Every spring, snaggers pack the upper Neosho arm for the paddlefish snagging season. Seasons, permits and limits are set by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Paddlefish — locally called spoonbill — are a prehistoric filter-feeder that can top 100 pounds. Because they filter plankton, they don't take a hook. The only legal way to catch them is snagging: heavy rods with weighted treble hooks ripped through the water column.
The upper Neosho arm above Twin Bridges — including Twin Bridges State Park and the mouth of the Spring River — is ground zero for spring paddlefish. Snaggers work from the bank at Twin Bridges or drift from boats in the deeper channels.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation runs a free processing station in Miami, OK. Bring your fish in, they clean it, weigh and age it, and — with your donation — process the roe into caviar sold to fund conservation. You keep the meat, they keep data on one of Oklahoma's most important fisheries.
