MDC offers free paddlefish snagging clinic April 17 in Warsaw

Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer a free paddlefish snagging clinic on Saturday, April 17, in Warsaw. Two sessions will be offered. This clinic is for newcomers to paddlefish snagging. Participants will learn the basics about snagging gear and techniques, then go snagging for two hours on the upper end of Lake of the Ozarks.

Session 1 will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Session 2 will be from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. COVID-19 precautions will be followed. Facemasks will be worn when physical distancing is not possible, and in the boats. Each boat for the fishing outing will include only families or a small number of friends who have signed up as a group. Space is limited.

Paddlefish are a prehistoric fish and one of Missouri’s largest. They filter feed on plankton and other small organisms. In the spring, they make spawning runs upstream. At Warsaw, their upstream migration out of Lake of the Ozarks is blocked by the dam for Truman Lake. The paddlefish fishery that anglers enjoy is sustained by MDC stockings of hatchery-reared paddlefish.

Participants must have a valid Missouri fishing permit unless they fall in an exemption category. Life jackets are required when on the water and they must bring their own. Youths 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. This clinic is only open to first time participants. Besides snagging tips, participants will learn how to prepare paddlefish meat for cooking. Attendees will meet in the Harbor Room in the lakeside Warsaw Community Building.

Registration is required and will begin at 8 a.m. on March 10. To register, call 660-530-5500. For more information, contact Trish Yasger, MDC fisheries management biologist, at trish.yasger@mdc.mo.gov.

For more information about paddlefish in Missouri, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZTC.