The Oklahoma Marlin
If you like to fish but have never tangled with the Oklahoma Marlin, plan a trip this spring to northeastern Oklahoma when the paddlefish are running.
More Oklahomans are discovering that paddlefish, or spoonbills, are a thrill to catch. Or, to be more precise, snag.
More than 4,000 paddlefish were checked in at the state Wildlife Department’s fish cleaning station at Twin Bridges State Park on Grand Lake last spring, where state wildlife officials had set up a temporary fish cleaning stationing.
They cleaned the fish for free in exchange for eggs from the female spoonbills. The eggs were then processed into caviar and then sold. The state made 8,000 pounds of caviar which were sold to wholesalers for $1.5 million.
The fish cleaning for caviar trade was such a hit in its first year that the state Wildlife Department is planning to build a permanent fish cleaning station at Twin Bridges State Park.
Paddlefishing on Grand Lake has always been a popular destination for years for out of state anglers, especially those from nearby Missouri and Kansas.
But state wildlife officials said anglers from 46 states, and even Puerto Rico, obtained permits to fish for paddlefish in Oklahoma last year, although they can’t be sure how many actually used them. The only states not represented were North Dakota, Maine, Delaware and Vermont.
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Do you have any information on the 2009 cleaning station? Will it be in the same location and during the same time period?