Paddlefish season is set to kick off March 15, and there's a few things you should know before attempting to snag this prehistoric fish.
Paddlefish, whose ancestors swam when dinosaurs walked the earth, can grow to seven feet and weigh more than 100 pounds, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Spoonbill paddlefish cannot reproduce naturally in Missouri because they cannot access their spawning grounds due to dams that have been built along the rivers. MDC stocks about 45,000 hatchery-produced, 10- to 12-inch-long paddlefish fingerlings each year in Missouri’s three main paddlefish locations: Table Rock Lake, Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks.