaky as you're only allowed on the lake 30 minutes prior to sunrise and have to be off the water 30 minutes befroe sunset. Hopefully I'll hear something back from the state people.

Nice catching, let us know the outcome on them paddle fish if you hear anything

Thanks, and hopefully will hear something back from them.

They had a big fish kill over on Barkley a couple of weeks ago. They will probably be interested in hearing about those.

Hadn't heard of that one. Which species died-off?

 

[Quackrstackr]

The news release said that it was primarily yellow bass but a firsthand report said that it was a little bit of everything.

Several hundred fish but it appeared to be contained to one localized area.

 

[Waterwings]

May sound strange, but I wonder if the high heat and high waters has anything to do with it? Remember when we had the real high temps a couple of summers ago? It pretty much killed-off the Stipers that were in Pee Wee. Haven't seen once since.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

what the heck is a paddle fish. well i see the picture but never seen/heard of one. what family are they in?

 

[Quackrstackr]

Supposedly it was some kind of virus.

The water temps in KY and Barkley have actually been running several degrees behind normal this year. They were in the mid/upper 70's as late as the weekend before last.

what the heck is a paddle fish. well i see the picture but never seen/heard of one. what family are they in?

We call them spoonbill catfish around here. They have skin with no scales like a catfish but look more like a shark (if they didn't have the big snout). They are supposed to be plankton feeders but I have caught a couple in the mouth while white bass fishing. I don't know if it was coincidence or if they are sometimes just opportunistic.

There's big money in their roe for the caviar trade.

 

[BassAddict]

May sound strange, but I wonder if the high heat and high waters has anything to do with it? Remember when we had the real high temps a couple of summers ago? It pretty much killed-off the Stipers that were in Pee Wee. Haven't seen once since.

I know a long period of high heat and a sudden rise of water levels lead to the fish kill on the creek last year. The reason given on the Mississippi fishing forum for this was: with already low oxygen levels and the rapid introduction of green organic matter sucks the remaining oxygen out of the water as it decays

 

[Salmon_Slayer_2008_Lund]

Goodjob on the catch!

I have never seen a Paddlefish before. They look crazy.

 

[Waterwings]

Supposedly it was some kind of virus.

The water temps in KY and Barkley have actually been running several degrees behind normal this year. They were in the mid/upper 70's as late as the weekend before last.

what the heck is a paddle fish. well i see the picture but never seen/heard of one. what family are they in?

We call them spoonbill catfish around here. They have skin with no scales like a catfish but look more like a shark (if they didn't have the big snout). They are supposed to be plankton feeders but I have caught a couple in the mouth while white bass fishing. I don't know if it was coincidence or if they are sometimes just opportunistic.

There's big money in their roe for the caviar trade.

I was never aware of the roe being sold until I read the following blurb in the 2009 KY Fishing Regs:

"...It is illegal to sell paddlefish or their roe taken by sportfish snagging methods.."

 

[Quackrstackr]

The caviar industry drives a big, illegal poaching industry creating overharvest of these fish. That's why the dept. changed their regs. regarding them in the last couple of years and made them illegal to sell.

They don't reproduce or grow fast enough to support a commercial fishery.